Conservatism is a
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
,
social
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
, and
political philosophy
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...
that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional
institution
Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...
s, practices, and values.
The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
and
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
in which it appears. In
Western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
, conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as
organized religion
Organized religion, also known as institutional religion, is religion in which belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established. Organized religion is typically characterized by an official doctrine (or dogma), a ...
,
parliamentary government
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
, and
property rights
The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically ...
. Conservatives tend to favor institutions and practices that guarantee stability and evolved gradually.
Adherents of conservatism often oppose modernism and seek a return to traditional values, though different groups of conservatives may choose different traditional values to preserve.
The first established use of the term in a political context originated in 1818 with
François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who had a notable influence on French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocrati ...
during the period of
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* ...
that sought to roll back the policies of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. Historically associated with
right-wing politics
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, author ...
, the term has since been used to describe
a wide range of views.
There is no single set of policies regarded as conservative because the meaning of conservatism depends on what is considered traditional in a given place and time. Conservative thought has varied considerably as it has adapted itself to existing traditions and national cultures. For example, some conservatives advocate for greater
economic intervention
Economic interventionism, sometimes also called state interventionism, is an economic policy position favouring government intervention in the market process with the intention of correcting market failures and promoting the general welfare of ...
, while others advocate for a more ''
laissez faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. A ...
'' free-market economic system. Thus, conservatives from different parts of the world—each upholding their respective traditions—may disagree on a wide range of issues.
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
, an 18th-century politician who opposed the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
but supported the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, is credited as one of the main theorists of conservatism in the 1790s.
Themes
Some political scientists such as
Samuel P. Huntington, see conservatism as situational. Under this definition, conservatives are seen as defending the established institutions of their time. According to
Quintin Hogg, the chairman of the British
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
in 1959: "Conservatism is not so much a philosophy as an attitude, a constant force, performing a timeless function in the development of a free society, and corresponding to a deep and permanent requirement of human nature itself". Conservatism is often used as a generic term to describe a "right-wing viewpoint occupying the political spectrum between
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
and
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
".
Despite the lack of a universal definition, certain themes can be recognised as common across conservative thought.
Tradition
According to
Michael Oakeshott
Michael Joseph Oakeshott FBA (; 11 December 1901 – 19 December 1990) was an English philosopher and political theorist who wrote about philosophy of history, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, philosophy of education, and philosophy of law.F ...
, "To be conservative ... is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the possible, the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the sufficient to the superabundant, the convenient to the perfect, present laughter to utopian bliss." Such traditionalism may be a reflection of trust in time-tested methods of social organisation, giving 'votes to the dead'. Traditions may also be steeped in a sense of identity.
Hierarchy
In contrast to the tradition-based definition of conservatism, some political theorists such as
Corey Robin Corey Robin (born 1967) is an American political theorist, journalist and professor of political science at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has written books on the role of fear in political life, tr ...
define conservatism primarily in terms of a general defense of
social
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
and
economic inequality
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...
. In that way right-wing politics supports the view that certain social orders and hierarchies are inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of
natural law
Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
, economics, or tradition. From this perspective, conservatism is less an attempt to uphold old institutions and more "a meditation on—and theoretical rendition of—the felt experience of having power, seeing it threatened, and trying to win it back". Conversely, some conservatives may argue that they are seeking less to protect their own power than they are seeking to protect "inalienable rights" and promote norms and rules that they believe should stand timeless and eternal, applying to each citizen.
Realism
Conservatism has been called a "philosophy of human imperfection" by
Noël O'Sullivan Noël O'Sullivan is currently Research Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Hull.
He studied at the London School of Economics and Harvard University. In 1967 he joined the Politics Department at Hull University. In 1992 he was gi ...
, reflecting among its adherents a negative view of
human nature
Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...
and pessimism of the potential to improve it through 'utopian' schemes. The "intellectual godfather of the realist right",
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...
, argued that the
state of nature
The state of nature, in moral and political philosophy, religion, social contract theories and international law, is the hypothetical life of people before societies came into existence. Philosophers of the state of nature theory deduce that ther ...
for humans was "poor, nasty, brutish, and short", requiring centralised authority.
Forms
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
incorporates the
classical liberal
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economic ...
view of minimal government intervention in the economy. Individuals should be free to participate in the market and generate wealth without government interference. However, individuals cannot be thoroughly depended on to act responsibly in other spheres of life; therefore, liberal conservatives believe that a strong state is necessary to ensure law and order and social institutions are needed to nurture a sense of duty and responsibility to the nation. Liberal conservatism is a variant of conservatism that is strongly influenced by
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
stances.
As these latter two terms have had different meanings over time and across countries, liberal conservatism also has a wide variety of meanings. Historically, the term often referred to the combination of
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
, which champions ''
laissez-faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...
'' markets, with the classical conservatism concern for established
tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
, respect for authority and religious values. It contrasted itself with
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition
Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture.
Definition
Gabriel Almond defines it as "the particular patt ...
, which supported
freedom for the individual
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...
in both the economic and social spheres.
Over time, the general conservative ideology in many countries adopted fiscally conservative arguments and the term liberal conservatism was replaced with conservatism. This is also the case in countries where liberal economic ideas have been the tradition such as the United States and are thus considered conservative. In other countries where liberal conservative movements have entered the political mainstream, such as
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, the terms liberal and conservative may be synonymous. The liberal conservative tradition in the United States combines the economic
individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...
of the classical liberals with a
Burkean
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS ...
form of conservatism (which has also become part of the
American conservative
Conservatism in the United States is a political and social philosophy based on a belief in limited government, individualism, traditionalism, republicanism, and limited federal governmental power in relation to U.S. states. Conservative ...
tradition, such as in the writings of
Russell Kirk
Russell Amos Kirk (October 19, 1918 – April 29, 1994) was an American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, and literary critic, known for his influence on 20th-century American conservatism. His 1953 book ''The Conservative ...
).
A secondary meaning for the term liberal conservatism that has developed in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
is a combination of more modern conservative (less traditionalist) views with those of
social liberalism
Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...
. This has developed as an opposition to the more
collectivist views of
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
. Often this involves stressing conservative views of
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
economics and belief in individual responsibility, with
communitarian
Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based upon the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relati ...
views on defence of
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
,
environmentalism
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
and support for a limited
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...
. In continental Europe, this is sometimes also translated into English as social conservatism.
Libertarian conservatism
Libertarian conservatism
Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a political and social philosophy that combines conservatism and libertarianism, representing the libertarian wing of conservatism and vice ver ...
describes certain political ideologies most prominently within the United States which combine
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
economic issues with aspects of conservatism. Its four main branches are
constitutionalism
Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law".
Political organizations are constitutional ...
,
paleolibertarianism
Paleolibertarianism (also known as the "Paleo strategy") is a libertarian political activism strategy aimed at uniting libertarians and paleoconservatives. It was developed by American anarcho-capitalist theorists Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockwel ...
,
small government conservatism and
Christian libertarianism
Christian libertarianism is the synthesis of Christian beliefs with libertarian political philosophy, with a focus on beliefs about free will, human nature, and God-given inalienable rights.
As with some other forms of libertarianism, Christi ...
. They generally differ from
paleoconservatives
Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, and traditionalist conservatism. Paleoconservatism's concerns overlap with those of the ...
, in that they favor more
personal
Personal may refer to:
Aspects of persons' respective individualities
* Privacy
* Personality
* Personal, personal advertisement, variety of classified advertisement used to find romance or friendship
Companies
* Personal, Inc., a Washington, ...
and
economic freedom
Economic freedom, or economic liberty, is the ability of people of a society to take economic actions. This is a term used in economic and policy debates as well as in the philosophy of economics. One approach to economic freedom comes from the l ...
.
Agorist
Agorism is a social philosophy that advocates creating a society in which all relations between people are voluntary exchanges by means of counter-economics, engaging with aspects of nonviolent revolution. It was first proposed by American left ...
s such as
Samuel Edward Konkin III
Samuel Edward Konkin III (8 July 1947 – 23 February 2004), also known as SEK3, was an American libertarian philosopher and Austrian school economist. As the author of the publication '' New Libertarian Manifesto'', he was a proponent of a polit ...
labeled libertarian conservatism
right-libertarianism
Right-libertarianism,Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971)"The Left and Right Within Libertarianism" ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. 7 (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the ...
.
In contrast to paleoconservatives, libertarian conservatives support strict ''laissez-faire'' policies such as
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
, opposition to any national bank and opposition to
business regulations. They are vehemently opposed to
environmental regulation
Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental Legal doctrine, legal principles, focu ...
s,
corporate welfare
Corporate welfare is a phrase used to describe a government's bestowal of money grants, tax breaks, or other special favorable treatment for corporations.
The definition of corporate welfare is sometimes restricted to direct government subsidie ...
,
subsidies
A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
and other areas of economic intervention.
