Conservatism

Conservatism is a political outlook that seeks to preserve the institutions, customs and values a society has inherited. Conservatives do not usually reject change, but they prefer reform that is slow, practical and rooted in experience. Many describe conservatism less as a fixed doctrine and more as a disposition: a respect for what already works and a caution about plans to rebuild society from first principles. In modern politics the label covers a wide family of parties and movements, from free-market reformers to religious and national traditionalists.

Most historians trace modern conservatism to the Irish-born statesman Edmund Burke. In Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), Burke argued that the revolutionaries were destroying inherited liberties in the name of abstract rights, and he predicted disorder would follow. In continental Europe, thinkers such as Joseph de Maistre defended throne and altar more directly, stressing authority rather than inherited liberty. In the nineteenth century, conservatives in Britain under Benjamin Disraeli embraced social reform and a 'one nation' idea of shared duty between classes. After the Second World War, conservative parties in many democracies accepted the welfare state while defending markets. In the twentieth century, the philosopher Michael Oakeshott described conservatism as a preference for the familiar over the unknown, and the American writer Russell Kirk set out a set of conservative principles centered on moral order and tradition.

Conservatism has many branches. Liberal conservatism combines free markets with respect for established institutions. Social conservatism focuses on family, religion and traditional morality. Fiscal conservatism centers on low taxes, balanced budgets and limited spending. National conservatism stresses sovereignty and national identity. In the United States, neoconservatism and paleoconservatism disagree sharply about foreign intervention, trade and immigration. Christian democracy is a related European tradition that draws on religious social teaching.

Critics on the left argue that conservatism defends existing inequalities of wealth, class, race and gender, and that appeals to tradition can slow needed reforms in civil rights. Libertarian critics argue that conservatives are too willing to use state power to enforce morality and to fund large militaries. Some liberal philosophers argue that conservatism lacks a clear principle for deciding which traditions deserve to be kept. From within the right, some critics argue that mainstream conservative parties have accepted too much change and conserved too little.

Conservative parties have governed in most democracies at some point. Their influence can be seen in policies such as tax reductions, privatization of state industries, tougher criminal justice measures, support for marriage and family through the tax system, and strong defense spending. Conservative governments have also often kept major welfare programs created by their rivals, reflecting the preference for continuity over sudden change.