The difference between Liberals and Conservatives

I believe I have complained before, in a blog about gun control, that its opponents were so fixated on what gun control might lead to, that they were unable to see what the lack of gun control has already led to.

I think we can generalize from that point and say that the Liberal sees his task as acting to solve existing problems, while the Conservative urges us not to act, so as to prevent problems he thinks might result.