Many conservatives, especially in the United States, believe that the government should not play a major role in regulating business and managing the economy. They typically oppose efforts to charge high tax rates and to redistribute income to assist the poor. Such efforts, they argue, only serve to exacerbate the scourge of unemployment and poverty by lessening the ability for businesses to hire employees due to higher tax impositions.
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., ''An ...
is the economic philosophy of prudence in government spending and debt. In his ''
Reflections on the Revolution in France
''Reflections on the Revolution in France'' is a political pamphlet written by the Irish statesman Edmund Burke and published in November 1790. It is fundamentally a contrast of the French Revolution to that time with the unwritten British Const ...
'', Edmund Burke argued that a government does not have the right to run up large debts and then throw the burden on the taxpayer:
is to the property of the citizen, and not to the demands of the creditor of the state, that the first and original faith of civil society is pledged. The claim of the citizen is prior in time, paramount in title, superior in equity. The fortunes of individuals, whether possessed by acquisition or by descent or in virtue of a participation in the goods of some community, were no part of the creditor's security, expressed or implied... e public, whether represented by a monarch or by a senate, can pledge nothing but the public estate; and it can have no public estate except in what it derives from a just and proportioned imposition upon the citizens at large.
National conservatism
National conservatism
National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, ...
is a political term used primarily in Europe to describe a variant of conservatism which concentrates more on national interests than standard conservatism as well as upholding cultural and ethnic identity, while not being outspokenly
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
or supporting a
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
approach. In Europe, national conservatives are usually
eurosceptics
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...
.
National conservatism is heavily oriented towards the traditional
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
and social stability as well as in favour of limiting
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
. As such, national conservatives can be distinguished from economic conservatives, for whom free market economic policies,
deregulation
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
and fiscal conservatism are the main priorities. Some commentators have identified a growing gap between national and economic conservatism: "
st parties of the Right
oday Uday or Odai is a masculine name in Arabic as well as several Indian languages. In many Indian languages it means 'dawn' or 'rise'. The Arabic name (عدي) means 'runner' or 'rising'.
List of people
* Uday Benegal, Indian musician
* Uday Pratap S ...
are run by economic conservatives who, in varying degrees, have marginalized social, cultural, and national conservatives". National conservatism is also related to
traditionalist conservatism
Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain natural laws to which society should adhere ...
.
Traditionalist conservatism
Traditionalist conservatism is a political philosophy emphasizing the need for the principles of
natural law
Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
and transcendent moral order,
tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
,
hierarchy
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
and
organic unity
Organic unity is the idea that a thing is made up of interdependent parts. For example, a body is made up of its constituent organs, and a society is made up of its constituent social roles.
Overview
Organic unity was propounded by the philosophe ...
,
agrarianism
Agrarianism is a political and social philosophy that has promoted subsistence agriculture, smallholdings, and egalitarianism, with agrarian political parties normally supporting the rights and sustainability of small farmers and poor peasants ...
,
classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...
and
high culture
High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society cons ...
as well as the intersecting spheres of loyalty. Some traditionalists have embraced the labels "
reactionary
In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...
" and "
counterrevolution
A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...
ary", defying the stigma that has attached to these terms since the
Enlightenment. Having a hierarchical view of society, many traditionalist conservatives, including a few Americans (notable examples including
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partner ...
,
Solange Hertz,
William S. Lind
William S. Lind (born July 9, 1947) is an American conservative author, described as being aligned with paleoconservatism. He is the author of many books and one of the first proponents of fourth-generation warfare (4GW) theory and is the Direct ...
, &
Charles A. Coulombe
Roy-Charles A. Coulombe (born November 8, 1960), known as Charles Coulombe, is an American Catholic author, historian, and lecturer. Coulombe is known for his advocacy of monarchism.
Early life and education
Coulombe was born in Manhattan on ...
), defend the
monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), ...
political structure as the most natural and beneficial social arrangement.
Cultural conservatism
Cultural conservative
Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultu ...
s support the preservation of the heritage of one nation, or of a shared culture that is not defined by national boundaries. The shared culture may be as divergent as
Western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
or
Chinese culture
Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
. In the United States, the term "cultural conservative" may imply a conservative position in the
culture war
A culture war is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal value ...
. Cultural conservatives hold fast to traditional ways of thinking even in the face of monumental change. They believe strongly in traditional values and traditional politics and often have an urgent sense of nationalism.
Social conservatism
Social conservatism
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institutio ...
is distinct from cultural conservatism, although there are some overlaps. Social conservatives may believe that society is built upon a fragile network of relationships which need to be upheld through duty, traditional values and established institutions; and that the government has a role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviours. A social conservative wants to preserve traditional morality and social mores, often by opposing what they consider radical policies or
social engineering Social engineering may refer to:
* Social engineering (political science), a means of influencing particular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale
* Social engineering (security), obtaining confidential information by manipulating and/or ...
. Social change is generally regarded as suspect.
Social conservatives today generally favour the
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
position in the
abortion controversy and oppose human
embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre- implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consi ...
research (particularly if publicly funded); oppose both
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
and
human enhancement
Human enhancement (HE) can be described as the natural, artificial, or technological alteration of the human body in order to enhance physical or mental capabilities.
Technologies
Existing technologies
Three forms of human enhancement curre ...
(
transhumanism
Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition.
Transhuma ...
) while supporting
bioconservatism; support a traditional definition of marriage as being one man and one woman; view the
nuclear family
A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger ...
model as society's foundational unit; oppose expansion of
civil marriage
A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religion, religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular.
History
Every country maintai ...
and
child adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
to couples in
same-sex relationship
A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries w ...
s; promote
public morality
Public morality refers to moral and ethical standards enforced in a society, by law or police work or social pressure, and applied to public life, to the content of the media, and to conduct in public places. A famous remark of Mrs Patrick Ca ...
and traditional
family values
Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals.
In the social sciences and U.S. political discourse, the conventi ...
; oppose
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
, especially militant atheism, and
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
;
support the prohibition of
drugs
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...
,
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
and
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eut ...
; and support the
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
of
pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, and what they consider to be
obscenity
An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...
or
indecency
Inappropriateness refers to standards or ethics that are typically viewed as being negative in a society. It differs from things that are illicit in that inappropriate behavior does not necessarily have any accompanying legal ramifications.
Co ...
.
Religious conservatism
![Marche pour la vie 2012 - 6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Marche_pour_la_vie_2012_-_6.jpg)
Religious conservatism principally applies the teachings of particular religions to politics: sometimes by merely proclaiming the value of those teachings; at other times, by having those teachings influence laws.
In most democracies, political conservatism seeks to uphold traditional family structures and social values. Religious conservatives typically oppose abortion,
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
behavior (or, in certain cases, identity), drug use, and sexual activity outside of marriage. In some cases, conservative values are grounded in religious beliefs, and conservatives seek to increase the role of religion in public life.
Paternalistic conservatism
Paternalistic conservatism is a strand in conservatism which reflects the belief that societies exist and develop organically and that members within them have obligations towards each other. There is particular emphasis on the
paternalistic obligation of those who are
privileged and
wealth
Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the ...
y to the
poorer parts of society. Since it is consistent with principles such as
organicism
Organicism is the philosophical position that states that the universe and its various parts (including human societies) ought to be considered alive and naturally ordered, much like a living organism.Gilbert, S. F., and S. Sarkar. 2000. "Embraci ...
,
hierarchy
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
and
duty
A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...
, it can be seen as an outgrowth of
traditional conservatism
Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain natural laws to which society should adhere ...
. Paternal conservatives support neither the
individual
An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own Maslow ...
nor the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
in principle, but are instead prepared to support either or recommend a balance between the two depending on what is most practical. Paternalistic conservatives historically favor a more
aristocratic
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word's ...
view (as opposed to the more monarchist traditionalist conservatism) and are ideologically related to
High Tories
In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, High Toryism is the old traditionalist conservatism which is in line with the Toryism originating in the 17th century. High Tories and their worldview are sometimes at odds with the modernising elements of the ...
.
In more contemporary times, its proponents stress the importance of a
social safety net
The social safety net (SSN) consists of non-contributory assistance existing to improve lives of vulnerable families and individuals experiencing poverty and destitution. Examples of SSNs are previously-contributory social pensions, in-kind and fo ...
to deal with
poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
, support for limited
redistribution of wealth
Redistribution of income and wealth is the transfer of income and wealth (including physical property) from some individuals to others through a social mechanism such as taxation, welfare, public services, land reform, monetary policies, confisc ...
along with government regulation of markets in the interests of both consumers and producers.
[Patrick Dunleavy, Paul Joseph Kelly, Michael Moran. ''British Political Science: Fifty Years of Political Studies''. Oxford, England, UK; Malden, Massachusetts, US: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000. pp. 107–108] Paternalistic conservatism first arose as a distinct ideology in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
under Prime Minister
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
's "
One Nation"
Toryism
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
.
There have been a variety of one nation conservative governments. In the United Kingdom, the Prime Ministers Disraeli,
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...
,
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...
, Winston Churchill, and Harold Macmillan were or are one nation conservatives.
