What is the difference between a liberal and a conservative?

I would like this to be a civil discussion. Let’s make the assumption that both liberals and conservative have moral values, but that each group differs in which ones get emphasis.

Let me start things off.

The word conservative comes from conserve and I think that is a useful starting point. Conservatives like to know how everything is classified and are resistant to ambiguity or structural changes. A little bit of this is a good thing. Who would want to live in a world of constant flux where it is impossible to put a label on anything? It is helpful to have traditions that provide some sort of continuity from one generation to the next and give us a cultural identity. We need to have rules of conduct and authority figures to enforce them.

In the extreme, the need to have everything neatly ordered is not such a good thing. People need to be able to express their individual differences. Things tend to exist on a continuum and are resistant to tidy classifications. There is, for example, a whole spectrum between stereotypical male and female behavior. To say that a person becomes a human the moment egg and sperm meet may be a bit of an oversimplification.