What is Conservatism?

As a writer of a political blog that leans heavily to the right, I spend a lot of time discussing conservatism and conservative principles. As a result, I often have people ask me to give them a definition of conservatism. It would be great if it was that easy, but it would be like trying to define common sense. There is a definition in the dictionary, but in either case, you really just have to know it when you see it.

For the record, the applicable definition in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary reads as follows:

Conservatism: a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change; specifically : such a philosophy calling for lower taxes, limited government regulation of business and investing, a strong national defense, and individual financial responsibility for personal needs (as retirement income or health-care coverage)

This definition pretty well sums up some of the things that are indicative of a conservative political philosophy, but it doesn’t do much to address the driving force behind conservatism – freedom.

Conservatism is based on the idea that men were created with the right to do as they see fit, up to the point that their actions infringe upon the rights of others. Being reasonable human beings, we recognize that in order to live in a civil society, our freedom must be limited to a certain degree, but only to that which is necessary to avoid infringing on the rights of our neighbors. With that in mind, we have created and established governments for the purpose of ensuring that we are able to live in close proximity to each other while maintaining as much personal freedom as possible.

By definition, “government” functions by restricting freedom. If you govern something, you must control it. The amount of freedom you have is inversely proportional to the amount of government applied. As conservatives then, we believe that only limited government can ensure maximum freedom, and all other aspects of conservatism are tied to this core principle.

It is perhaps just as important to understand what conservatism is not. Those on the other end of the political spectrum, those we call “Liberals” or the “Left”, would have you believe many things about conservatives, most of which simply are not true. Many of them believe these things themselves, mostly out of ignorance, but there are many liberals who know better yet continue to use deliberate mischaracterization of our views for the sake of political gain.

Conservatives are not “greedy” or “mean-spirited” as they would have you believe. We don’t hate the environment or want old people and children to starve to death. As demonstrated by the fact that conservatives tend to give more to charity than do liberals, we do care about the less fortunate, but we recognize that charity is not a legitimate role of the government. We love our children and our elderly (and in fact we all plan on being old one day ourselves), so it would be foolish for us to want them to starve in the streets; but we do not believe massive and wasteful government programs are the best way to ensure their well-being.

When you understand the core tenets of conservatism, it is easier to distinguish the differences between the two competing political philosophies that shape our political environment. One resists the expansion of government and the other sees a new role for government in every crisis they manage to create. For every problem they can find, they propose a new government program to manage it, which invariably necessitates new and higher taxes to fund it. When their new program manages to cause more problems than it solves, they respond with yet another new program and eventually entirely new agencies. This never ending cycle is the mechanism by which they grow and expand government into every aspect of our lives, and as a result destroy the very freedoms that government was responsible to protect.

The differences between the two philosophies are distinct and profound. It is therefore vitally important that we understand these differences and recognize the threat to our freedom that we face. Our ancestors fought to protect the freedoms they passed down to us, and now it is our turn to protect those freedoms for our children and grandchildren.

Preparing for Battle

With the 2012 Presidential election process about to get into full swing, it is only natural for us to focus on winning this all important battle. Many have said, and I concur, that the very survival of our nation hinges on the outcome. This will be a hard fought election, and undoubtedly a lot of people will become weary with the process by the time it is over.

Indeed, it does seem that the battle between ideologies has been going on forever with neither side gaining any permanent ground. Although conservatives have taken the hill on a number of occasions, invariably we wind up giving it back, willingly at times, to the left. This back and forth can be entertaining to political junkies, but it takes a toll on our nation and leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of average citizens who view politics as a necessary evil. Election battles can be quite effective at taking the hill, but holding onto that territory will require a lot more work, and should involve each and every one of us.

The problem is that conservatives have relied on the political process to win elections, but neglected to make the effort to win the hearts and minds of the American people. We are more prone to engage in political debates in a knockdown, drag out style rather than engaging in intellectual conversation about the foundational ideas that define our ideology. The knock-down drag-outs are great for scoring points against our political foes, but they rarely change minds or gain new recruits for our cause. It is more effective to discuss issues than to argue about them, using facts and ideas to convince rather than to vanquish.

This only works of course, if we are well supplied with the right facts and ideas to support our views. It is not enough to simply stay abreast of current events and listen to talk radio to bolster our arguments; we must be knowledgeable in the foundations of conservative principles and ideas in order to make a convincing case. By this approach, we can not only win elections, we can fortify our gains and continue the fight in the next election rather than losing ground due to shifting public sentiment.

Like many people, I found myself on the conservative side of politics without fully understanding why. My political views were based on what made sense to me and what just seemed right, but I only had a superficial understanding of the issues of the day. What I lacked was a clear understanding of the fundamentals that supported the conservative viewpoint. I found that it was not enough to just say that smaller government was better; I wanted to know why smaller government was better. Rather than just quoting our founding fathers about the subject, I wanted to know what led them to their conclusions.

As I began to dig deeper into the roots of conservatism, I found that I was in better position to see through the arguments of the left, and to recognize the hidden elements of progressivism that have permeated our political universe. This allows me to discuss rather than argue, and hopefully to convince rather than to conquer. I will be the first to say that there is still much to learn, but thankfully the subject matter is fascinating and easily understood.

It is not necessary for us to all become constitutional scholars or students of Austrian economics, but it is important to be familiar with the basics of the schools of thought that shape conservatism. When we are in a discussion about rights, we should understand what ‘rights’ are, and how we obtained them. When we discuss the size of government, we should also be able to intelligently discuss the proper role of government. When we discuss some piece of pending legislation, we should have a working knowledge of the constitutional authority needed for that legislation to be legitimate.

Fortunately, the internet has made it possible for us to have virtually unlimited resources of information at out fingertips. One particularly valuable resource we now have available is the college course Constitution 101 provided online free of charge by Hillsdale College. It is an excellent source of foundational knowledge about the document that established our government. Another valuable resource is The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that offers in-depth analysis of the most important issues of the day from a solidly conservative perspective, as well as solutions for those issues from some of the best conservative minds in America. The Cato Institute is yet another great resource offering ideas from a more libertarian perspective.

The election of Mitt Romney will not be a great victory for conservatism. It will however, represent a major defeat for Obama’s brand of radical liberalism, and more importantly it will provide conservatives with vital time and important opportunities to advance our agenda in a way that will provide lasting results. Few of us will ever run for public office, but all of us have an even more important role to play in winning the future of our country.