In Germany, during the 19th-century Chancellor of Germany, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck adopted policies of state-organized compulsory insurance for workers against sickness, accident, incapacity and old age. Chancellor Leo von Caprivi promoted a conservative agenda called the "New Course".
Progressive conservatism
In the United States, Theodore Roosevelt has been the main figure identified with progressive conservatism as a political tradition. Roosevelt stated that he had "always believed that wise progressivism and wise conservatism go hand in hand".
The Republican Party (United States), Republican administration of President William Howard Taft was a progressive conservative and he described himself as "a believer in progressive conservatism"
[Jonathan Lurie. William Howard Taft: The Travails of a Progressive Conservative. New York, New York, US: Cambridge University Press, 2012. p.196] and President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared himself an advocate of "progressive conservatism".
In Canada, a variety of conservative governments have been part of the Red Tory tradition, with Canada's former major conservative party being named the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1942 to 2003.
[Hugh Segal. The Right Balance. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: Douglas & McIntyre, 2011. pp. 113–148] In Canada, the Prime Ministers Arthur Meighen, R. B. Bennett, John Diefenbaker, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney, and Kim Campbell led Red tory federal governments.
Authoritarian conservatism
Authoritarian conservatism or reactionary conservatism refers to autocratic regimes that center their ideology around conservative nationalism, rather than ethnic nationalism, though certain racial components such as antisemitism may exist. Authoritarian conservative movements show strong devotion towards religion, tradition and culture while also expressing fervent nationalism akin to other far-right nationalist movements. Examples of authoritarian conservative leaders include António de Oliveira Salazar and Engelbert Dollfuss. Authoritarian conservative movements were prominent in the same era as fascism, with which it sometimes clashed. Although both ideologies shared core values such as nationalism and had common enemies such as communism and materialism, there was nonetheless a contrast between the traditionalist nature of authoritarian conservatism and the revolutionary, Palingenetic ultranationalism, palingenetic and populist nature of fascism—thus it was common for authoritarian conservative regimes to suppress rising fascist and National Socialism, National Socialist movements. The hostility between the two ideologies is highlighted by the struggle for power for the Austrian National Socialism, National Socialists in Austria, which was marked by the assassination of Engelbert Dollfuss.
Sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset has examined the class basis of right-wing extremist politics in the 1920–1960 era. He reports:
Conservative or rightist extremist movements have arisen at different periods in modern history, ranging from the Miklós Horthy, Horthyites in Hungary, the Engelbert Dollfuss, Christian Social Party of Dollfuss in Austria, ''Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten, Der Stahlhelm'' and other nationalists in pre-Hitler Germany, and António de Oliveira Salazar, Salazar in Portugal, to the pre-1966 Gaullist movements and the monarchists in contemporary France and Italy. The right extremists are conservative, not revolutionary. They seek to change political institutions in order to preserve or restore cultural and economic ones, while extremists of the Centrism, centre and Left-wing politics, left seek to use political means for cultural and social revolution. The ideal of the right extremist is not a totalitarian ruler, but a monarch, or a traditionalist who acts like one. Many such movements in Spain, Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Italy-have been explicitly monarchist... The supporters of these movements differ from those of the centrists, tending to be wealthier, and more religious, which is more important in terms of a potential for mass support.
History
History of conservative thought
In Great Britain, the Tory movement during the Restoration (England), Restoration period (1660–1688) was a precursor to conservatism. Toryism supported a hierarchical society with a monarch who ruled by Divine right of kings, divine right. However, Tories (British political party), Tories differ from conservatives in that they opposed the idea that sovereignty derived from the people and rejected the authority of parliament and freedom of religion. Robert Filmer's ''Patriarcha: or the Natural Power of Kings'' (published posthumously in 1680, but written before the English Civil War of 1642–1651) became accepted as the statement of their doctrine. However, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 destroyed this principle to some degree by establishing a constitutional government in England, leading to the hegemony of the Tory-opposed Whigs (British political party), Whig ideology. Faced with defeat, the Tories reformed their movement. They adopted more conservative positions, such as holding that sovereignty was vested in the three estates of Crown, Lords, and Commons rather than solely in the Crown. Richard Hooker (1554–1600), George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, Marquess of Halifax (1633–1695) and David Hume (1711-1776) were proto-conservatives of the period. Halifax promoted pragmatism in government whilst Hume argued against political rationalism and utopianism.
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
(1729–1797) has been widely regarded as the philosophical founder of conservatism. Burke served as the private secretary to the Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Marquis of Rockingham and as official pamphleteer to the Rockingham Whigs, Rockingham branch of the Whig party. Together with the Tories, they were the conservatives in the late 18th century United Kingdom. Burke's views were a mixture of conservatism and republicanism. He supported the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
of 1775–1783 but abhorred the violence of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
(1789–1799). He accepted the conservative ideals of private property and the economics of Adam Smith (1723–1790), but thought that economics should remain subordinate to the conservative social ethic, that capitalism should be subordinate to the medieval social tradition and that the business class should be subordinate to aristocracy. He insisted on standards of honor derived from the medieval aristocratic tradition and saw the aristocracy as the nation's natural leaders. That meant limits on the powers of the Crown, since he found the institutions of Parliament to be better informed than commissions appointed by the executive. He favored an established church, but allowed for a degree of religious toleration. Burke ultimately justified the social order on the basis of tradition: tradition represented the wisdom of the species and he valued community and social harmony over social reforms.
![Cogordan - Joseph de Maistre, 1894 (page 12 crop)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Cogordan_-_Joseph_de_Maistre%2C_1894_%28page_12_crop%29.jpg)
Another form of conservatism developed in France in parallel to conservatism in Britain. It was influenced by Counter-Enlightenment works by men such as Joseph de Maistre (1753–1821) and Louis de Bonald (1754–1840). Many continental conservatives do not support separation of church and state, with most supporting state recognition of and cooperation with the Catholic Church in France, Catholic Church, such as had existed in France before the Revolution. Conservatives were also early to embrace nationalism, which was previously associated with liberalism and the Revolution in France. Another early French conservative,
François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who had a notable influence on French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocrati ...
(1768–1848), espoused a Romanticism, romantic opposition to modernity, contrasting its emptiness with the 'full heart' of traditional faith and loyalty. Elsewhere on the continent, German thinkers Justus Möser (1720–1794) and Friedrich von Gentz (1764–1832) criticized the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen that came of the Revolution. Opposition was also expressed by Adam Müller (1779–1829) and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1771–1830), the latter inspiring both left and right-wing followers.
Both Burke and Maistre were critical and skeptical of democracy in general, though their reasons differed. Maistre was pessimistic about humans being able to follow rules, while Burke was skeptical about humans' innate ability to make rules. For Maistre, rules had a divine origin, while Burke believed they arose from custom. The lack of custom for Burke, and the lack of divine guidance for Maistre, meant that people would act in terrible ways. Both also believed that liberty of the wrong kindled to bewilderment and political breakdown. Their ideas would together flow into a stream of anti-rationalist, romantic conservatism, but would still stay separate. Whereas Burke was more open to argumentation and disagreement, Maistre wanted faith and authority, leading to a more illiberal strain of thought.
History of conservative parties and movements
Conservative political parties vary widely from country to country in the goals they wish to achieve. Both conservative and liberal parties tend to favor private ownership of property, in opposition to communist, socialist and green parties, which favor communal ownership or laws requiring social responsibility on the part of property owners. Where conservatives and liberals differ is primarily on social issues. Conservatives tend to reject behavior that does not conformity, conform to some social norm. Modern conservative parties often define themselves by their opposition to liberal or labor parties. The United States usage of the term "conservative" is unique to that country.
In Italy, which was united by liberals and radicals (''Risorgimento''), liberals, not conservatives, emerged as the party of the right. In the Netherlands, conservatives merged into a new Christian democratic party in 1980. In Austria, Germany, Portugal and Spain, conservatism was transformed into and incorporated into fascism or the
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
. In 1940, all Japanese parties were merged into a single fascist party. Following the war, Japanese conservatives briefly returned to politics, but were largely purged from public office.
Conservative elites have long dominated Latin American nations. Mostly, this has been achieved through control of and support for civil institutions, the church and the armed forces, rather than through party politics. Typically, the church was exempt from taxes and its employees immune from civil prosecution. Where national conservative parties were weak or non-existent, conservatives were more likely to rely on military dictatorship as a preferred form of government. However, in some nations where the elites were able to mobilize popular support for conservative parties, longer periods of political stability were achieved. Chile, Colombia and Venezuela are examples of nations that developed strong conservative parties. Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador and Peru are examples of nations where this did not occur. The Conservative Party of Venezuela disappeared following the Federal Wars of 1858–1863. Chile's conservative party, the National Party (Chile, 1966–1973), National Party, disbanded in 1973 following a military coup and did not re-emerge as a political force following the subsequent return to democracy. Louis Hartz explained conservatism in Quebec and Latin America as a result of their settlement as feudal societies. The American conservative writer
Russell Kirk
Russell Amos Kirk (October 19, 1918 – April 29, 1994) was an American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, and literary critic, known for his influence on 20th-century American conservatism. His 1953 book ''The Conservative ...
provided the opinion that conservatism had been brought to the United States and interpreted the American Revolution as a "conservative revolution".
