Liberal conservatism is a

political ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pr ...

combining

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

policies with liberal stances, especially on

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with t ...

issues but also on

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

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of morality, right and wrong action (philosophy), behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, alo ...

matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by liberalism. The ideology incorporates the classical liberal view of minimal government intervention in the economy, according to which individuals should be free to participate in the market and generate wealth without government interference. However, liberal conservatives also hold that individuals cannot be thoroughly depended on to act responsibly in other spheres of life; therefore, they believe that a strong state is necessary to ensure law and order and that social institutions are needed to nurture a sense of duty and responsibility to the nation. Liberal conservatives also support civil liberties, along with some socially conservative positions. Nevertheless, liberal conservatism differs from social conservatism in a sense that it draws on a more liberal approach towards social issues: for instance, matters regarding LGBT rights, discrimination, equality and the environment. This is to be equated with the creation of a

cohesive Cohesion may refer to: * Cohesion (chemistry), the intermolecular attraction between like-molecules * Cohesion (computer science), a measure of how well the lines of source code within a module work together * Cohesion (geology), the part of shear ...

and

tolerant Toleration is the allowing, permitting, or acceptance of an action, idea, object, or person which one dislikes or disagrees with. Political scientist Andrew R. Murphy explains that "We can improve our understanding by defining "toleration" as a ...

society with increased levels of individual responsibility and less inequality. Liberal conservatism shares the classical liberal tenets of a commitment to

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-relia ...

, belief in

negative freedom Negative liberty is freedom from interference by other people. Negative liberty is primarily concerned with freedom from external restraint and contrasts with positive liberty (the possession of the power and resources to fulfill one's own pot ...

, a lightly regulated free market, and a minimal rule of law state. A number of commentators have stated that many conservative currents in the 1980s, such as Thatcherism, were rejuvenated classical liberals in all but name. However, in contrast to classical liberalism there is a stronger social agenda and support for a greater degree of state intervention especially in certain areas of social life which liberal conservatives believe should not be subject to market forces. Particularly in regards to the family, sexuality, health and education, these should either always be periodically regulated or minimally protected by the state. In Europe, liberal conservatism is the dominant form of modern conservatism and

centre-right politics Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

. Most European liberal-conservative parties adhere to the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Fo ...

, originally formed by Christian democrats.

Overview, definitions and usage

Both ''conservatism'' and ''liberalism'' have had different meanings over time in different centuries. The term ''liberal conservatism'' has been used in quite different ways. It usually contrasts with aristocratic conservatism, which deems the principle of equality as something discordant with human nature and emphasizes instead the idea of natural inequality. As conservatives in democratic countries have embraced typical liberal institutions such as the rule of law, private property, the

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ar ...

and

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

al representative government, the liberal element of liberal conservatism became consensual among conservatives. In some countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, the term ''liberal conservatism'' came to be understood simply as ''conservatism'' in popular culture, prompting some conservatives who embraced more strongly classical-liberal values to call themselves '' libertarians'' instead. However, there are differences between classical liberals and libertarians. In their embracement of liberal and free market principles, European liberal conservatives are clearly distinguishable from those holding

national-conservative 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, ...

, fully socially conservative and/or outright populist views, let alone a right-wing populist posture. Being liberal often involves stressing free market economics and the belief in individual responsibility together with the defense 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 ...

and support for a limited welfare state. Compared to other centre-right political traditions such as

Christian democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

, liberal conservatives are less socially conservative and more economically liberal, favouring low taxes and minimal state intervention in the economy. Some regional varieties and peculiarities can be observed: * In much of Central and Northwestern Europe, especially in Germanic and traditionally

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

countries as well as the United Kingdom and Belgium, a divide persists between liberal conservatives (including Christian democrats) and liberals (including conservative liberals and social liberals). * In most Nordic countries, liberal conservatives, Christian democrats and liberals form distinct political families and have each their own party. The largest liberal parties are the

Nordic agrarian parties The Nordic agrarian parties, also referred to as Nordic Centre parties, Scandinavian agrarian parties or Agrarian Liberal parties are agrarian political parties that belong to a political tradition particular to the Nordic countries. Positioning th ...

