Conservatism

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Viewpoint

Woozle notes: I have found it difficult to locate good sources on the Conservative philosophy, in part because it has become heavily politicized and in part because the usage of the term seems to be changing. I'll add bits as I find them, but others should feel free to contribute.

At its base, conservatism is the of preventing change in society; it often includes a certain reactionary element that wishes to revert society to an earlier (supposedly happer) time, but this is not the main thrust of conservatism.

Conservatism encompasses a wide variety of possible viewpoints, with different aspects being emphasized in different countries.

Conservatism in America

see also: Wikipedia:Conservatism in North America

The Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think-tank, states a belief "in individual liberty, free enterprise, limited government, a strong national defense, and traditional American values. We want an America that is safe and secure; where choices (in education, health care and retirement) abound; where taxes are fair, flat, and comprehensible; where everybody has the opportunity to go as far as their talents will take them; where government concentrates on its core functions, recognizes its limits and shows favor to none. ... we believe the values and ideas that motivated our Founding Fathers are worth conserving." This would seem to be a reasonable definition of the best attributes of American conservatism.

A cornerstone of American Conservative philosophy is personal responsibility – the idea that each individual is solely responsible for his/her own well-being; government exists solely to ensure that the rules are enforced, which includes protection from hostile external forces.

Conervatives seem to be against "big government" in certain circumstances -- see http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110007328

Politics

Conservatives in the United States are generally aligned with the Republican Party and sometimes with the Libertarian Party.

Related Articles

• United States Republican Party

Reference

• wikipedia:Conservatism

Conservative and Fundamentalist Groups

• Conservative
  • The Heritage Foundation (US)
  • John Locke Foundation (US - North Carolina)
    • Interestingly, the writings of John Locke himself "had an enormous influence on the development of liberalism", according to Wikipedia, notably the idea of "religious toleration"
• Conservative Christian
  • Bob Jones University (Greenville, SC)
  • Christian Voice (UK)
  • Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA) - e.g. Dress Code for Women
• Parody Sites
  • Landover Baptist Church "Where the Worthwhile Worship"
  • Betty Bowers "American's Best Christian"

Well-Known Conservative Proponents

• Coulter, Ann
• Buckley, William F. Jr. "the godfather of modern American conservatism"
• Limbaugh, Rush
• Will, George F.

Related Links

• Conservative Thinking

Blogs

• Right Side of the Rainbow: "News and commentary on law and politics by a right- of-center, gun-owning, gay Texan"
• Say Anything Blog: not explicitly conservative, but seems to lean that way
• Cathy's World: Cathy Seipp is a columnist for National Review Online and the Independent Women's Forum

Publications

• National Review

Commentary

• 2005-10-23 David Brin writes: "Right now, the very word "conservative" is used to mask the fact that one group wants dynamic markets and measures our success according to the rate of small business startups, vigorous investment in new business opportunities, social mobility for those who exhibit honest ambition and hard work, and rapid rewards for innovation. Sooner or later, champions of markets will realize that these traits are being systematically quashed by others who use "conservative" to mask a different agenda. The old agenda that destroyed every other market system on record."
• 2005-09-27 J.E.R. Staddon writes: "...there are acres written on conservatism, but one of the best definitions I've seen is that it is a disbelief in utopia, i.e., a disbelief in the "progressive" idea that human beings, and human society, are infinitely perfectible. The problem with belief in utopia is that if you believe it is possible, then you are obliged to take active steps tio bring it about, which usually leads to the death and misery of large numbers of human beings (see Stalin, Mao, the Islamists, etc.)."
• 2004-08-18: [1] In the context of a book review, suggests a brief definition of key conservative values, and then states that they are contradicted by scientific findings, which explains why conservatives tend to be anti-science. (To be investigated: do the given values accurately reflect the conservative worldview? Does science contradict them?)