Are Liberals Or Conservatives Bad People?

[Ilya Shambat]

There are many in conservatism who see anyone who has been involved in anything left-leaning as a bad person. This is completely wrong. My grandmother was a Soviet Communist; but she was at least as ethical, responsible and hard-working as any American conservative.

Many people who were attracted to such beliefs did so for right reasons. They disliked seeing workers treated like dirt. They were more ethical and compassionate than most people who didn’t take that route. They can be accused of being misguided but not of being bad.

The problem is that, at the time that such ideologies became big, workers were being treated like dirt. If you treat someone like dirt, it is only a matter of time before people have compassion for that person and see you as a scoundrel. Capitalism however does not have to be done that way. It is possible to pursue better business practices. I’ve worked in many capacities, and I was never mistreated. The solution is not socialism, and it is not Communism. It is improving the way in which business treats workers.

Of course on the other side we have the claim that people in business are bad people, even sociopaths. Certainly there are sociopaths in business; but I haven’t had to deal with them. I grew to respect the bosses I’ve had, and I’ve maintained solid friendship with some of them. There are many good people in business. Being rich does not have to mean being bad.

So we have Winston Churchill saying that if you’re young and not a liberal you don’t have a heart; if you’re old and not conservative you don’t have a mind. I have found this to be untrue. I’ve known young conservatives who had a good heart, and I’ve known old liberals who were brilliant people. I don’t like to see either demonized or mistreated. Both people who think that anyone with liberal sympathies is a bad person and people who think that rich people are scoundrels are wrong.

For myself, I am taking a positive middle route, combining what each side is right about while confronting what it is wrong about. It is right to pursue economic and technological prosperity; it is not right to blindly plunder nature or treat workers like dirt. The solution is not socialism or Communism, but improving the business practices. That being done, there will be less of a case for socialism and Communism, and business people can continue doing what they do without being seen as the villains.