View Poll Results: Is the UK more liberal or conservative than most of the West, such as Western Europe?

Voters
39. This poll is closed
  • The UK is more liberal than most Western countries

    2 5.13%
  • The UK is more conservative than most Western countries

    28 71.79%
  • Not sure / It's complicated

    9 23.08%
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  1. #1

    Is the UK more liberal or conservative than most of the West, such as Western Europe?

    How does the United Kingdom compare to most other developed Western countries? In terms of political affiliation? I know it is very probably more liberal than most Americans -- but what about its neighbors? For example, how do most Britons as a society -- and their overall government policies -- compare with Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, or the Scandinavian nations? Or even Latin American countries, if you want to consider them as part of the Western world? Does it have a better health care policy, a strong education system -- does it have less crime and social problems?

    From Brexit, it does seem that there are still quite some conservative Britons -- or at least many anti-EU and populist Britons. Labour has not won an election -- in quite some time now. I've read somewhere that many British people apparently yearn for a return to their former glory days, instead of simply being America's partner in world affairs, although I am not sure whether this is true or not. Even Poland, a more traditional country, has apparently always strongly favored remaining with the European Union.

    Exactly how liberal or conservative is Britain? As a country, compared overall to the other European and Western countries?
    Last edited by OwenBurton; 2021-01-01 at 12:57 AM.
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  2. #2
    The Undying Cthulhu 2020's Avatar
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    As someone who was a world traveler for work for close to a decade, I'd say the UK is slightly more liberal, but much more socialist, and also much more progressive. Liberalism means something a bit different than most people think it means. Latin America can often be far more conservative than the US, while some pockets can be more liberal. Most South American big cities suck, meanwhile the rural areas, while exceedingly poor, have a paradise-like charm to them. An untouched natural wonder where the few people who do live there do so more or less harmoniously with nature, living simple lives of subsistence farming and some trading/bartering with supply trucks that come by once a week.
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  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Cthulhu 2020 View Post
    As someone who was a world traveler for work for close to a decade, I'd say the UK is slightly more liberal, but much more socialist, and also much more progressive. Liberalism means something a bit different than most people think it means. Latin America can often be far more conservative than the US, while some pockets can be more liberal. Most South American big cities suck, meanwhile the rural areas, while exceedingly poor, have a paradise-like charm to them. An untouched natural wonder where the few people who do live there do so more or less harmoniously with nature, living simple lives of subsistence farming and some trading/bartering with supply trucks that come by once a week.
    With also quite a few people that die from diseases that no longer exist in a city, or women dying while delivering and so on. Would have been more honest to add that.

  4. #4
    The Unstoppable Force PC2's Avatar
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    Western countries are all pretty liberal in the sense that everyone has liberty and equal rights under the law and the people can control the government, unlike places like China.

    I wouldn't say any European countries are particularly conservative unless they get rid of universal healthcare and I wouldn't say any of them are particularly left wing unless they raise taxes in order to implement something like UBI. The UK isn't doing either of those things so it seems pretty average, imo.

  5. #5
    isnt like in most europe liberal or conservative are so much different.
    they are both right wing here.
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  6. #6
    On average it's more conservative and more laissez-faire capitalist than other Western European nations.

    Classism is prevalent and marked, social mobility is generally more limited. Phenomenal amounts of emphasis are placed on "breeding" for accessing education and the upper ends of the labor market.

    Interpersonal violence (fighting) is more common and seen as fairly normal and crime tends to be more violent when it occurs.

    Racism and xenophobia are more openly expressed.

    While homophobia doesn't seem to be as virulent as it was when I lived there, transphobia is much more present to the degree that actively transphobic media campaigns and legislation exists.

    Also many elements of how the UK handles social services and public assistance would be seen as unacceptable in other parts of Western Europe.

    Depicting the poor and especially immigrants as moochers, freeloaders, lazy or criminal is more commonplace.

    I think British society as a whole has been damaged by its highly influential, near omni present right wing media.

  7. #7
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    The UK is old liberal which is basically new conservative :P

    The UK leads a very conservatively ran businesses, like the BBC and their blatant support for Boris Johnson was not even subtle. Hell even ITV was the same. Lets not forget their support for open transphobia. As well as their support for TERF's like hack author J K Rowling who herself is gaining great sympathizers from the alt right like groups like LGB Alliance.

    Don;t even start me on the classism they have where its basically, let the poor die and if you have money you'll be protected... the short jist of it. There's also protected racism, homophobia, sexism, hell even some feminist groups are supporting literal right wing anti trans supporters. Making the incel term femnazi more literal in this country.

    EDIT: @Mihalik just nailed it better and even they are missing out so much more
    Last edited by Orby; 2021-01-01 at 07:50 PM.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by PC2 View Post
    Western countries are all pretty liberal in the sense that everyone has liberty and equal rights under the law and the people can control the government, unlike places like China.

