After defining the Liberal/Progressive values, which I post previously here-What's a Liberal PT 1-George Lakoff goes on to define what a Conservative is. Obviously if you're going to argue with someone like a Conservative you should at least know where they're coming from.
Here is Lakoff defining the values of Conservatism:
"The heart of Conservative thought is the idea of moral authority: that there is an absolute division between good and evil in the world. It is both natural and right that authority, and in which disobedience must be punished to maintain a moral order. Individual discipline is required for moral action. If you obey legal authorities and know right from wrong, the social order should allow you to become your own moral authority in personal spheres of life.
In economic issues, it is assumed that it is natural for people to seek to maximize their self interest and that is a law of nature that if everyone pursues their own profit, the profit of all will be maximized. The free market is moral in that it helps everyone. The free market thus plays the role of the moral authority. Individual discipline is rewarded by the market and the lack of it is punished. Government can only interfere with this natural and moral process.
America is seen as inherently good, and so its interests naturally serve good in the world...."ibid
Is this belief, and Liberals argue that its naive, that the free market is moral that causes Conservatism to harm America and Americans. This naive optimism about the free market has removed environmental controls, caused homelessness and kept affordable health care from 50 million people.
Liberalism actually strives to help people. This is based on the belief that once basic necessities are easy to obtain, people become free to be productive and healthy contributing members of society.
Check out some of George Lakoff's work on amazon
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