Conservative Values
It is time to refocus on just what conservative values are, as the Republicans seem to have forgotten.
As this site makes clear (lots of good references and resources there), "conservatism" is not a blind adherence to the past.
Here, "conservative" is equivalent to "classical liberal", as opposed to the "modern liberal", who takes the opposite view on each of the basic principles.
The six basic conservative principles are:
This is distinguished from modern liberalism, which holds the following six core opposite core beliefs:
As this site makes clear (lots of good references and resources there), "conservatism" is not a blind adherence to the past.
Here, "conservative" is equivalent to "classical liberal", as opposed to the "modern liberal", who takes the opposite view on each of the basic principles.
The six basic conservative principles are:
1. Belief in natural lawInteresting sub-types are discussed in this formulation; for example, those who emphasize points 1 and 2 are social conservatives, whereas those more interested in points 2 and 5 tend to European-style "conservatism", favoring aristocracy.
2. Belief in established institutions
3. Preference for liberty over equality
4. Suspicion of power—and of human nature
5. Belief in exceptionalism
6. Belief in the individual
The first of these principles, the belief in natural law, means simply that conservatives believe in a higher order of things. Good and evil, justice and injustice, rights and responsibilities are not subjective concepts to conservatives. Human beings do not make the laws of morality, nor are rights conferred upon us by governments but rather by a higher power.
[These are the "inalienable rights" that cannot be taken away by any government, no matter how large the majority --RDS]
What conservatives agree upon is that these natural laws exist independently of human beings, and that we are subject to them even more so than written (or "positive") law. The majority of conservatives believe that these natural laws originate with God, whereas a minority believes they exist Platonically, which is to say above God and man.
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The fourth principle that defines conservatives is their suspicion of power and their hatred of big government.
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And yet, what separates conservatives from anarchists is their reluctant concession that government is a necessary evil, as without it the good are often at the mercy of the evil.
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The fifth and sixth beliefs of conservatives are closely related. Conservatives believe in exceptionalism because they do not believe in perfect equality. Conservatives realize that some people inevitably have superior abilities, intelligence, and talents, and they believe that those people have a fundamental right to use and profit from their natural gifts.
While it has become commonplace to regard the exceptional among us as "winners in the lottery of life" who are lifted up by the tired shoulders of average citizens, conservatives believe quite the opposite. Conservatives believe that exceptional people exist to lift us up, to improve our lives, and to give us hope.
This is distinguished from modern liberalism, which holds the following six core opposite core beliefs:
1. Belief in positive lawToo much to summarize here, just explore that site!
2. Faith in progress
3. Preference for equality over liberty
4. Belief in the benevolence of government and individuals
5. Belief in the perfectibility of human beings
6. Belief in the community
posted by RDS at 10:46 PM
3 Comments:
Great summary! And thanks for the link to such an informative site!
I wish you would choose a different word instead of "equality" when you say that conservatives prefer liberty over equality. Perhaps "parity" is a better choice.
Indeed, our founding fathers held that it is self evident that all men are created equal just before stating that liberty is among our inalienable rights. In this sense of equality, as in equal rights and equal protection of the law, I would bet that conservatives hold both equality and liberty equally dear.
"Created Equal" is of course taken as axiomatic, but I think the thrust here is what most concerns the conservative or modern liberal as priorities for public policy and government action.
All the conservative wants to do after noting all men are created equal, is to avoid making policies that would create explicit inequality before the law.
The modern liberal is more concerned, in this formulation, with maintaining equality through time, and thus is interested in seeking out and rectifying (with government power) perceived instances of inequality.
So the liberal may be more inclined to support inheritance taxes, not simply for raising revenue, but to level the playing field, for example. Or for enforcing racial quotas, or for other wealth and power redistribution schemes.
As those actions would conflict with liberty, the conservative is generally strongly opposed to such remedial action.
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