The Encyclopedia Britannica defines conservatism as “a preference for the historically inherited rather than the abstract and ideal,” explaining that “conservatives prefer institutions and practices that have evolved gradually and are manifestations of continuity and stability.” In short, this definition holds that conservatives prefer to embrace concrete traditions and oppose “liberal” efforts to “plan society in advance” (using principles derived from reason alone).
But without a historical, political, and cultural frame of reference, this definition tells us little about the principles that conservatism upholds. The established traditions of different cultures vary greatly, and thus “conservatism” means something very different in each culture.
Nowadays a popular perception is that the terms “liberal” and “left” are equivalent to idealism and a bold revolutionary spirit -- “the courage to change,” as some modern politicians have put it. By contrast, many deem the terms “right” or “conservative” synonymous with social reaction or counter-revolution.
But the very term “counter-revolutionary” was invented by the terrorists of the French Revolution to stigmatize their opponents as the latter were being led to the guillotine. The first “counter-revolutionaries” were in fact the very people in whose name the revolution had triumphed, the Catholic peasants of the Vendee. A quarter of a million such enemies of the radical future were slaughtered in the Jacobin Terror of the revolutionary Year II. The peasants of the Vendee were not opposed to the changes of 1789 -- the constitutional reforms of the Monarchy, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the enfranchisement of the Third Estate -- but to the revolutionary dictatorship that followed. It was the new liberated order, the Republic of Virtue and the Cult of Reason (and the Reign of Terror required to make its citizens reasonable and virtuous) that inspired their resistance and made them counter-revolutionary or conservative.
The radical ethos of the French Revolution became the wellspring of a socialist revolt against bourgeois order that culminated in the establishment of the Soviet empire. On the other hand, the libertarian ethos of the American Revolution inspired the conservative opponents of the Soviet tyranny, a counter-revolution based on individual rights, free markets and democratic constitutions. The revolutionary societies that followed this latter path formed an alliance of free nations that would eventually confront the Soviet empire. The Cold War is often presented as a power struggle with no particular historical dimension. But it is more accurately seen as the climactic phase of the conflict between these contending traditions.
When these two traditions confront each other in their historic conflict, liberal and conservative (or left and right) become inverse images. Within the Soviet bloc, “left” signifies counter revolution -- capitalism, liberalism, democracy; “right” means the defense of the conservative status quo (the Marxist dictatorship, communism, socialism). In the West, it is just the opposite: The status quo of the revolution, defended by “conservatives” of the “right,” is liberal, democratic and free.
To be conservative within a revolutionary tradition simply means to conserve the paradigm peculiar to that revolution. To be conservative in the context of the democratic West means to preserve the liberal, individualist and free-market framework that is its historic achievement and to act on the non-utopian premises that are its philosophical foundation. Among the highest values of contemporary conservatism in America are: individual freedom, the rule of law, private property, and limited government.
Conservatism (in its current sense as a phenomenon in Western culture) denies the perfectibility of humanity; it rejects the optimistic notion that human beings can be morally improved through social and political change. Unlike the French Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who characterized the political institutions of his day as “chains” hindering man’s expression of his natural goodness, conservatism assumes that human beings are naturally flawed; that they are prone such vices as selfishness, anarchy, irrationality, and violence. To curb the base and destructive instincts that are part and parcel of the human condition, conservatives advocate a reliance upon traditional political and cultural institutions, without whose restraining power there could be, in their view, no ethical behavior and no responsible use of liberty.
Conservatism (again, in its current sense as a phenomenon in Western culture) began to develop as a distinct political attitude and movement in the late eighteenth century in reaction to the upheavals caused by the French Revolution. The term “conservative” was coined in France after 1815 by supporters of the newly restored Bourbon monarchy. Fifteen years thereafter, the British politician and writer John Wilson Croker used the term to describe the British Tory Party. John Calhoun, a staunch defender of states’ rights in the United States, used the term in the 1830s.
The recognized father of modern conservatism (though he never used the term himself) is the British parliamentarian and political writer Edmund Burke, whose 1790 treatise Reflections on the Revolution in France rejected the violent, untraditional methods of the French Revolution. But Burke was not opposed to social change as a matter of unwavering principle. Indeed, he supported the American Revolution (1775–83), which he considered a justified defense of traditional liberties against King George III’s untraditional tyranny.
In this section of DiscoverTheNetworks, the category titled Conservative / Right: Definition, Nature, Worldview and Goals examines the meaning of conservatism, the premises upon which it is founded, and its political and social objectives.
The category titled Historical Perspectives examines the evolution of conservatism over time, dispelling some popular myths about it in the process.
The category titled Black Conservatives examines the writings and ideas of such notable individuals as Thomas Sowell, Walter E. Williams, Larry Elder, Armstrong Williams, Shelby Steele, and John McWhorter.
The category titled Neo-Conservatism defines this widely misunderstood term. In his January 2, 2003 article, "What the Heck Is a "Neocon"?" (published by the Wall Street Journal), author Max Boot writes: "The original neocons were a band of liberal intellectuals who rebelled against the Democratic Party's leftward drift on defense issues in the 1970s. At first the neocons clustered around Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson, a Democrat, but then they aligned themselves with Ronald Reagan and the Republicans, who promised to confront Soviet expansionism.... This was a movement founded on foreign policy, and it is still here that neoconservatism carries the greatest meaning, even if its original raison d'être -- opposition to communism -- has disappeared...."
The category titled Tactics for Promoting Conservatism explores strategies by which conservative values and principles may be advanced. As David Horowitz puts it in a featured article from this category: "The only way to defeat the left — and I have failed in twenty years of arguing this to persuade conservatives — is to turn the table around and attack their moral self-image. Leftists are in fact the enemies and oppressors of women, children, gays, minorities and the poor, and conservatives should never confront them without reminding them of this fact."
The category titled Philanthropic Generosity of Liberals vs. Conservatives explores the issue of who is more inclined to donate money to charitable causes -- liberals/leftists or conservatives.
The category titled Individual Rights vs. Government Intrusion explores the balance between individual liberty on the one hand, and its erosion by political and judicial forces on the other. This category features resources that discuss governmental influences on such matters as drug legalization, childrearing, childhood education, gun rights, hiring practices, property rights, eating habits, driving habits, smoking, and gambling.
