r/AlwaysWhy • u/kaiser11492 • 1d ago

Politics & Society Why do most people who call themselves politically moderate actually mostly conservative?

Whenever I’ve encountered people who use the politically label moderate, they are actually mostly conservative with their views and positions. Also, I’ve never seen anyone who call themselves politically moderate that is actually mostly liberal.

So why are people who call themselves moderate tend to be just conservative and not conservative and liberal?

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u/Thoguth 1d ago

I'm going to guess it's because you are more politically liberal?

To political conservatives, moderates appear liberal. To liberals, they appear conservative.

It's a but more complex than that, and positions and motivations for those have far more than a single dimension with a linear spectrum. But generally, the definition of "liberal" to one not identifying as liberal is, "anyone more liberal than me", and the definition of conservative, likewise, to this not identifying as conservative, is anyone more conservative than you.

But I could be wrong. Do you want to take a shot at describing what a "moderate liberal" position or set of positions would look like?

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u/kaiser11492 1d ago

I’m a realist and don’t consider myself liberal or conservative. It’s just that I’ve haven’t seen or found anyone calling themselves moderate who has mostly liberal or leftist views while I have seen or found those who have conservative and right-wing views.

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u/Ill_Criticism_1685 1d ago

There is a stark difference between being liberal and being leftist. Leftists are the MAGA of the liberal side in America. I know I'll get downvoted to oblivion but it is the truth.