, which are traditionally agrarian. * In most countries where

Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language f ...

are spoken and where

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

is or has been dominant as well as in Greece and Poland, liberal conservative movements, often encompassing Christian democrats and liberals, have more recently gained traction and the terms ''conservative'' and ''liberal'' may be understood as synonymous. At the European level, Christian democrats and most liberal conservatives are affiliated to the

(EPP), while liberals (including conservative and social liberals) to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE Party). In this context, some traditionally Christian-democratic parties (such as

Christian-Democratic and Flemish Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...

in Belgium, the Christian Democratic Appeal in the Netherlands, the Christian Democratic Union in Germany and the People's Party in Austria) have become almost undistinguishable from other liberal-conservative parties. On the other hand, newer liberal-conservative parties (such as New Democracy in Greece, the Social Democratic Party in Portugal, the People's Party in Spain, Forza Italia/ The People of Freedom/ Forza Italia in Italy, the Union for a Popular Movement/ The Republicans in France and most centre-right parties from countries once belonging to the Eastern Bloc and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

) have not adopted traditional labels, but their ideologies are also a mixture of conservatism, Christian democracy and liberalism. In the modern European discourse, ''liberal conservatism'' usually encompasses centre-right political outlooks that reject at least to some extent social conservatism. This position is also associated with support for moderate forms of social safety net and

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment (biophysical), environment, par ...

(see also green conservatism and green liberalism). This variety of liberal conservatism has been espoused by Nordic conservatives (the

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...

in Sweden, the Conservative Party in Norway and the National Coalition Party in Finland) which have been fending off competition from right-wing populists to their right and do not include Christian democrats; and at times the British Conservative Party. In an interview shortly after taking office as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

in 2010,

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

introduced himself as a liberal conservative. During his first speech to a party conference in 2006, Cameron had defined this as believing in individual freedom and

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

, but being skeptical of "grand schemes to remake the world".

Liberal conservatism in the United States

In the United States, conservatives often combine the economic

of 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 that emphasizes the natural inequalities between men, the irrationality of human behavior as the basis for the human drive for order and stability and the rejection of natural rights as the basis for government. From a different perspective, American conservatism (a "hybrid of conservatism and classical liberalism") has exalted three tenets of Burkean conservatism, namely the diffidence toward the power of the state, the preference of liberty over equality and for patriotism while rejecting the three remaining tenets, namely loyalty to traditional institutions and hierarchies, scepticism regarding progress and elitism. Consequently, the term ''liberal conservatism'' is not used in the United States. Modern American liberalism happens to be quite different from

European liberalism :''A general overview and comprehensive discussion of this topic may be found in the article Liberalism.'' In general, liberalism in Europe is a political movement that supports a broad tradition of individual liberties and constitutionally-limit ...

and occupies the

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

of the political spectrum, in contrast to many European countries where liberalism is often more associated with the centre and

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and m ...

while

social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to prom ...

makes up a substantial part of the centre-left. The opposite is true in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

, where economically liberal conservatism is often labelled under the rubric of

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent ...

both in popular culture and academic discourse. American '' libertarian conservatism'' focuses more on libertarian economic principles and conservative cultural principles, but social stances of European ''liberal conservatism'', on the other hand, are more closely related to relative

progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...

than

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 ...

. American ''

neoconservatism Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and ...

'' is sometimes described as the same or similar to ''liberal conservatism'' in Europe. However, Peter Lawler regarded neoconservatism in the United States as ''conservative liberalism'' and distinguished it from ''liberal conservatism''. Peter Lawler,
Liberal Conservatism, Not Conservative Liberalism
', The Intercollegiate Review, Fall 2003/Spring 2004 Fiscal conservatism is also an idea rooted in

classical liberalism 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, e ...

Classical conservatism and economic liberalism

Historically,

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in r ...

in the 18th and 19th centuries comprised a set of principles based on 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 ...

, respect for authority and religious values. This form of

traditionalist Traditionalism is the adherence to traditional beliefs or practices. It may also refer to: Religion * Traditional religion, a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group * Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism), a 19th–cen ...

or classical conservatism is often considered to be exemplified by the writings of Joseph de Maistre in the post-

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

age. Contemporaneous

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 ...

, now recalled as

, advocated both political freedom for individuals and a free market in the economic sphere. Ideas of this sort were promulgated by John Locke,

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principa ...

, Voltaire,

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

, Ben Franklin,

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

, Edward Gibbon,

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment phil ...

