| Modern Liberal-Progressives | Modern Conservatives | Libertarians (Classical Liberals) | |
| Forcing values on others: | Highly eager to attempt to improve human society and enhance the environment by means of laws and decrees backed by government force. | Honoring traditional and common sense values, but still willing to attempt to improve the human condition using laws and decrees backed by government force. | Refuses to use government force for goals other than detering violation of natural rights of society members to life, liberty, and rightfully earned property. |
| Justification accepted in mind: | The ends of societal and environmental improvement justify the means of forcing the ends on others. | The ends of improving the human condition justify the means of forcing the ends on others. | No matter how good utopian ends might seem, forcing ends on others is never moral. |
| Life as a value: | Human life is a sacred right of all except those who pose violent threats in their disobedience of liberal-progressive laws and decrees. | Human life is a sacred right of all except those who pose violent threats in their disobedience of conservative laws and decrees. | Human life is a sacred right of all except those who have forfeited their right to life by participating in the act of taking the life of others. |
| Liberty as a value: | The freedom to act upon one's free will (fee agency) is limited by liberal-progressive laws and decrees, and those who resist may face imprisonment. | The freedom to use one's free will (fee agency) is limited by the laws of conservative governance, and those who resist may face imprisonment. | The freedom to live by one's free will (fee agency) is a sacred right, and only those who violate the equal rights of others could ever face imprisonment. |
| Private Property as a value: | Private property is tolerated but highly regulated, and can be confiscated for "the good of all." Rightful earnings are heavily taxed to pay for Utopian programs and to facilitate redistribution of wealth. | Private property is honored but regulated, and can be confiscated for public works. Rightful earnings are taxed to pay for supposed "things we all want." But tax rates should not overly punish society's best producers. | Ownership of rightfully earned property is a natural and sacred right. Property cannot be confiscated by law unless a rights violation is proven. Taxation is seen as theft, a practice to be someday eliminated. |
| Equality as a value: | Refuses to see that equality of all cannot be recognized by the dominion of one will over another. Attempts to use government to force equality of economic opportunity and outcome. | Recognizes that all are created with equal opportunity to learn from life's experiences. Sometimes willing to use government to force equality of economic opportunity and outcome. | Totally understands that equality of all cannot be recognized by the dominion of one will over another. All have equal rights to life, liberty, and property, but government must not be used to force equality of economic opportunity and outcome. |
| Conditions for peace: | Believes peace requires "social justice," even if equal opportunity and outcome have to be forced into existence by government laws and decrees. Refuses to see that forcing others is not peaceful. | Believes in peace through strength: military strength detering egos from other lands. Strength in police and courts detering egos from running amok internally. | Believes peace derives from love and respect among individuals, and can never come from forcing others, even if such force is disguised as "doing good for society." |
| Governance by written constitution: | Believes a constitution must be viewed as a "living document" to be conveniently interpreted as favoring liberal-progressive positions. | Honors a good constitution is "created by genius" or even "divinely guided" to limit governance by human ego. Interpretations should not favor those in power. | Believes even a great constitution can facilitate abuses of power. Might be willing to consider improved experimental constitutions as more perfect safeguards of rights. |