According to Ethridge and Handelman, liberalism is a system of governance where individuals’ rights are respected or even left untouched by the government (31). Under liberalism, liberals oppose the government’s ability to enforce conventional moral, religious, or traditional standards of behavior (Ethridge and Handelman 31). Therefore, liberalism advocates for individual choices over a set of national values. Under liberalism, the government has no place to tell people what is the “right” way to live their lives. Therefore, liberalism frees an individual from the forces that interfere with personal growth. A person is free to pursue the achievements he or she desirers within the confines of the law.
In contrast to liberalism, conservativism is a system of governance that preserves society’s political, social, and economic traditions (Ethridge and Handelman 32). According to conservatism, traditional values strengthen society by stipulating the expected norms for everyone living within a given society. Conservatives believe that the erosion of traditional moral values is the primary cause of social ills. Accordingly, conservatism maintains that it is the government’s role to help people avoid natural human tendencies such as greed, promiscuity, aggressiveness among others. Conservatism relies on schools, churches, and the state, to preserve basic values of the society. Finally, the issue of welfare illustrates the different roles of government under liberal and conservative ideologies. On the one hand, liberal governments expand the welfare state while conservative government’s try to restrain its growth. The contrasting nature of liberalism and conservatism influences how a government serves its people and the role played by individuals within society.
Capitalism and socialism are two other contrasting ideologies within human societies. Both capitalism and socialism are both political ideologies and economic systems. On the one hand, capitalism is an ideology that heavily emphasizes individualism; individual accomplishment and the private sphere of life (Ethridge and Handelman 41). Capitalist ideology welcomes the power of competition. However, competition in a capitalist usually increases social and economic inequality among people in society. According to Ethridge and Handelman, capitalists distrust government control of social resources. Capitalists believe that the role of the government is to facilitate a free market without excessive control of the economic marker. Accordingly, capitalists support polices that emphasize private production of goods and services.
In contrast to capitalism, s focuses on communal values and needs. According to Ethridge and Handelman, socialism is an ideology that focuses on purposeful social action in society (44). Socialists believe that the actions of individuals in a capitalist society prevent the achievement of a fair society. In particular, socialists maintain that the biggest problem with capitalism is that it perpetuates social and economic inequality (Ethridge and Handelman 44). Therefore, socialist governments typically regulate private industries to protect public interest. The difference in welfare system under socialism and capitalism highlights the contrast of the two ideologists. Socialist governments usually have large, expensive welfare systems to provide social security, education, and healthcare to all citizens. In contrast, the education and healthcare systems of capitalist societies are typically run by private business