Traditionally American voters have been given a choice between conservatism and liberalism. The Republican Party is labeled "conservative" and the Democratic Party "liberal." In Japan before 1993, when the Liberal Democratic Party lost its monopoly on power, the choice was between conservatism and socialism. For decades Japanese voters had no need to draw a fine line between conservatism and liberalism.
The conservatives see the market as almighty, set great store by self-help and self-responsibility, pursue "small government" and therefore advocate a "low-welfare, low-burden" policy. These are the basic economic principles that support conservatism.
Liberals regard the market as imperfect and therefore maintain that government intervention in the market is necessary to secure economic stability and to correct imbalances. They embrace a "high-welfare, high-burden" policy.