Example research essay topic: Individual Behavior Human Nature - 650 words

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Conservatives, liberals, and radicals have different perspectives in important areas such as attitudes toward change, views of human nature, individual behavior, family, the social system, and the government and the economic system. Conservatives tend to resist change. They think change is more negative than positive. Social welfare programs generally represent nontraditional means of dealing with problems. So conservatives are very suspicious of almost all social welfare programs, because they strongly emphasize tradition saying that problems should be handled in time-tested ways to the greatest extent. When it comes to human nature conservatives take a pessimistic view.

People are seen as being corrupt, self-centered, lazy, incapable of true charity and need to be controlled. Conservatives say that each person is responsible for his or her own current behavior. They also say that people possess free will and can choose to engage in hard work to get ahead. Conservatives revere the "traditional" family and try to preserve it. They feel it is a source of strength. They also oppose abortion, public funding of day-care centers, rights for homosexuals, sex education in school and counseling for minors.

The conservatives perspective sees the social system as inherently fair. If some groups are poorer than others and have less power and low status it is because this situation is necessary for being for the well-being of society. The view conservatives take on the government and economic system is that they think the less governments govern, the better. They think that most government activities constitute threats to individual liberty and to the functioning of the free market.

Liberals attitude toward change is a different one than conservatives. Liberals are generally in favor of change. They believe that the world can be changed for the better. They also think that continuing change will bring continuing progress. Liberals take an optimistic view of human nature. People do not have to be controlled, they need be protected from corrupting influences and given the freedom to follow their natural inclinations.

Although liberals and radicals do not completely deny free will and motivation, they put more emphasis on the environment as a factor in individual behavior. Family, to liberals is an evolving institution, and they can be more flexible and pragmatic in the ways in which they support it. Liberals, like conservatives tend to view society as an orgasmic system, but they have less faith that the system will regulate itself without intervention. Liberals also see more diversity and friction in the social system than do conservatives. The liberal perspective regards the social system as potentially fair, but frequently unfair. Liberals do not view the existing society as the best possible world.

They believe in change that will reduce inequality and increase social justice. Liberals believe that our social and economic systems contain imperfections that can be corrected only by government intervention, and such intervention is therefore justifiable and desirable. Radicals, like liberals are also in favor of change but think that liberals proposals for change do not get to the core of problems. Radicals stress the need for more fundamental alterations in the social system. Liberals and radicals believe that people are basically good.

Radicals believe that people are inherently industrious and creative. Like conservatives, radicals regard hard work as a virtue. Radicals regard the conservatives' traditional family perspective as oppressive and as a distortion of both male and female talents. Radicals, along with most liberals, favor equal rights and equal pay, day-care centers and job sharing. Radicals see the social system as a class hierarchy in which on class has predominant power and uses it to control the others. They believe that fairness is unattainable in the present system.

Fairness can be achieved only if society redistributes wealth and power. For radicals, the only way to prevent inequality is to change society completely. Radicals also see that tinkering with government is inadequate. They feel that complete restructuring is necessary.

Research essay sample on Individual Behavior Human Nature