, Adam Smith,

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747ref name="Johnson2012" /> – 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, an ...

and John Stuart Mill, who are respectively remembered as the fathers of

, including economic liberalism, the separation of church and state,

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 ...

and utilitarianism. Alexis de tocqueville cropped

According to scholar Andrew Vincent, the maxim of liberal conservatism is "economics is prior to politics". Others emphasize the openness of historical change and a suspicion of tyrannical majorities behind the hailing of individual liberties and traditional virtues by authors such as

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January New Style">NS/nowiki> 1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish people">Anglo-Irish Politician">statesman, economist, and philosopher. Born in Dublin, Burke served as a member of Parliament (MP) between 1766 and 1794 ...

and

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wor ...

as the basis of current liberal conservatism which can be seen both in the works of Raymond Aron and Michael Oakeshott. However, there is general agreement that the original liberal conservatives were those who combined conservative social attitudes with an economically liberal outlook, adapting a previous aristocratic understanding of natural inequalities between men to the rule of

meritocracy Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods and/or political power are vested in individual people based on talent, effort, and achie ...

, without directly criticizing privileges of birth as long as individual liberties were guaranteed. Over time, the majority of conservatives in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

came to adopt free market economic ideas as the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

progressed and the aristocracy lost its power, to the extent that such ideas are now generally considered as part of conservatism. Nonetheless, the term ''liberal'' is used in most countries to describe those with free-market economic views. This is the case in continental Europe, Australia and

Liberal-conservative parties or parties with liberal-conservative factions

Current parties

* : Democratic Party of Albania * : Republican Proposal * : Liberal Party of Australia * : Austrian People's Party * : United Civic Party of Belarus * : Brazil Union * : Union of Democratic Forces (Bulgaria), Union of Democratic Forces * : Conservative Party of Canada * : National Renewal (Chile), National Renewal * : Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic), Civic Democratic Party, TOP 09 *: Croatian Democratic Union *: Venstre (Denmark), Venstre, Conservative People's Party (Denmark), Conservative People's Party *: Estonian Reform Party * : National Coalition Party, Centre Party (Finland), Centre Party * : The Republicans * : Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Free Democratic Party (Germany), Free Democratic Party * : New Democracy * : Atassut, Feeling of Community * : Independence Party (Iceland), Independence Party * : Bharatiya Janata Party * : Fine Gael * : Likud, New Hope (Israel), New Hope * : Forza Italia * : New Unity, Unity * : Homeland Union * : National Action Party (Mexico), National Action Party * : Constitutional Union (Morocco), Constitutional Union * : Democratic Party (Mongolia), Democratic Party * : People's Party for Freedom and Democracy * : New Zealand National Party, National Party * : Conservative Party * : Go on Country - Social Integration Party * : Partido Federal ng Pilipinas * : Agreement (political party), Agreement, Civic Platform * : Social Democratic Party * : National Liberal Party (Romania), National Liberal Party * : Civic Platform (Russia), Civic Platform * : Serbian Progressive Party, People's Party (Serbia, 2017), People's Party * : NOVA (Slovakia), NOVA, Civic Conservative Party (Slovakia), Civic Conservative Party, Together - Civic Democracy, Alliance (Slovak political party), Alliance * : Slovenian Democratic Party * : People's Party * :

* : The Centre (political party), The Centre * : Kuomintang * : Democrat Party (Turkey, current), Democrat Party (current) * : Conservative Party * : Republican Party (United States), Republican Party * : National Party (Uruguay), National Party

Former parties

* : Democratic Social Party, Democrats (Brazil), Democrats * : Progressive Conservative Party of Canada * : Civic Democratic Alliance, Freedom Union – Democratic Union, Realists (political party), Realists *: Res Publica Party * : National Centre of Independents and Peasants, Union for the New Republic (France), Union for the New Republic, Independent Republicans, Perspectives and Realities Clubs, Union of Democrats for the Republic, Republican Party (France), Republican Party, Rally for the Republic, Union for French Democracy, Union for a Popular Movement * : Swatantra Party * : General Zionists * : Forza Italia, The People of Freedom, Tyrolean Homeland Party, Italian Liberal Party * : Japan New Party * : Movement for Changes * : Conservative People's Party (Poland), Conservative People's Party, * : Romanian Democratic Convention, Democratic Convention of Romania, Democratic Liberal Party (Romania), Democratic Liberal Party * : G17 Plus * : Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party * : Bareunmirae Party * Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–1961), Democrat Party (historical), Justice and Development Party (Turkey), Justice and Development Party

Liberal-conservative organisations

* : Bright Blue (organisation), Bright Blue * : Everybody's Hungary Movement

Citations

General references

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberal Conservatism Liberal conservatism, Conservatism Liberalism Classical liberalism Centre-right ideologies Conservatism in the United States Conservative liberalism Right-wing ideologies Political theories Social theories