Historic conservatism in different countries
Although political conservatism developed in most countries, most countries did not have conservative parties. Many conservatives parties disappeared as the reasons for their existence disappeared. Below are listed the historic conservative parties that survive today.
Belgium
Having its roots in the conservative Catholic Party (Belgium), Catholic Party, the Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams, Christian People's Party retained a conservative edge through the twentieth century, supporting the king in the Royal Question, supporting
nuclear family
A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger ...
as the cornerstone of society, defending Christian education, and opposing
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eut ...
. The Christian People's Party dominated politics in post-war Belgium. In 1999, the party's support collapsed, and it became the country's fifth-largest party. Currently, the New Flemish Alliance, N-VA (nieuw-vlaamse alliantie/New Flemish Alliance) is the largest party in Belgium.
Canada
Canada's conservatives had their roots in the Tory loyalists who left America after the American Revolution. They developed in the socio-economic and political cleavages that existed during the first three decades of the 19th century and had the support of the business, professional and established Church (Anglican) elites in Ontario and to a lesser extent in Quebec. Holding a monopoly over administrative and judicial offices, they were called the "Family Compact" in Ontario and the "Chateau Clique" in Quebec. John A. Macdonald's successful leadership of the movement to confederate the provinces and his subsequent tenure as prime minister for most of the late 19th century rested on his ability to bring together the English-speaking Protestant oligarchy and the ultramontane Catholic hierarchy of Quebec and to keep them united in a conservative coalition.
The conservatives combined Economic liberalism, pro-market liberalism and
Toryism
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
. They generally supported an activist government and state intervention in the marketplace and their policies were marked by ''noblesse oblige'', a paternalistic responsibility of the elites for the less well-off. From 1942, the party was known as the Progressive Conservatives until 2003, when the national party merged with the Canadian Alliance to form the Conservative Party of Canada.
The conservative and Autonomism in Quebec, autonomist Union Nationale (Quebec), Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, governed the province of Quebec in periods from 1936 to 1960 and in a close alliance with the Catholic Church, small rural elites, farmers and business elites. This period, known by liberals as the Grande Noirceur, Great Darkness, ended with the Quiet Revolution and the party went into terminal decline. By the end of the 1960s, the political debate in Quebec centered around the question of independence, opposing the Social democracy, social democratic and Quebec sovereignty movement, sovereignist Parti Québécois and the Centrism, centrist and Federalism in Quebec, federalist Quebec Liberal Party, therefore marginalizing the conservative movement. Most French Canadian conservatives rallied either the Quebec Liberal Party or the Parti Québécois, while some of them still tried to offer an autonomist third-way with what was left of the Union Nationale (Quebec), Union Nationale or the more Populism, populists Ralliement créditiste du Québec and Parti national populaire, but by the 1981 Quebec general election, 1981 provincial election politically organized conservatism had been obliterated in Quebec. It slowly started to revive at the 1994 Quebec general election, 1994 provincial election with the Action démocratique du Québec, who served as Parliamentary opposition, Official opposition in the National Assembly of Quebec, National Assembly from 2007 to 2008, before its merger with François Legault, François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec in 2012, that took power in 2018.
The modern Conservative Party of Canada has rebranded conservatism and under the leadership of Stephen Harper, the Conservative Party added more conservative policies.
Colombia
The Colombian Conservative Party, founded in 1849, traces its origins to opponents of General Francisco de Paula Santander's 1833–1837 administration. While the term "liberal" had been used to describe all political forces in Colombia, the conservatives began describing themselves as "conservative liberals" and their opponents as "red liberals". From the 1860s until the present, the party has supported strong central government; supported the Catholic Church, especially its role as protector of the sanctity of the family; and opposed separation of church and state. Its policies include the legal equality of all men, the citizen's right to own property and opposition to dictatorship. It has usually been Colombia's second largest party, with the Colombian Liberal Party being the largest.
Denmark
Founded in 1915, the Conservative People's Party (Denmark), Conservative People's Party of Denmark was the successor of ''Højre'' (literally "Right-wing politics, Right"). Another Danish conservative party was the Free Conservatives who were active between 1902 and 1920. The Conservative People's Party led the government coalition from 1982 to 1993. The party had previously been member of various governments from 1916 to 1917, 1940 to 1945, 1950 to 1953 and 1968 to 1971. The party was a junior partner in coalition with the Venstre (Denmark), Liberals from 2001 to 2011. The party is preceded by 11 years by the Young Conservatives (Denmark), Young Conservatives (KU), today the youth movement of the party. The party suffered a major defeat in the parliamentary elections of September 2011 in which the party lost more than half of its seat and also lost governmental power. A liberal cultural policy dominated during the post-war period. However, by the 1990s, disagreements regarding immigrants from entirely different cultures ignited a conservative backlash. In 2015 Nye Borgerlige (The New Right) was founded promoting themselves as “true conservatives” and claiming that the Conservative People's Party had left its 'original values' behind. Since January 2021 though the Danish Opinion polls has often shown the Conservative People's Party to be the second most popular political party in Denmark among the Danish electorates. The conservative parties in Denmark have always considered the Monarchy of Denmark, monarchy as a central institution in Denmark.
Finland
The conservative party in Finland is the National Coalition Party (in Finnish ''Kansallinen Kokoomus'', ''Kok''). The party was founded in 1918 when several monarchist parties united. Although in the past the party was right-wing, today it is a moderate liberal conservative party. While the party advocates
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
, it is committed to the social market economy.
France
Conservatism in France focused on the rejection of the secularism of the French Revolution, support for the role of the Catholic Church and the restoration of the monarchy. The monarchist cause was on the verge of victory in the 1870s, but then collapsed because the proposed king, Henri, Count of Chambord, refused to fly the tri-colored flag. Religious tensions heightened in the 1890–1910 era, but moderated after the spirit of unity in fighting the First World War. An extreme form of conservatism characterized the Vichy France, Vichy regime of 1940–1944 with heightened antisemitism, opposition to individualism, emphasis on family life and national direction of the economy.
Following the Second World War, conservatives in France supported Gaullist groups and have been nationalistic and emphasized tradition, order and the regeneration of France. Gaullists held divergent views on social issues. The number of conservative groups, their lack of stability and their tendency to be identified with local issues defy simple categorization. Conservatism has been the major political force in France since the Second World War. Unusually, post-war French conservatism was formed around the personality of a leader, Charles de Gaulle; and did not draw on traditional French conservatism, but on the Bonapartism tradition. Gaullism in France continues under The Republicans (France), The Republicans (formerly Union for a Popular Movement), which was previously led by Nicolas Sarkozy, a conservative figure in France (see Sinistrisme). The word "conservative" itself is a term of abuse to many people in France.
Greece
The main inter-war conservative party was called the People's Party (Greece), People's Party (PP), which supported Greek monarchy, constitutional monarchy and opposed the Second Hellenic Republic, republican Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party. Both it and the Liberal party were suppressed by the authoritarian, arch-conservative and royalist 4th of August Regime of Ioannis Metaxas in 1936–1941. The PP was able to re-group after the Second World War as part of a United Nationalist Front which achieved power campaigning on a simple anticommunist, ultranationalist platform during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). However, the vote received by the PP declined during the so-called "Centrist Interlude" in 1950–1952. In 1952, Marshal Alexandros Papagos created the Greek Rally as an umbrella for the right-wing forces. The Greek Rally came to power in 1952 and remained the leading party in Greece until 1963—after Papagos' death in 1955 reformed as the National Radical Union under Konstantinos Karamanlis. Right-wing governments backed by the palace and the army overthrew the Centre Union government in 1965 and governed the country until the establishment of the far-right Greek junta (1967–1974). After the metapolitefsi, regime's collapse in August 1974, Karamanlis returned from exile to lead the government and founded the New Democracy (Greece), New Democracy party. The new conservative party had four objectives: to confront Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Turkish expansionism in Cyprus, to reestablish and solidify democratic rule, to give the country a strong government and to make a powerful moderate party a force in Greek politics.
The Independent Greeks, a newly formed political party in Greece, has also supported conservatism, particularly National conservatism, national and religious conservatism. The Founding Declaration of the Independent Greeks strongly emphasises in the preservation of the Greek state and its sovereignty, the Greek people and the Greek Orthodox Church.
Iceland
Founded in 1924 as the Conservative Party (Iceland), Conservative Party, Iceland's Independence Party (Iceland), Independence Party adopted its current name in 1929 after the merger with the Liberal Party (Iceland, historical), Liberal Party. From the beginning, they have been the largest vote-winning party, averaging around 40%. They combined liberalism and conservatism, supported nationalization of infrastructure and opposed class conflict. While mostly in opposition during the 1930s, they embraced
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
, but accepted the welfare state after the war and participated in governments supportive of state intervention and protectionism. Unlike other Scandanivian conservative (and liberal) parties, it has always had a large working-class following. After the financial crisis in 2008, the party has sunk to a lower support level around 20–25%.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg's major conservative party, the Christian Social People's Party (CSV or PCS), was formed as the Party of the Right in 1914 and adopted its present name in 1945. It was consistently the largest political party in Luxembourg, and dominated politics throughout the 20th century.
