An arms race of ideas
It will always essentially be an arms race between the Liberals and the Conservatives. And there will always be move and counter-move. Perhaps the central thing that distinguishes these two philosophies is that one, the Conservative, is more naturally described as an extension of our deep biological imperatives (those deep-seated and unconscious biological urges to reproduce and to control the environmental surround to better ensure the survival of one’s progeny) whereas the Liberal POV can be more naturally described as an semi-conscious attempt to transcend those same imperatives.
A transcendence driven by the vague recognition that while our biological imperatives have served as an optimal strategy for us and all other biological forms since life first began on this planet, the time has finally arrived, now that human expansion has finally hit the limits of this finite planet, to recognize that these imperatives have within them an implicit assumption of infinite space and resources which is fundamentally unsupportable.
This simple dichotomy is the core issue underlying the problems our species faces now. Will we continue to act out our biological imperatives blindly and wreak havoc on this beautiful blue planet? Or will we rise to the challenge of consciously recognizing that we must transcend our biological urges so that we may adopt a strategy that allows us to achieve a steady-state balance with the biosphere and live within its limitations indefinitely?
