“I’m Socially Liberal but Fiscally Conservative”: A Newburyport Contradiction

I was a pretentious Newburyport middle schooler when I started to parrot the line, “I’m socially liberal but fiscally conservative.” Did I know what it meant? I doubt it. I just knew that was the answer I was supposed to give — not because it was deeply-held family ideology, but because I knew it was the least adversarial answer. Growing up in Newburyport, the term “socially liberal, fiscally conservative” was the standard ideology for many of the peers and adults I interacted with.

During and after college, I began discovering my actual political ideology based on my personal experiences and professional work as a teacher and in a variety of social services roles. In 2021, when I moved back to Newburyport at the age of 30, I assumed the old “socially liberal, fiscally conservative” phrase must have fallen out of vogue here in town. I was wrong, and heard it constantly parroted back to me by other adults and students I worked with.

This popular phrase and mode of self-identification is still alive and well in our community, especially through the recent election. But more than a decade later I’ve come to see it as a myth – a line we recite to ourselves and others, to make us look like nice citizens while making sure everyone knows we have complete faith in the capitalist project of personal wealth and socio-economic status.

Being socially liberal and fiscally conservative is a contradiction reserved for those living in a bubble of opportunities. It is not possible to extricate the social from the fiscal in the fight for human, social, and civil rights. There are very well-meaning people who claim to be socially liberal, but what does that mean, anyway? To most, I would guess it means you will (maybe) correct your friend if they use a racial slur. You probably beam with pride at the LGBTQ+ flag hanging off the church on Pleasant St., and feel encouraged by any indicator that Newburyport is becoming more diverse. These are all issues worthy of support. But truly supporting them means money and time ought to be spent on them.

Now, what does “fiscally conservative” imply? Well, usually that these liberal social projects aren’t worth our tax dollars. It means that budget deficits are more important than a social safety net, and that high taxes are a sign of government tyranny, no matter how many social programs they fund or hungry mouths they feed. If that’s your economic position, you’re certainly entitled to it. But don’t dishonestly pay lip service to progressive causes while voting against the interests of those causes for economic reasons.

I think there needs to be a reframing of these ideas in our community. To me, funding social initiatives is worth it. Paying for a child to get the services they need is worth it. Ensuring my reproductive rights are protected is worth it. Community initiatives to fund Black-owned businesses are worth it. While verbal support is a great start, socially liberal initiatives take money and hard work to actually come to fruition.

The shame I have felt in voicing this opinion since moving back to the area has been troubling. Maybe that shame is misplaced (I hope it is). I’m not asking you to agree with my policy preferences, only to examine what you actually do care about. It’s okay to admit there are some social causes you can’t fully support because there are other more important issues in your life, or your fiscal ideology simply doesn’t allow room for funding them. I’m just asking everyone to be honest with themselves.

Lydia Jones
Newburyport resident

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