Norway
The Conservative Party (Norway), Conservative Party of Norway (Norwegian: Høyre, literally "Right-wing politics, right") was formed by the old upper class of state officials and wealthy merchants to fight the populist democracy of the Liberal Party (Norway), Liberal Party, but lost power in 1884, when parliamentarian government was first practised. It formed its first government under parliamentarism in 1889 and continued to alternate in power with the Liberals until the 1930s, when Labour became the dominant political party. It has elements both of paternalism, stressing the responsibilities of the state, and of economic liberalism. It first returned to power in the 1960s. During Kåre Willoch#Premiership, Kåre Willoch's premiership in the 1980s, much emphasis was laid on liberalizing the credit and housing market, and abolishing the NRK TV and radio monopoly, while supporting Law and order (politics), law and order in criminal justice and traditional norms in education
Sweden
Sweden's conservative party, the Moderate Party, was formed in 1904, two years after the founding of the Liberals (Sweden)#History, Liberal Party. The party emphasizes tax reductions, deregulation of private enterprise and privatization of schools, hospitals, and kindergartens.
Switzerland
There are a number of conservative parties in Switzerland's parliament, the Federal Assembly. These include the largest, the Swiss People's Party (SVP),
the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland, Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP)
and the Conservative Democratic Party of Switzerland (BDP),
which is a splinter of the SVP created in the aftermath to the election of Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf as Federal Council.
The right-wing parties have a majority in the Federal Assembly (Switzerland), Federal Assembly.
The Swiss People's Party (SVP or UDC) was formed from the 1971 merger of the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents, Party of Farmers, Traders and Citizens, formed in 1917 and the smaller Swiss Democratic Party, formed in 1942. The SVP emphasized agricultural policy and was strong among farmers in German-speaking Protestant areas. As Switzerland considered closer relations with the European Union in the 1990s, the SVP adopted a more militant protectionist and isolationist stance. This stance has allowed it to expand into German-speaking Catholic mountainous areas. The Anti-Defamation League, a non-Swiss lobby group based in the United States has accused them of manipulating issues such as immigration, Swiss neutrality and welfare benefits, awakening antisemitism and racism. The Council of Europe has called the SVP "extreme right", although some scholars dispute this classification. For instance, Hans-Georg Betz describes it as "populist radical right". The SVP is the largest party since 2003.
Ukraine
Authoritarian Ukrainian State headed by Pavlo Skoropadskyi represented the conservative movement. The 1918 Hetman of Ukraine, Hetman government, which appealed to the tradition of the 17th–18th century Cossack Hetmanate, Cossack Hetman state, represented the conservative strand in Ukraine's struggle for independence. It had the support of the proprietary classes and of conservative and moderate political groups. Vyacheslav Lypynsky was a main ideologue of Ukrainian conservatism.
United Kingdom
According to historian James Sack, English conservatives celebrate
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
who was Irish, as their intellectual father. Burke was affiliated with the Whigs (British political party), Whig Party which eventually became the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party, but the modern
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
is generally thought to derive from the Tories (British political party), Tory party and the MPs of the modern conservative party are still frequently referred to as Tories.
Shortly after Burke's death in 1797, conservatism revived as a mainstream political force as the Whigs suffered a series of internal divisions. This new generation of conservatives derived their politics not from Burke, but from his predecessor, the Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, Viscount Bolingbroke (1678–1751), who was a Jacobite and traditional Tory, lacking Burke's sympathies for Whiggish policies such as Catholic emancipation and American Revolution, American independence (famously attacked by Samuel Johnson in "Taxation No Tyranny"). In the first half of the 19th century, many newspapers, magazines, and journals promoted loyalist or right-wing attitudes in religion, politics and international affairs. Burke was seldom mentioned, but William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806) became a conspicuous hero. The most prominent journals included ''The Quarterly Review'', founded in 1809 as a counterweight to the Whigs' ''Edinburgh Review'' and the even more conservative ''Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine''. Sack finds that the ''Quarterly Review'' promoted a balanced Canningite toryism as it was neutral on Catholic emancipation and only mildly critical of Nonconformist Dissent; it opposed slavery and supported the current poor laws; and it was "aggressively imperialist". The high-church clergy of the Church of England read the ''Orthodox Churchman's Magazine'' which was equally hostile to Jewish, Catholic, Jacobin, Methodist and Unitarianism, Unitarian spokesmen. Anchoring the ultra Tories, ''Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine'' stood firmly against Catholic emancipation and favoured slavery, cheap money, mercantilism, the Navigation Acts and the Holy Alliance.
Conservatism evolved after 1820, embracing free trade in 1846 and a commitment to democracy, especially under Disraeli. The effect was to significantly strengthen conservatism as a grassroots political force. Conservatism no longer was the philosophical defense of the landed aristocracy, but had been refreshed into redefining its commitment to the ideals of order, both secular and religious, expanding imperialism, strengthened monarchy and a more generous vision of the welfare state as opposed to the punitive vision of the Whigs and liberals. As early as 1835, Disraeli attacked the Whigs and utilitarians as slavishly devoted to an industrial oligarchy, while he described his fellow Tories as the only "really democratic party of England" and devoted to the interests of the whole people. Nevertheless, inside the party there was a tension between the growing numbers of wealthy businessmen on the one side and the aristocracy and rural gentry on the other. The aristocracy gained strength as businessmen discovered they could use their wealth to buy a peerage and a country estate.
Although conservatives opposed attempts to allow greater representation of the middle class in parliament, they conceded that electoral reform could not be reversed and promised to support further reforms so long as they did not erode the institutions of church and state. These new principles were presented in the Tamworth Manifesto of 1834, which historians regard as the basic statement of the beliefs of the new Conservative Party.
![Rishi Sunak and Jane Hartley (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Rishi_Sunak_and_Jane_Hartley_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Some conservatives lamented the passing of a pastoral world where the ethos of ''noblesse oblige'' had promoted respect from the lower classes. They saw the Anglican Church and the aristocracy as balances against commercial wealth. They worked toward legislation for improved working conditions and urban housing. This viewpoint would later be called Tory democracy. However, since Burke, there has always been tension between traditional aristocratic conservatism and the wealthy business class.
In 1834, Tory Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Robert Peel issued the Tamworth Manifesto in which he pledged to endorse moderate political reform. This marked the beginning of the transformation of British conservatism from High Tory reactionism towards a more modern form based on "conservation". The party became known as the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
as a result, a name it has retained to this day. However, Peel would also be the root of a split in the party between the traditional Tories (by the Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, Earl of Derby and
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
) and the "Peelites" (led first by Peel himself, then by the George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Earl of Aberdeen). The split occurred in 1846 over the issue of
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
, which Peel supported, versus protectionism, supported by Derby. The majority of the party sided with Derby whilst about a third split away, eventually merging with the Whigs (British political party), Whigs and the radicalism (politics), radicals to form the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. Despite the split, the mainstream Conservative Party accepted the doctrine of free trade in 1852.
In the second half of the 19th century, the Liberal Party faced political schisms, especially over History of Ireland, Irish Irish Parliamentary Party, Home Rule. Leader William Ewart Gladstone, William Gladstone (himself a former Peelite) sought to give Ireland a degree of autonomy, a move that elements in both the left and right-wings of his party opposed. These split off to become the Liberal Unionist Party, Liberal Unionists (led by Joseph Chamberlain), forming a coalition with the Conservatives before merging with them in 1912. The Liberal Unionist influence dragged the Conservative Party towards the left as Conservative governments passing a number of progressive reforms at the turn of the 20th century. By the late 19th century, the traditional business supporters of the Liberal Party had joined the Conservatives, making them the party of business and commerce.
After a period of Liberal dominance before the First World War, the Conservatives gradually became more influential in government, regaining full control of the cabinet in 1922. In the inter-war period, conservatism was the major ideology in Britain as the Liberal Party vied with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party for control of the left. After the Second World War, the first Labour government (1945–1951) under Clement Attlee embarked on a program of nationalization of industry and the promotion of social welfare. The Conservatives generally accepted those policies until the 1980s.
![Margaret Thatcher stock portrait (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Margaret_Thatcher_stock_portrait_%28cropped%29.jpg)
In the 1980s, the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher, guided by Neoliberalism, neoliberal economics, reversed many of Labour's programmes. The Conservative Party also adopt soft euroscepticism, soft eurosceptic politics, and oppose Federal Europe. Other conservative political parties, such as the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP, founded in 1993), Northern Ireland's Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP, founded in 1971), began to appear, although they have yet to make any significant impact at Westminster (, the DUP comprises the largest political party in the ruling coalition in the Northern Ireland Assembly), and from 2017 to 2019 the DUP provided support for the Conservative Second May ministry, minority government.
