Conservatives believe in self reliance and personal responsibility, Liberals believe in communal reliance and collective responsibility. The flipside is that conservatives sometimes choose to impose their moral sense on others (abortion, homosexuality, etc.) and restrict behaviours that they find distasteful, where liberals often try to do the same on issues they find distasteful (guns, commerce, etc.). It is possible to be a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, or at least social libertarian. I am for dramatically reducing the size and influence of the government at all levels, personal responsibility, and personal liberty. The government has no business in my bedroom, place of business, gun safe, or anywhere else in my life that does not cause tangible harm to another person.