Short Formula
The camps differ not only in how often they introduce new distinctions, but also in how they fix them and who has the authority to legitimize these distinctions.
Three Parameters of Comparison
- Frequency of distinctions: how often a system introduces new boundaries and categories.
- Rigidity of fixation: how far distinctions become obligatory and difficult to challenge.
- Legitimacy of distinctions: who is considered authorized to introduce new distinctions.
Conservative Mode
- Low frequency of new distinctions.
- High stability and rigid fixation of already existing distinctions.
- Infrequent reevaluation, strong reliance on traditional roles, norms, and hierarchies.
Formula: low frequency + high fixation.
Liberal Mode
- High frequency of revision and introduction of new distinctions.
- Dynamic stabilization: new boundaries may quickly become fixed.
- Flexibility does not exclude the emergence of rigid local norms.
Formula: high frequency + medium/sometimes high fixation.
Where the Simple Model Is Wrong
The assertion “liberals are simply flexible, and conservatives are simply rigid” is incomplete.
In practice, liberal modes can also quickly produce and fix strict boundaries (for example, in norms governing permissible utterances and recognition of categories).
A Mechanism Shared by Both Camps
Both conservative and liberal systems mostly offer individuals a ready-made package of distinctions.
The person more often joins an already defined grid than creates distinctions from scratch.
The Third Mode (Outside the Camp Axis)
The Mode of Distinguishing Rather Than Accepting Distinctions
- Distinctions are derived from observation and comparison rather than imported from an ideological package.
- Frequency may be high, but it is determined by analysis rather than by the discipline of a camp.
Conclusion
Working version of the hypothesis:
Liberals and conservatives differ not merely in the frequency of distinctions, but in their mode of generation, fixation, and legitimation; frequency is only one parameter.
The key question of analysis:
Who controls distinctions, the subject or the system?
