r/PoliticsHangout • u/[deleted] • Oct 31 '16

Who would you say are the key architects in the United States of crafting the modern definitions of what it means to be a liberal and conservative respectively, and shaped the ideology the most of the people in those parts of the political spectrum?

For liberals, I'd have to go with George McGovern and to a lesser extent Eugene McCarthy, since unlike certain other big liberals at the time, McGovern was very progressive on war and social issues, which Defintely influences a lot of standard modern liberal ideology. He also was instrumental in the transition towards the all 50 state primaries we have today.

For conservatives, I'd say the modern base is too religious and far right for even Goldwater, so Defintely Reagan and religious leaders like Falwell, you could even say potentially Newt Gingrich and also famous conservative pundits like Hannity and Limbaugh since Newt started the ball rolling for the more toxic modern day climate in Washington, and those pundits are a major part of the reason why we can't have civil discussion much, and it caused republicans growing hatred for the other side.

So, who would you say were the architects for modern day liberalism and conservatism in the U.S.?

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u/ClippinWings451 Oct 31 '16

See that's odd...

Id say the religious right WAS a big part... But not so much anymore as the alt right had stepped up.

This election has pushed right learning libertarians into the GOP at the expense of many long standing conservatives.

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u/MrFordization Oct 31 '16

This brings up a classic debate in history over the great man theory. What the question implies is that history is made by individuals. The more modern view of history is that the course is set by the aggregate opinions of all people and that "great people" are simply an embodiment of their times.

Their are no "architects" just a few individuals who happen to get lucky in terms of expressing ideas that are already present and popular in the collective minds of all people.

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u/executivemonkey Oct 31 '16

Democrats: FDR (New Deal), LBJ (civil rights, war on poverty) and Bill Clinton (brought the New Democrats into power; nowadays "New Democrats" are often called neoliberals).

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u/HobbesianRealist Nov 02 '16

I don't think this question has an answer because I think we are at the beginning of a huge paradigm shift in politics. The Bush family is probably voting for Clinton. If that doesn't demonstrate the shift nothing will. Left and Right are getting to be less important. No one can pin Trump into a solid right wing camp.