Conservatism


 

Conservatism is a major political philosophy supporting traditional values or an established social order. Etymologically, the word conservatism implies that conservatives seek to conserve the existing social order or to reinstate an ideal social order now in decline. This can take a peaceful democratic form or violent radical form, and there are historical examples of both.

Related Topics:
Political philosophy - Etymologically - Democratic - Radical

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The reasons any two conservatives might oppose change, along with the particular changes they oppose, tend to differ across countries and history. Conservatism's rallying call is simple enough to summon a diversity of adherents. For example, both nationalist defenders of ?Dutch tolerance? as a traditional national value and Islamist supporters of Sharia law in the Netherlands, disparate though they are, can be called conservative. As local and historical situations vary, so does the conservatism, and it varies most generally by the values it supports and the limits those values would place on innovation.

Related Topics:
Islamist - Sharia - Netherlands

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In politics, conservative philosophy underlies the ideology of conservative political parties in various countries. Even in the absence of a Conservative party, the values conservatives defend vary widely from country to country. Some equate conservatism with the political right, but depending on the circumstances, conservatism can also apply to the political left. A Russian conservative might look back to better times under communism. Conservatism as a philosophy is much older than the left-right division.

Related Topics:
Political parties - Political right - Political left - Russia - Left-right division

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In English-speaking countries, conservatism often refers to a political philosophy presented by English statesman Edmund Burke. Burkean conservatives wish to conserve heritage; they advocate a political bias in favour of the current social climate. To a Burkean, any existing value or institution has undergone the correcting influence of past experience and ought to be respected. They insist that further change beyond the current situation be 'organic'.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

~ Table of Content ~

Introduction
Universality and historical impact
Classification of conservatism
Values
History
Burkean conservatism as non-ideological
Value conservatism and tradition
Conservatism and nationalism
Conservatism and liberalism
Nature and environment
Conservatism and the Right
Conservatives in various countries
See also
Further reading
External links and references

~ Community ~

History Forum
Come and discuss about History, Civilizations, Historical Events and Figures
History Web-Ring
A community of sites, blogs and forums dedicated to History. Do not hesitate to submit your site.

Latest news on conservatism

Palin Laughs as Opponent Is Called "Bitch," "Cancer," Mocked For Her Weight

Some compassionate conservatism there.

Does MSNBC approve of Pat Buchanan's appearances on a "pro-White" radio show?

