Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Liberalism balances faith in the public with caution while conservatism balances distrust with anxiety.
- In plain terms
- Liberals trust people cautiously while conservatives fear them.
- What can you take from it?
- Political ideologies differ on how they balance trust and caution.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does trust or fear drive better policy?
- Can a system mix these traits?
Another view
This binary view may oversimplify complex political motivations.
More from William Ewart Gladstone
The Labour movement is but the tail of the great Liberal lion.
Permalink to quote #34 He has one gift most dangerous to a spectator, a vast command of a kind of language, grave and majestic, but of vague and uncertain import.
Permalink to quote #36 Justice delayed is justice denied.
Permalink to quote #33
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