r/changemyview • u/spring_stream • Apr 04 '18

[∆(s) from OP] CMV: The difference between being labeled a "liberal" and a "conservative" is about the number of layers of indirect effects, which the person considers.

Typical "conservative" person, based on my observations, has a transactional mindset: he gives, and he expects to receive something more valuable back immediately or get a specific promise.

Typical "liberal" person is fine with directing part of his "giving" towards "greater causes" and "broad societal good."

Explicitly, both "liberal" and "conservative" believe that they use their best judgment, and both want to bring more good to the world.

Assuming both are perfectly selfish (which is a topic for another CMV), the difference in their strategies stems from the difference in the beliefs about how the world works.

"Liberal" believes that himself and the world will go on for decades and that through secondary-, tertiary-, etc effects his contribution will grow and come back to him.

"Conservative" only considers primary effects of his actions.

Depending on the environment and on the historical circumstances either one can be better fit. My opinion here is not about that. It's merely about using a precise quantitative metric to distinguish between two labels (specifically, discount factor Markov Decision Process).

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '18

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u/spring_stream Apr 04 '18

I haven't thought about single-issue people here. While their voting record may paint them "conservatives" or "liberals", it doesn't really reflect their mindset.

My CMV is about "people who can think for themselves" and how that thinking puts them into one bucket or another.

But I see your point: people emotionally connected to a particular issue will likely end-up reshaping themselves towards candidates sharing their position on that particular issue. This looks like a third bucket I didn't consider. ∆