As Media Matters for America has noted, Obama Nation author Jerome Corsi reportedly canceled an appearance on the August 17 edition of The Political Cesspool Radio Show -- a program whose "Statement of Principles" asserts that it "represent[s] a philosophy that is pro-White" -- after Media Matters for America, the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch blog, and several media outlets noted Corsi's reported plan to appear on the show. Corsi had appeared on the show's July 20 edition. But Corsi isn't the only conservative media figure to appear on Political Cesspool; MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan appeared on the program's June 29, 2008, and September 14, 2006, editions. Buchanan's June 29 interview was streamed "Live" on the self-described "White Nationalist" and "White Pride" website Stormfront.org. In a statement posted on Political Cesspool co-host James Edwards' website following Buchanan's appearance on September 14, 2006, co-host Winston Smith wrote: On Thursday night, September 14, James Edwards and [co-host] Jess Bonds interviewed Pat Buchanan in a show that attracted much fanfare. But what does it all mean? First of all, Pat Buchanan is one of the giants of America First Constitutional Conservatism and his appearance on our show says a lot about The Political Cesspool. Don't ever let anyone tell you that this broadcast doesn't matter, my friends, because when the likes of Pat Buchanan agrees to be on your program, he does so only after his people have researched the program and decided it's in their interest to be noticed by that program's audience because of that audience's quantity and quality. So, not only does Pat Buchanan's appearance on The Political Cesspool speak well of this show, it also speaks well of this show's audience. To put it in its simplest terms, Pat Buchanan thinks you good folks are worth his time. He wants you to hear what he's got to say. A Winter 2006 article in the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report noted Buchanan's September 14, 2006, appearance on The Political Cesspool and reported that the show has "featured an array of past and present Klansmen and neo-Nazis, a veritable 'Who's Who' of the radical right." Notwithstanding Buchanan's appearances on a "pro-White" radio show and his own history of controversial statements on race, Buchanan appeared opposite Washington Post columnist Gene Robinson on the August 5 edition of MSNBC's Hardball and discussed with guest host Mike Barnicle the question: "Who did play the race card, [Sen. John] McCain or [Sen. Barack] Obama? Or was it both?" During his appearance on the June 29 edition of The Political Cesspool, Buchanan disputed "the idea that [World War II] was a good war, this was a war where good -- pure good fought pure evil" and also said: "But as I say, had there been no war, there would have been no Holocaust, and I'm not sure there would have been a war if the British hadn't issued this insane war guarantee." Buchanan then had the following exchange with Edwards about Charles Lindbergh and the America First Committee: EDWARDS: Well, you know, history is, Pat, kind of like a Sunday buffet. People seemingly take what they want and leave the rest on the table. And, of course, it's been lost to antiquity, the fact that the vast majority of Americans stood with Charles A. Lindbergh and the America First Committee in opposition to our entry into World War II, before the attack, of course, on Pearl Harbor. BUCHANAN: Well, good for you. Good for you in bringing up Colonel Lindbergh's name, because his reputation has been blackened because of a single speech he gave and a couple of paragraphs in it, where he said that, you know, there are three forces that are moving for war, and one of them is, of course, the Roosevelt administration. The other is the British, which was clearly true. They had the man called Intrepid, William Stephenson, trying to find ways to get the Americans into war, putting up propaganda, frankly blackmailing senators and everything. And then he said the Jewish community is beating the drums for war, but this is going to be a disaster for the Jewish community if we get into war. And of course, that was verboten to say, but frankly, no one has said he -- what he said was, you know, palpably untrue. And these folks -- and before December 7, 1941, the America First Committee offered -- they said, "Look, let's put up a resolution in Congress saying, 'We declare war on Germany,' and have it voted up or down, but don't sneak us by a back door" -- EDWARDS: Mm-hmm. BUCHANAN: -- "into war." Later in the interview, Edwards thanked Buchanan "for coming back on our program, for fighting for our people." According to The Political Cesspool's "Statement of Principles," the show "heartily endorse[s] and accept[s] as our own" the belief that "the United States is a European country and that Americans are part of the European people." Buchanan did not respond to Edwards' reference to Buchanan's "fighting for our people." Following Buchanan's June 29 appearance on The Political Cesspool, the Anti-Defamation League issued a press release asserting that "Edwards regularly invites anti-Semites, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, Holocaust deniers and conspiracy theorists to voice their views on his show." The press release also quoted ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman's statement: "While parading himself as a moderate, to sell his book Pat Buchanan has stooped into the cesspool of extremism." Responding to the release in a July 2 blog post, Edwards wrote: "For four years we have withstood attacks and refused to apologize for our beliefs. We know our Cause is righteous. When lesser men would have cowered, we have held our ground. This, along with an unblemished record of on-air professionalism and consistency has forged a fine reputation for The Political Cesspool Radio Program." Audio of Buchanan's June 29 appearance on The Political Cesspool was posted to Buchanan's website on July 8 by the Webmaster, "Linda," who wrote: "Here's the radio show clip that gave the Anti-Defamation League [ADL] a reason to get all fired up against Pat - again. I'm sure the ADL will use this as a key issue in their next several fund raising letters." According to a Google cache snapshot of Stormfront.org "as it appeared on Jun 29, 2008 23:50:45 GMT," text under the headline "Stormfront Broadcast Radio" stated: "Live NOW: Political Cesspool with James Edwards & Bill Rolen & Winston Smith -- Guests: Patrick J. Buchanan, promoting with new book; 'Churchill, Hitler, and The Unnecessary War.' " Media Matters has noted that Corsi's July 20 appearance was also streamed "Live" on Stormfront.org. Edwards has stated on his blog that The Political Cesspool is "in syndication" with Stormfront, which The Washington Post described as "a central meeting place for the white power movement" in a June 22 article about "an increase in racist and white supremacist activity" surrounding Obama. The Google cache of Stormfront.org's website "as it appeared on Jun 29, 2008 23:50:45 GMT," taken on August 19 at 5:50 p.m. ET: