Americans are so oblivious to what ideological labels actually mean that they even identify themselves as adhering to ideologies that they fundamentally disagree with in many respects. For instance, many people call themselves conservative and say they believe in small government. But, when asked about whether government ought to spend more or less on specific programs, they consistently answer that they want more. Are people who call themselves conservative actually conservative if they almost always want government to do more, not less?