Modern conservatism in different countries
Many sources refer to any political parties on the right of the political spectrum as conservative despite having no connection with historical conservatism. In most cases, these parties do not use the term conservative in their name or self-identify as conservative. Below is a partial list of such political parties.
Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia adheres to the principles of social conservatism and liberal conservatism. It is liberal in the sense of economics. Other conservative parties are the National Party of Australia, a sister party of the Liberals, Family First Party, Democratic Labour Party (Australia), Democratic Labor Party, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Australian Conservatives, and the Katter's Australian Party.
The second largest party in the country is the Australian Labor Party and its dominant faction is Labor Right, a socially conservative element. Australia undertook significant economic reform under the Labor Party in the mid-1980s. Consequently, issues like protectionism, welfare reform, privatization and deregulation are no longer debated in the political space as they are in Europe or North America. Moser and Catley explain: "In America, 'liberal' means left-of-center, and it is a pejorative term when used by conservatives in adversarial political debate. In Australia, of course, the conservatives are in the Liberal Party." Jupp writes that "[the] decline in English influences on Australian reformism and radicalism, and appropriation of the symbols of Empire by conservatives continued under the Liberal Party leadership of Sir Robert Menzies, which lasted until 1966".
Brazil
![Jair Bolsonaro 2020 (cropped 2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Jair_Bolsonaro_2020_%28cropped_2%29.jpg)
Conservatism in Brazil originates from the cultural and historical tradition of Brazil, whose cultural roots are Portugal, Luso-Iberian Peninsula, Iberian and Roman Catholic. Brazilian conservatism from the 20th century on includes names such as Mário Ferreira dos Santos and Vicente Ferreira da Silva in philosophy; Gerardo Melo Mourão and Otto Maria Carpeaux in literature; Bruno Tolentino in poetry; Olavo de Carvalho, Paulo Francis and Luís Ernesto Lacombe in journalism; Manuel de Oliveira Lima and João Camilo de Oliveira Torres in historiography; Sobral Pinto and Miguel Reale in law; Gustavo Corção, Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Father Léo and Father Paulo Ricardo in the Catholic Church; Roberto de Oliveira Campos, Roberto Campos and Mário Henrique Simonsen, Mario Henrique Simonsen in economics; Joaquim Nabuco, Carlos Lacerda and incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro in the political arena.
Brazil Union, Progressistas, Republicans (Brazil), Republicans, Liberal Party (Brazil, 2006), Liberal Party, Brazilian Labour Renewal Party, Patriota, Brazilian Labour Party (current), Brazilian Labour Party, Social Christian Party (Brazil), Social Christian Party and Party of the Brazilian Woman, Brasil 35 are the conservative parties in Brazil.
Germany
![Kauder, Volker-8810](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Kauder%2C_Volker-8810.jpg)
Conservatism developed alongside nationalism in Germany, culminating in Germany's victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War, the creation of the unified German Empire in 1871 and the simultaneous rise of Otto von Bismarck on the European political stage. Bismarck's "balance of power" model maintained peace in Europe for decades at the end of the 19th century. His "revolutionary conservatism" was a conservative state-building strategy designed to make ordinary Germans—not just the Junker elite—more loyal to state and emperor, he created the modern welfare state in Germany in the 1880s. According to Kees van Kersbergen and Barbara Vis, his strategy was:
Bismarck also enacted universal male suffrage in the new German Empire in 1871. He became a great hero to German conservatives, who erected many monuments to his memory after he left office in 1890.
With the rise of Nazism in 1933, agrarianism, agrarian movements faded and was supplanted by a more command-based economy and forced social integration. Though Adolf Hitler succeeded in garnering the support of many German industrialists, prominent traditionalists openly and secretly opposed his policies of euthanasia, genocide and attacks on organized religion, including Claus von Stauffenberg, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Henning von Tresckow, Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen and the monarchist Carl Friedrich Goerdeler.
More recently, the work of conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union leader and Chancellor Helmut Kohl helped bring about German reunification, along with the closer European integration in the form of the Maastricht Treaty.
![Angela Merkel (9307204896)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Angela_Merkel_%289307204896%29.jpg)
Today, German conservatism is often associated with politicians such as Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose tenure has been marked by attempts to save the common European currency (Euro) from demise. The German conservatives are divided under Merkel due to the refugee crisis in Germany and many conservatives in the CDU/CSU oppose the refugee and migrant policies developed under Merkel.
India
In India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Narendra Modi, represent conservative politics. The BJP is the largest right-wing conservative party in the world. It promotes cultural nationalism, Hindu Nationalism, an aggressive foreign policy against Pakistan and a conservative social and fiscal policy.
Italy
By 1945, the extreme-right Italian fascist movement of Benito Mussolini was discredited.
After World War II, in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
the conservative parties were dominated by the centrist Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC) party. With its landslide victory over the left in 1948, the center (including progressive and conservative factions) was in power and was, says Denis Mack Smith, "moderately conservative, reasonably tolerant of everything which did not touch religion or property, but above all Catholic and sometimes clerical." It dominated politics until the DC party's dissolution in 1994.
In 1994, the media tycoon and entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi founded the liberal conservative party Forza Italia (FI). Berlusconi won three elections in 1994 Italian general election, 1994, 2001 Italian general election, 2001 and 2008 Italian general election, 2008, governing the country for almost ten years as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister. Forza Italia formed a coalition with right-wing regional party Lega Nord while in government. Besides FI, now the conservative ideas are mainly expressed by the New Centre-Right party led by Angelino Alfano, Berlusconi formed a new party, which is a rebirth of Forza Italia (2013), Forza Italia, thus founding a new conservative movement. Alfano served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs. After the 2018 Italian general election, 2018 election, Lega Nord and the Five Star Movement formed a right-wing populist government, which later failed.
Russia
Under Vladimir Putin, the dominant leader since 1999, Russia has promoted explicitly conservative policies in social, cultural and political matters, both at home and abroad. Putin has attacked globalism and economic liberalism. Russian conservatism is unique in some respects as it supports Economic interventionism, Economic intervention with a mixed economy, with a strong Russian nationalism, nationalist sentiment and social conservatism with its views being largely Right-wing populism, populist. Russian conservatism as a result opposes Right-libertarianism, libertarian ideals such as the aforementioned concept of
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
found in other conservative movements around the world. Putin has as a result promoted new think tanks that bring together like-minded intellectuals and writers. For example, the Izborsky Club, founded in 2012 by Aleksandr Prokhanov, stresses Russian nationalism, the restoration of Russia's historical greatness and systematic opposition to liberal ideas and policies. Vladislav Surkov, a senior government official, has been one of the key ideologists during Putin's presidency.
In cultural and social affairs, Putin has collaborated closely with the Russian Orthodox Church. Mark Woods provides specific examples of how the Church under Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has backed the expansion of Russian power into Crimea and eastern Ukraine. More broadly, ''The New York Times'' reports in September 2016 how that Church's policy prescriptions support the Kremlin's appeal to social conservatives:
South Korea
South Korea's major conservative party, the People Power Party (South Korea), has changed its form throughout its history. First it was the Democratic-Liberal Party(민주자유당, Minju Ja-yudang) and its first head was Roh Tae-woo who was the first President of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. Democratic-Liberal Party was founded by the merging of Roh Tae-woo's Democratic Justice Party, Kim Young Sam's Reunification Democratic Party and Kim Jong-pil's New Democratic Republican Party. And again through election its second leader, Kim Young-sam, became the fourteenth President of Korea. When the conservative party was beaten by the opposition party in the general election, it changed its form again to follow the party members' demand for reforms. It became the New Korean Party, but it changed again one year later since the President Kim Young-sam was blamed by the citizen for the International Monetary Fund. It changed its name to Grand National Party (GNP). Since the late Kim Dae-jung assumed the presidency in 1998, GNP had been the opposition party until Lee Myung-bak won the presidential election of 2007 South Korean presidential election, 2007.
Singapore
Singapore's only conservative party is the People's Action Party (PAP). It is currently in Government of Singapore, government and has been in government since independence in 1965. It has promoted conservative values in the form of Asian democracy and values or 'shared values'. The main party on the left of the political spectrum in Singapore is the Workers' Party of Singapore, Workers' Party (WP).
United States
![President Reagan speaking in Minneapolis 1982](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/President_Reagan_speaking_in_Minneapolis_1982.jpg)
The meaning of conservatism in the United States has little in common with the way the word is used elsewhere. As Ribuffo (2011) notes, "what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or neoliberalism". American conservatism is a broad system of political beliefs in the United States that is characterized by respect for American traditions, support for Judeo-Christian ethics, Judeo-Christian values,
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
, anti-communism, and a defense of
Western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
. Liberty within the bounds of conformity to conservatism is a core value, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
, limiting the size and scope of government and opposition to high taxes and government or labor union encroachment on the entrepreneur.
