Moderation or caution should have also been on the list, but then whoever started it wanted it slanted in a particular direction to attempt to drive home some strange concept...like brain washing...but that only works on weak liberals.
Traditional. When I think Conservatism I think Edmund Burke.
Of course....I'm slowly starting to think Michele Bachman which is scary.
Conservative = pragmatic
(that one's for you, you little garden rodent....)
Aw, I guess this means you didn't like my post, Pepe Le Pew.:neener
Can you have conservatism without hierarchy?Perhaps, but in terms of intellectual history, it worked rather well in covering the bases. Again, one has to take seriously the concept of elitism or hierarchy, and perhaps see some of its virtues in conservative thought. It wasn't always populism that ruled the gut impulses of conservatism.
Excellent choice in Burke. I also recommend reading Russell Kirk who is a disciple of Burke's. An excellent read is The Conservative Mind by Kirk.
Russell Kirk is one of the foremost conservative philosophers of the 20th Century. Here are his first 5 tenets. A second posting will include 6 thru 10.
The Essence of Conservatism by Russell Kirk
(1) Men and nations are governed by moral laws; and those laws have their origin in a wisdom that is more than human—in divine justice. At heart, political problems are moral and religious problems. The wise statesman tries to apprehend the moral law and govern his conduct accordingly. We have a moral debt to our ancestors, who bestowed upon us our civilization, and a moral obligation to the generations who will come after us. This debt is ordained of God. We have no right, therefore, to tamper impudently with human nature or with the delicate fabric of our civil social order.
(2) Variety and diversity are the characteristics of a high civilization. Uniformity and absolute equality are the death of all real vigor and freedom in existence. Conservatives resist with impartial strength the uniformity of a tyrant or an oligarchy, and the uniformity of what Tocqueville called “democratic despotism.”
(3) Justice means that every man and every woman have the right to what is their own—to the things best suited to their own nature, to the rewards of their ability and integrity, to their property and their personality. Civilized society requires that all men and women have equal rights before the law, but that equality should not extend to equality of condition: that is, society is a great partnership, in which all have equal rights—but not to equal things. The just society requires sound leadership, different rewards for different abilities, and a sense of respect and duty.
(4) Property and freedom are inseparably connected; economic leveling is not economic progress. Conservatives value property for its own sake, of course; but they value it even more because without it all men and women are at the mercy of an omnipotent government.
(5) Power is full of danger; therefore the good state is one in which power is checked and balanced, restricted by sound constitutions and customs. So far as possible, political power ought to be kept in the hands of private persons and local institutions. Centralization is ordinarily a sign of social decadence.
You mean real conservatism or that neo-crap they have in the modern Republican party?
"Bush's big spending spree" is a drop in the bucket compared to Obama's HUGE spending spree.To me, I automatically think "stingy." Like they don't have kids attending public schools, so why should they pay taxes for them. Or a dislike for most programs meant to benefit society as a whole.
At one time it did mean conserving spending of our tax dollars as a country. I might have respected the tea party, if they had a hissy fit during Bush's big spending spree.
Can you have conservatism without hierarchy?
I think most people are elitists and populists at the same time. It just depends on what they are elitist and populist about and how they are.
Russell Kirk is one of the foremost conservative philosophers of the 20th Century. Here are his first 5 tenets. A second posting will include 6 thru 10.
The Essence of Conservatism by Russell Kirk
(1) Men and nations are governed by moral laws; and those laws have their origin in a wisdom that is more than human—in divine justice. At heart, political problems are moral and religious problems. The wise statesman tries to apprehend the moral law and govern his conduct accordingly. We have a moral debt to our ancestors, who bestowed upon us our civilization, and a moral obligation to the generations who will come after us. This debt is ordained of God. We have no right, therefore, to tamper impudently with human nature or with the delicate fabric of our civil social order.
(2) Variety and diversity are the characteristics of a high civilization. Uniformity and absolute equality are the death of all real vigor and freedom in existence. Conservatives resist with impartial strength the uniformity of a tyrant or an oligarchy, and the uniformity of what Tocqueville called “democratic despotism.”
(3) Justice means that every man and every woman have the right to what is their own—to the things best suited to their own nature, to the rewards of their ability and integrity, to their property and their personality. Civilized society requires that all men and women have equal rights before the law, but that equality should not extend to equality of condition: that is, society is a great partnership, in which all have equal rights—but not to equal things. The just society requires sound leadership, different rewards for different abilities, and a sense of respect and duty.
(4) Property and freedom are inseparably connected; economic leveling is not economic progress. Conservatives value property for its own sake, of course; but they value it even more because without it all men and women are at the mercy of an omnipotent government.
(5) Power is full of danger; therefore the good state is one in which power is checked and balanced, restricted by sound constitutions and customs. So far as possible, political power ought to be kept in the hands of private persons and local institutions. Centralization is ordinarily a sign of social decadence.
Haven't we played this game already?
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