Pragmatic 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 prim ...

which refers to making decisions based on current situations, while maintaining elements of

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 ...

policy. It espouses the idea that while

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 ...

and customs are important,

reforms Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

and decisions are sometimes necessary to protect them, and to reflect on the needs and changes of the times.

Associated politicians

In British politics,

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">N ...

and

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 ...

are two conservatives who have been described as pragmatic. During his time as a Member of Parliament, Edmund Burke viewed politics as rigid, he had the view that traditional values would be best protected by allowing some inevitable changes to take place. Oakeshott stated that to be pragmatic within conservatism is to take on board what is in people's best interests, to create stability within society and avoid chaos. According to journalist

Rory Carroll Rory Carroll (born 1972) is an Irish journalist working for ''The Guardian'' who has reported from the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, Latin America and Los Angeles. He is the Ireland correspondent for ''The Guardian''. His book on Hugo Chávez, '' ...

, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Republican politician Ronald Reagan was pragmatic throughout his time as President of the United States and governor, making compromises while still maintaining his conservative position.

References

{{political ideologies Conservatism Political ideologies Pragmatism Right-wing politics

Associated politicians

See also

References