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A human child brought the following descriptions home from school:
Pure liberals: These people are liberal on both economic policy and personal conduct. They want the
government to reduce economic inequality, regulate business, tax the rich heavily, cure the
(presumably) economic causes of crime, allow abortions, protect the rights of the accused, and
guarantee the broadest possible freedoms of speech and press. Liberals believe that what ought to be
true, is true. See Voltaire, the best of all possible worlds.
Number: In 1994 about 17 percent of the population were pure liberals.
Traits: Pure liberals are more likely than the average citizen to be young, college-educated, and
either Jewish or nonreligious. They voted heavily against Ronald Reagan.
Pure conservatives: These people are conservative on both economic and conduct issues. They
want the government to cut back on the welfare state, allow the market to allocate goods and services,
keep taxes low, lock up criminals, and curb forms of conduct they regard as antisocial.
Number: In 1994 about 28 percent of the population were pure conservatives.
Traits: Pure conservatives are more likely than the average citizen to be older, to have higher
incomes, to be white, and to live in the Midwest. They voted overwhelmingly for Ronald Reagan.
Libertarians: These people are conservative on economic matters and liberal on social ones. The
common theme is that they want a small, weak government—one that has little control over either the
economy or the personal lives of citizens.
Number: In 1994 about 21 percent of the population were libertarians.
Traits: Libertarians are more likely than the average citizen to be young, college-educated,
and white, to have higher incomes and no religion, and to live in the West. They voted for Ronald
Reagan, but many also supported the third-party ticket of John Anderson.
Populists: These people are liberal on economic matters and conservative on social ones. They want a
government that will reduce economic inequality and control business, but they also want it to regulate
personal conduct, lock up criminals, and permit school prayer.
Number: In 1994 about 24 percent of the population were populists.
Traits: Populists are more likely than the average citizen to be older, poorly educated, low-income,
religious, and female and to live in the South or Midwest. In 1980 they voted for Jimmy Carter, but in
1984 they voted for Reagan.
Obviously this classification is an oversimplification. There are many exceptions, and the number of
people in each category changes from time to time. Moreover, this categorization leaves out about one-
seventh of the population—their views do not fit any of these categories. Nonetheless, it is a useful way
to explain how complex are the political ideologies in this country and why such terms as liberal and
conservative, in their “pure” form, only describe the views of relatively few people.
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Pure liberals: These people are liberal on both economic policy and personal conduct. They want the
government to reduce economic inequality, regulate business, tax the rich heavily, cure the
(presumably) economic causes of crime, allow abortions, protect the rights of the accused, and
guarantee the broadest possible freedoms of speech and press. Liberals believe that what ought to be
true, is true. See Voltaire, the best of all possible worlds.
Number: In 1994 about 17 percent of the population were pure liberals.
Traits: Pure liberals are more likely than the average citizen to be young, college-educated, and
either Jewish or nonreligious. They voted heavily against Ronald Reagan.
Pure conservatives: These people are conservative on both economic and conduct issues. They
want the government to cut back on the welfare state, allow the market to allocate goods and services,
keep taxes low, lock up criminals, and curb forms of conduct they regard as antisocial.
Number: In 1994 about 28 percent of the population were pure conservatives.
Traits: Pure conservatives are more likely than the average citizen to be older, to have higher
incomes, to be white, and to live in the Midwest. They voted overwhelmingly for Ronald Reagan.
Libertarians: These people are conservative on economic matters and liberal on social ones. The
common theme is that they want a small, weak government—one that has little control over either the
economy or the personal lives of citizens.
Number: In 1994 about 21 percent of the population were libertarians.
Traits: Libertarians are more likely than the average citizen to be young, college-educated,
and white, to have higher incomes and no religion, and to live in the West. They voted for Ronald
Reagan, but many also supported the third-party ticket of John Anderson.
Populists: These people are liberal on economic matters and conservative on social ones. They want a
government that will reduce economic inequality and control business, but they also want it to regulate
personal conduct, lock up criminals, and permit school prayer.
Number: In 1994 about 24 percent of the population were populists.
Traits: Populists are more likely than the average citizen to be older, poorly educated, low-income,
religious, and female and to live in the South or Midwest. In 1980 they voted for Jimmy Carter, but in
1984 they voted for Reagan.
Obviously this classification is an oversimplification. There are many exceptions, and the number of
people in each category changes from time to time. Moreover, this categorization leaves out about one-
seventh of the population—their views do not fit any of these categories. Nonetheless, it is a useful way
to explain how complex are the political ideologies in this country and why such terms as liberal and
conservative, in their “pure” form, only describe the views of relatively few people.
Next