It is a well-known fact that a number of schools of thinking exist in economics, the major ones being neoclassical economics, Keynesian economics, institutional school and monetarism.
Generally speaking, Keynesian economists and institutional school members profess to be liberals, while neoclassical economists and monetarists see themselves as conservatives.
Economic conservatives attach utmost importance to free and competitive markets, favor "small government," regard income disparities as a matter of course, and think it desirable to relax the progressive taxation system and raise the consumption tax rate. Those who follow economic liberalism, on the other hand, insist that imperfections of the market demand governmental interventions through fiscal and monetary policies to eliminate "imbalance" and "instability."