The 1830s History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party became divided between Southern Democrats, who supported slavery, secession, and later segregation, and the Northern Democrats, who tended to support the abolition of slavery, union, and equality. Many Democrats were conservative in the sense that they wanted things to be like they were in the past, especially as far as race was concerned. They generally favored poorer farmers and urban workers, and were hostile to banks and industrialization and high tariffs.
The post-Civil War History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party elected the first People of Color to serve in both local and national political office. The Southern Democrats united with pro-segregation Northern Republicans to form the Conservative Coalition, which successfully put an end to Blacks being elected to national political office until 1967, when Edward Brooke was elected Senator from Massachusetts.
In late 19th century, the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party split into two factions; the more conservative Eastern business faction (led by Grover Cleveland) favored gold, while the South and West (led by William Jennings Bryan) wanted more silver in order to raise prices for their crops. In 1892, Cleveland won the election on a conservative platform, which supported maintaining the gold standard, reducing tariffs, and taking a laisse-faire approach to government intervention. A severe nationwide Panic of 1893, depression ruined his plans. Many of his supporters in 1896 supported the National Democratic Party (United States), Gold Democrats when liberal William Jennings Bryan won the nomination and campaigned for bimetalism, money backed by both gold and silver. The conservative wing nominated Alton B. Parker in 1904, but he got very few votes.
Since the 1920s, conservatism in the United States has been chiefly associated with the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. During the era of Racial segregation in the United States, segregation, many Southern Democrats were conservatives and they played a key role in the conservative coalition that largely controlled domestic policy in Congress from 1937 to 1963. The conservative Democrats continued to have influence in the US politics until 1994's Republican Revolution, when the American South shifted from solid Democrat to solid Republican, while maintaining its conservative values.
The major conservative party in the United States today is the Republican Party, also known as the GOP (Grand Old Party). Modern American conservatives consider Individualism, individual liberty, as long as it conforms to conservative values, small government,
deregulation
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
of the government,
economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
, and
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
, as the fundamental trait of democracy, which contrasts with Modern Liberalism in the United States, modern American liberals, who generally place a greater value on social equality and social justice. Other major priorities within American conservatism include support for the traditional family, Law and order (politics), law and order, the right to bear arms, Christian values, anti-communism and a defense of "Western culture, Western civilization from the challenges of modernist culture and totalitarian governments".
Economic conservatives and libertarians favor small government, low taxes, limited regulation and free enterprise. Some social conservatives see traditional social values threatened by secularism, so they support school prayer and Opposition to the legalization of abortion, oppose abortion and homosexuality.
Neoconservatives want to expand American ideals throughout the world and show a strong support for Israel. Paleoconservatives, in opposition to multiculturalism, press for restrictions on immigration.
Most US conservatives prefer Republicans over Democrats and most factions favor a strong foreign policy and a strong military. The conservative movement of the 1950s attempted to bring together these divergent strands, stressing the need for unity to prevent the spread of "godless communism", which Reagan later labeled an "Evil Empire speech, evil empire". During the Reagan administration, conservatives also supported the so-called "Reagan Doctrine" under which the US as part of a Cold War strategy provided military and other support to guerrilla insurgencies that were fighting governments identified as socialist or communist. The Reagan administration also adopted neoliberalism and Reaganomics (pejoratively referred to as trickle-down economics), resulting in the 1980s economic growth and trillion-dollar deficits.
Other modern conservative positions include opposition to big government and opposition to environmentalism. On average, American conservatives desire tougher foreign policies than liberals do. Economic liberalism,
deregulation
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
and social conservatism are major principles of the Republican Party.
The Tea Party movement, founded in 2009, had proven a large outlet for populist American conservative ideas. Their stated goals included rigorous adherence to the US constitution, lower taxes, and opposition to a growing role for the federal government in health care. Electorally, it was considered a key force in Republicans reclaiming control of the US House of Representatives in 2010.
Psychology
Following the Second World War, psychologists conducted research into the different motives and tendencies that account for ideological differences between left and right. The early studies focused on conservatives, beginning with Theodor W. Adorno's ''The Authoritarian Personality'' (1950) based on the F-scale (personality test), F-scale personality test. This book has been heavily criticized on theoretical and methodological grounds, but some of its findings have been confirmed by further empirical research.
In 1973, British psychologist Glenn Wilson (psychologist), Glenn Wilson published an influential book providing evidence that a general factor underlying conservative beliefs is "fear of uncertainty." A meta-analysis of research literature by Jost, Glaser, Kruglanski, and Sulloway in 2003 found that many factors, such as Ambiguity tolerance, intolerance of ambiguity and need for Cognitive closure (psychology), cognitive closure, contribute to the degree of one's political conservatism and its manifestations in decision-making.
A study by Kathleen Maclay stated these traits "might be associated with such generally valued characteristics as personal commitment and unwavering loyalty". The research also suggested that while most people are resistant to change, liberals are more tolerant of it.
According to psychologist Bob Altemeyer, individuals who are politically conservative tend to rank high in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) on his RWA scale. This finding was echoed by Adorno. A study done on Israeli and Palestinian students in Israel found that RWA scores of right-wing party supporters were significantly higher than those of left-wing party supporters. However, a 2005 study by H. Michael Crowson and colleagues suggested a moderate gap between RWA and other conservative positions, stating that their "results indicated that conservatism is not synonymous with RWA".
Psychologist Felicia Pratto and her colleagues have found evidence to support the idea that a high social dominance orientation (SDO) is strongly correlated with conservative political views and opposition to social engineering to promote equality,
though Pratto's findings have been highly controversial as Pratto and her colleagues found that high SDO scores were highly correlated with measures of prejudice. However, David J. Schneider argued for a more complex relationships between the three factors, writing that "correlations between prejudice and political conservative are reduced virtually to zero when controls for SDO are instituted, suggesting that the conservatism–prejudice link is caused by SDO". Conservative political theorist Kenneth Minogue criticized Pratto's work, saying: "It is characteristic of the conservative temperament to value established identities, to praise habit and to respect prejudice, not because it is irrational, but because such things anchor the darting impulses of human beings in solidities of custom which we do not often begin to value until we are already losing them. Radicalism often generates youth movements, while conservatism is a condition found among the mature, who have discovered what it is in life they most value".
A 1996 study on the relationship between racism and conservatism found that the correlation was stronger among more educated individuals, though "anti-Black affect had essentially no relationship with political conservatism at any level of educational or intellectual sophistication". They also found that the correlation between racism and conservatism could be entirely accounted for by their mutual relationship with social dominance orientation.
In his 2008 book, Arthur C. Brooks#Gross National Happiness, ''Gross National Happiness'', Arthur C. Brooks presents the finding that conservatives are roughly twice as happy as liberals. A 2008 study demonstrates that conservatives tend to be happier than liberals because of their tendency to justify the current state of affairs and because they're less bothered by inequalities in society.
In fact, as income inequality increases, this difference in relative happiness increases because conservatives, more so than liberals, possess an ideological buffer against the negative hedonic effects of
economic inequality
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...
.
A 2012 study disputed this.
A 2009 study found that conservatism and cognitive ability are negatively correlated. It found that conservatism has a negative correlation with SAT, Vocabulary, and Analogy test scores, measures of education (such as gross enrollment in Primary school, primary, Secondary school, secondary, and Tertiary education, tertiary levels), and performance on math and reading assignments from the PISA. It also found that conservatism correlates with components of the Failed States Index and "several other measures of economic and political development of nations."
This study used participants from 74 countries and a different definition of conservatism than other similar studies.
The definition of which loadings constitute conservativism vary throughout the study.
Nonetheless, in a Brazilian sample, the highest IQs were found among Centre-right politics, centre-rightists and Centrism, centrists, even after correcting for gender, age, education and income.
Personality psychology research has shown that conservatism is positively correlated to conscientiousness and negatively correlated with Openness to experience, openness to new experiences.
Because conscientiousness is positively related to job performance, a 2021 study found that conservative service workers earn higher ratings, evaluations, and tips than liberal ones.
[Davidson, A., & Theriault, D. A. (2021). How Consumer Experience Is Shaped by the Political Orientation of Service Providers. Journal of Consumer Psychology.]
See also
*Conservatism in Australia
*Conservatism in Canada
*Conservatism in Hong Kong
*Conservatism in India
*Historic conservatism in New Zealand, Conservatism in New Zealand
*Conservatism in North America
*Conservatism in Pakistan
*Conservatism in Russia
*Conservatism in South Korea
*Conservatism in Taiwan
*Conservatism in the United Kingdom
*Conservatism in the United States
*Black conservatism
*
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., ''An ...
*
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
*
Libertarian conservatism
Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a political and social philosophy that combines conservatism and libertarianism, representing the libertarian wing of conservatism and vice ver ...
*
National conservatism
National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, ...
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Social conservatism
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institutio ...
*Traditionalist conservatism
References
Bibliography
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* Hainsworth, Paul. ''The extreme right in Western Europe'', Abingdon, OXON: Routledge, 2008 .
