Politics in 153 words

Conservatives believe in Original Sin, that man is innately flawed and those at the bottom of society's pile can't and shouldn't be helped.

Progressives/ Socialists believe that it is only economic circumstances that prevent all people fulfilling their innate potential and such circumstances have to be ameliorated.

Liberalism originated as a belief in freedom from restrictions such as the free market and free trade. (Classical Liberalism) Then it switched to freedom from oppression, a set of rights underpinning a certain minimum quality of life (Social Liberalism).

The irony is that the Conservatives yearn for the free market and economic unrestrictiveness, but are against the human rights social programme, so they are in part Liberal. The Progressives believe in the need for human rights, but that fundamentally admits to the Original Sin view of humanity, that man acts so perniciously that we need protecting from one another.

There are no new political ideas under the sun.