"Liberalism" is basically the ideals based on freedom as pure as it can be, and as little limitations as possible. Whether that be in a highly futuristic style or by walking around in bear skins is irrelevant. Conservatism.... derived from "conserve" the word already says is, is about rejecting the new, and conserving the old. Progression is of course also a political direction... However sometimes even to the level that progression becomes a goal on its own, which is also not a good thing.
In the end neither liberalism nor social-democracy (which is closer to the opposite of liberalism, and even much "lefter" if that is an actual word. It does not yet go as far as socialism and communism) won't save us. Neither will progression nor conservatism. All of these have their pros and their cons, and in the end it all comes down to moderation. Knowing the limits of everything as nothing can exist without a limit.
In the end I like the motto on the Belgian Coat of Arms. In Dutch "Eendracht maakt macht" and in French "L'union fait la force" (the two biggest language groups in Belgium, although there's also a minority speaking German there). In both languages the motto is translated to English as "Unity makes power". A wise proverb that we even see in fictional works. Remember Elrond say in Lord of the Rings: "You will unite, or you will fall"?
I remember a movie in which a guy wanted to destroy both the US and Russia and he said "Why would I destroy America and Russia myself if I can make them destroy each other?" Same can be said within the US alone. Why destroy the US when you can make the Americans destroy it themselves, just by dividing in "liberals" and "conservatives" (while the words are not even fully used in the correct context, but that doesn't matter, as long as they are divided). If people wonder why Putin is suspected of using internet trolls to cause division in both the US and the EU, well, there you have it. He does have a motive to do so, doesn't he?
It was a bit disgusting in the 2016 election to see Trump depict Hillary Clinton as a potential enemy of state #1, and how Clinton was not able than to do better than to fight Trump rather than to show her political agenda, making her equally guilty as her opponent.
I think a good future will be there when all political parties, though not in full agreement, can at least listen to each other... And hey, perhaps you should look up the Dutch "polder model" that the Dutch are very proud of. 😎