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* Osterling, Jorge P. ''Democracy in Colombia: Clientelist Politics and Guerrilla Warfare''. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1989 .
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* Winthrop, Norman and Lovell, David W. "Varieties of Conservative Theory". In Winthrop, Norman. ''Liberal Democratic Theory and Its Critics''. Beckenham, Kent: Croom Helm Ltd., 1983 .
* Freeman, James. “Neoliberalism and Conservatism in Britain.” In The Neoliberal Age?: Britain since the 1970s, edited by Aled Davies, Ben Jackson, and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, 254–76. UCL Press, 2021. .
* Katharine M. Donato, and Samantha L. Perez. “A Different Hue of the Gender Gap: Latino Immigrants and Political Conservatism in the United States.” RSF: Russell Sage Foundation, The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, vol. 2, no. 3, 2016, pp. 98–124, . Accessed 16 Apr. 2022.
* Youngs, Richard, Gareth Fowler, ARTHUR LAROK, PAWEŁ MARCZEWSKI, GHIA NODIA VIJAYAN MJ, NATALIA SHAPOVALOVA, JANJIRA SOMBATPOONSIRI, MARISA VON BÜLOW, and ÖZGE ZIHNIOĞLU. “OVERVIEW: CONSERVATIVE CIVIL SOCIETY ON THE RISE.” Edited by RICHARD YOUNGS. THE MOBILIZATION OF CONSERVATIVE CIVIL SOCIETY. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2018. .
* BRUMLIK, MICHA. “CONSERVATISM.” In The Habermas Handbook, edited by HAUKE BRUNKHORST, REGINA KREIDE, and CRISTINA LAFONT, 507–12. Columbia University Press, 2018. .
* Huntington, John S. “EPILOGUE.: The Influence of Far-Right Conservatism.” In Far-Right Vanguard: The Radical Roots of Modern Conservatism, 209–20. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021. .
* VAN DELDEN, MAARTEN. “Conservatism.” In Reality in Movement: Octavio Paz as Essayist and Public Intellectual, 179–98. Vanderbilt University Press, 2021. .
* FAWCETT, E. (2020). Character, Outlook, and Labelling of Conservatism. In Conservatism: The Fight for a Tradition (pp. 41–68). Princeton University Press. .
* CHEBANKOVA, E. (2020). Conservatism. In Political Ideologies in Contemporary Russia (pp. 58–86). McGill-Queen’s University Press. .
* Burke, Kyle. “Crossroads of Conservatism.” In Revolutionaries for the Right: Anticommunist Internationalism and Paramilitary Warfare in the Cold War, 28–54. University of North Carolina Press, 2018. .
* Cotto, J. (2020). WHO FUNDS CONSERVATISM, INC.? In P. Gottfried (Ed.), The Vanishing Tradition: Perspectives on American Conservatism (pp. 62–67). Cornell University Press.
* ROBINSON, P. (2019). BETWEEN REVOLUTIONS. In Russian Conservatism (pp. 115–130). Cornell University Press. .
* Lynn, Joshua A. “CONCLUSION: American Democracy, American Conservatism.” In Preserving the White Man’s Republic: Jacksonian Democracy, Race, and the Transformation of American Conservatism, 175–80. University of Virginia Press, 2019. .
* Krul, Wessel. “Conservatism, Republicanism, and Romanticism: Thomas Mann’s ‘Conversion’ to Democracy in 1922.” In Discourses of Decline: Essays on Republicanism in Honor of Wyger R.E. Velema, edited by Joris Oddens, Mart Rutjes, and Arthur Weststeijn, 216–32. Brill Publishers, Brill, 2022. .
* LEWIS, DAVID G. “Carl Schmitt and Russian Conservatism.” In Russia’s New Authoritarianism: Putin and the Politics of Order, 24–48. Edinburgh University Press, 2020. .
* WISEMAN, NELSON. “Provincial Conservatism.” In Conservatism in Canada, edited by JAMES FARNEY and DAVID RAYSIDE, 209–30. University of Toronto Press, 2013. .
* Elmaliach, Tal, and Haim Watzman. “The Leadership’s Response: Revolutionary Conservatism.” In Hakibbutz Ha’artzi, Mapam, and the Demise of the Israeli Labor Movement, 132–43. Syracuse University Press, 2020. .
* MITCHELL, MARK T. “Afterword: A Conservatism Worth Conserving, or Conservatism as Stewardship.” In The Limits of Liberalism: Tradition, Individualism, and the Crisis of Freedom, 269–73. University of Notre Dame Press, 2019. .
* Williams, Michael C. “Conservatism, Civility, and the Challenges of International Political Theory.” In The Civil Condition in World Politics: Beyond Tragedy and Utopianism, edited by Vassilios Paipais, 1st ed., 132–52. Bristol University Press, 2022. .
* Huntington, John S. “Radical Patriots.” In Far-Right Vanguard: The Radical Roots of Modern Conservatism, 45–78. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021. .
* Reno, R. R. “The Theological Roots of Modern Conservatism.” In The Identity of Israel’s God in Christian Scripture, edited by Don Collett, Mark Elliott, Mark Gignilliat, and Ephraim Radner, 381–96. Society of Biblical Literature, The Society of Biblical Literature, 2020. .
* Witcher, Marcus M. “The Battle for Fiscal Conservatism: Supply-Siders v. Budget Hawks.” In Getting Right with Reagan: The Struggle for True Conservatism, 1980–2016, 26–46. University Press of Kansas, 2019. .
* PIMPARE, STEPHEN. “CONSERVATISM IS NOT CONSERVATIVE AND SOME OF US ARE MORE POLARIZED THAN OTHERS.” In Politics for Social Workers: A Practical Guide to Effecting Change, 55–64. Columbia University Press, 2022. .
* Aughey, Arthur. “Postscript: Conservatism Confounded.” In The Conservative Party and the Nation: Union, England and Europe, 150–58. Manchester University Press, 2018. .
* GIBBS, DAVID N. “EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY, BIG BUSINESS, AND THE RESURGENCE OF AMERICAN CONSERVATISM DURING THE 1970S.” In Religion, Secularism, and Political Belonging, edited by LEEROM MEDOVOI and ELIZABETH BENTLEY, 207–22. Duke University Press, 2021. .
* Fried, Amy, and Douglas B. Harris. “HERE TO HELP?: Movement Conservatism and the State in the Reagan Era.” In At War with Government: How Conservatives Weaponized Distrust from Goldwater to Trump, 46–85. Columbia University Press, 2021. .
* Lee, Michael J. “Conservatism and Canonicity.” In Creating Conservatism: Postwar Words That Made an American Movement, 193–206. Michigan State University Press, 2014. .
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Further reading
* Blee, Kathleen M. and Sandra McGee Deutsch, eds. ''Women of the Right: Comparisons and Interplay Across Borders'' (Penn State University Press; 2012) 312 pages; scholarly essays giving a global perspective on women in right-wing politics.
* Blinkhorn, Martin. ''Fascists and Conservatives: The Radical Right and the Establishment in Twentieth-Century Europe''. 1990.
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* Crowson, N. J. ''Facing Fascism: The Conservative Party and the European Dictators, 1935–1940''. 1997.
* Robert Morse Crunden, Crunden, Robert Morse. ''The Superfluous Men: Critics of American Culture, 1900–1945''. 1999.
* Anthony Daniels (psychiatrist), Dalrymple, Theodore. ''Our Culture, What's Left of It: The Mandarins and the Masses''. 2005.
* Fryer, Russell G. ''Recent Conservative Political Thought: American Perspectives''. 1979.
* Gottfried, Paul E. ''The Conservative Movement''. 1993.
* Nugent, Neill. ''The British Right: Conservative and Right Wing Politics in Britain''. 1977.
* Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. ''Conservatism''. 1990.
* Russell Kirk, Kirk, Russell. ''The Conservative Mind''. 2001.
* Bacchetta, Paola. ''Right-Wing Women: From Conservatives to Extremists Around the World''. 2002.
* Robert Nisbet, Nisbet, Robert. ''Conservatism: Dream and Reality''. 2001.
* O'Sullivan, Noel. ''Conservatism''. 1976.
* Pafford, John M. ''The Forgotten Conservative: Rediscovering Grover Cleveland'' (Simon and Schuster, 2013)
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* Roger Scruton, Scruton, Roger. ''The Meaning of Conservatism''. 1980.
* Woodwards, E.L. ''Three Studies In European Conservatism. Mettenich: Guizot: The Catholic Church In The Nineteenth Century'' (1923
online
Primary sources
* Schneider, Gregory L. ed. ''Conservatism in America Since 1930: A Reader''. 2003.
* Witonski, Peter, ed. ''The Wisdom of Conservatism''. (4 vol. Arlington House; 1971). 2396 pages; worldwide sources.
External links
Conservatisman article by ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.
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''Conservatism'' Kieron O'Hara. Reaktion Books. 2011 (reviewed in ''The Montreal Review'').
{{authority control
Conservatism,
Right-wing ideologies,
Social theories