Conservatism/US

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Overview

Conservatism in the United States takes on particular causes and priorities which are not necessarily aligned with conservatism in other parts of the world.

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.

American Conservatives seem to be generally against "big government": "The government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have." -- attributed to Gerald Ford [1]

During the presidential administration of George W. Bush, the use of the term neoconservative has re-emerged to describe an offshoot of conservatism whose adherents are outwardly conservative (especially on wedge issues) but in practice somewhat (sometimes completely) at odds with some of conservatism's basic tenets.

Politics

The majority of conservatives in the United States are aligned with the Republican Party, although a significant minority adhere more to the positions of the Libertarian Party.

Related Articles

Conservative and Fundamentalist Groups

Well-Known Conservative Proponents

pundits

financiers

Links

Reference