    I wouldn't say any European countries are particularly conservative unless they get rid of universal healthcare and I wouldn't say any of them are particularly left wing unless they raise taxes in order to implement something like UBI. The UK isn't doing either of those things so it seems pretty average, imo.
    Hungary and Poland are usually considered fairly conservatives, at least their current government.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Raspberry Lemon View Post
    liberal and conservative are almost synonyms in european countries...
    Yes, US Democrats would be considered right wing in Europe.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Specialka View Post
    With also quite a few people that die from diseases that no longer exist in a city, or women dying while delivering and so on. Would have been more honest to add that.
    Rural areas seemed to suffer LESS from infectious diseases simply because there's far less dense population to spread it easily. Yeah they don't have much in the way of cutting edge medical care which sucks, but if anything it seems urban centers are more likely to be hard hit with infectious diseases.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4481042/
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  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Cthulhu 2020 View Post
    Rural areas seemed to suffer LESS from infectious diseases simply because there's far less dense population to spread it easily. Yeah they don't have much in the way of cutting edge medical care which sucks, but if anything it seems urban centers are more likely to be hard hit with infectious diseases.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4481042/
    Yes, it is true, but you also have far more access to medicine and such in an urban area than in a remote rural place.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Specialka View Post
    Yes, it is true, but you also have far more access to medicine and such in an urban area than in a remote rural place.
    Well I'm not really here to compare the pros and cons of living in a city vs living in an untouched natural ecosystem. Though I do vastly prefer rural south and central America to rural USA, simply because the US has taken much of its natural splendor and raped it for resources and made the landscape so ugly to look at.
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  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Specialka View Post
    H
    Yes, US Democrats would be considered right wing in Europe.
    Well being liberal in Europe = classical liberalism.

    So you can understand the confusion, when some Americans equals liberals to near socialists :P

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Crispin View Post
    Well being liberal in Europe = classical liberalism.

    So you can understand the confusion, when some Americans equals liberals to near socialists :P
    And Europe Socialism would be considered Communism by most of them.

    I wonder how they would consider the Communist party in some of the EU countries.

  14. #14
    The Unstoppable Force Theodarzna's Avatar
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    The UK is more Liberal; it is the birth place of Margret Thatcher after all.
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  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Theodarzna View Post
    The UK is more Liberal; it is the birth place of Margret Thatcher after all.
    This should appear in a dictionary under a definition of sarcasm.
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  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Huehuecoyotl View Post
    This should appear in a dictionary under a definition of sarcasm.
    She is more or less the most well known female neoliberal world leader.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by JohnBrown1917 View Post
    She is more or less the most well known female neoliberal world leader.
    There is a world of difference between describing someone as liberal and a proponent of neo-liberalism. For me the former is primarily about personal freedoms; the rights and freedoms of people. The latter is about the rights of the market to do whatever the fuck they like, regardless of what it does to people, the planet or anything else.

    Thatcher was categorically not a liberal.
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  18. #18
    The Unstoppable Force Theodarzna's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Huehuecoyotl View Post
    There is a world of difference between describing someone as liberal and a proponent of neo-liberalism. For me the former is primarily about personal freedoms; the rights and freedoms of people. The latter is about the rights of the market to do whatever the fuck they like, regardless of what it does to people, the planet or anything else.

    Thatcher was categorically not a liberal.
    Thatcher was a Liberal in the real definition of Liberalism. Heck in the UK, the Liberal party is the Free Market party.
    Quote Originally Posted by Crissi View Post
    i think I have my posse filled out now. Mars is Theo, Jupiter is Vanyali, Linadra is Venus, and Heather is Mercury. Dragon can be Pluto.
    On MMO-C we learn that Anti-Fascism is locking arms with corporations, the State Department and agreeing with the CIA, But opposing the CIA and corporate America, and thinking Jews have a right to buy land and can expect tenants to pay rent THAT is ultra-Fash Nazism. Bellingcat is an MI6/CIA cut out. Clyburn Truther.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Theodarzna View Post
    Thatcher was a Liberal in the real definition of Liberalism. Heck in the UK, the Liberal party is the Free Market party.
    Quote Originally Posted by JohnBrown1917 View Post
    She is more or less the most well known female neoliberal world leader.
    I am sorry, can you explain how Liberty expanded under Thatcher? Not capitalism, which is an economic metric... but, actual Liberty?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Crispin View Post
    Well being liberal in Europe = classical liberalism.

    So you can understand the confusion, when some Americans equals liberals to near socialists :P
    Classic liberal means nothing, when Thatcher is called neoliberal in 2020, while her adviser was a classic liberal in 70s. How does a classic, turn neo in 50 years?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman

    This is newspeak...

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Huehuecoyotl View Post
    There is a world of difference between describing someone as liberal and a proponent of neo-liberalism. For me the former is primarily about personal freedoms; the rights and freedoms of people. The latter is about the rights of the market to do whatever the fuck they like, regardless of what it does to people, the planet or anything else.

    Thatcher was categorically not a liberal.
    Liberty is the vertical line, economics is the horizontal... When people act silly in being confused why liberals push ‘identity politics’, the answer is that the confused stems from misunderstanding liberal spending and Liberty.
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  20. #20
    Hey another thread where we get to split hairs over the definition of word "liberal".

    England is right wing. Both economically and socially. They keep on doing shitty right wing stuff like voting for Boris and Maggie, listening to Nigel Farage and allowing Rupert Murdoch to live. Also giving Russian oligarchs unfettered access to their economy was probably not a good idea. Occasionally a leftie gets elected but he has to pander to the shitty right wingers. At least Blair fucked Rupert Murdoch's wife on the way out. That's why I don't give him a hard time.

    Yes, they've done some good left wing stuff in the past. Clement Attlee was a swell fucking guy! A lot of England still likes the left wing stuff because its good for them even though they keep voting for shitheads who would try to undo it. Quite frankly if the sensible people (ie Scotland) leave the UK we might get to see what happens when you let the shitheads really take over a country.

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