Conservatives are portrayed as a lot of things nowadays – right now, as losers, dispirited, and irrelevant. Their opponents decry that they only have the same old rhetoric that dates from the Reagan era and is no longer applicable.
And sometimes, we fall for it. But that is not what Conservatism is. Rather, it is a way of thinking, of believing, and most of all, activating. I was going to say acting, but that seems to be what a lot of faux conservatives seem to have been doing for a while – merely acting. That is to say, they mouth the proper words, they debate with the right phrases, but then act like liberals when proposing legislation or "what to do next".
I saw this post over at RedState a while that tries to define what a Conservative is, does and believes and I’d thought that I’d share an abridged version – I highly suggest that you wander on over and read the full text. Remember, when engaged in any action, being able to name, articulate, and defend one’s position is important. Yes, that "gut" feeling is important ("I know this is right") as it shows one is centered correctly, but now we face the situation that we have to communicate often, well, and persuasively in order to once again have the opportunity to lead and govern. I have taken the liberty of adding my emphasis and formatting.
Lately there seems to be a lot of confusion as to what a Conservative is and is not. Some seem to think it has to do with abortion or taxes or national security. Well the truth is that conservatism is not about any given issue, rather conservatism is about principles.
Before we go any further I believe it would behoove us to go over a bit of terminology that is thrown about too often without people understanding thier meanings. the terms I am refering to are Issues, Policies, and Principles.
First let’s deal with Issues. An Issue, for the purpose of Politics, is something that is a cause of dispute. Issues come and go, some last longer than others, but all issues are fleeting in the long term. Some issues we deal with today are abortion, international terrorism and slowing or failing markets.
Next we have Policies. Policies are the constructs that we create to deal with any given issue. Policies of today include ESCR Ban, GWOT, and TARP.
Last but not least we have Principles. Principles are what guid us in the formation of Policy on any given Issue. All political groups have their set of principles that guid them, but not all principles are equal.
To be a conservative you must follow the Ten Conservative Principles written by Russell Kirk when constructing Policy for any given Issue. Below are the 10 principles.
- First, the conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order.
Moral order is the foundation to self governance…
Note that the key is internal and not external. Given a sufficient level of internalization, there is (as Doug puts it) a self-governor. Given that, there a less of a need for externally given governance – less laws. Liberals like to pass laws – their belief is that we are unable to control ourselves.
- Second, the conservative adheres to custom, convention, and continuity.
Tradition and history shows what has worked. Change may be good but only when consequences, as possible, can be determined. Change for the sake of change often invokes the Law of Unintended Consequences with negative results.
- Third, conservatives believe in what may be called the principle of prescription.
…our minds should not run to the contrary of these established truths which allow us to better understand why we have government and why we believe it must be limited in order to secure liberty.
- Fourth, conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence
Any public measure ought to be judged by its probable long-run consequences, not merely by temporary advantage or popularity.
Remember when some Republican Senators decided it was a fine idea to have the Feds send $100 to everyone to compensate for high gas prices? Yeah, not a long term outlook by those knuckleheads…
- Fifth, conservatives pay attention to the principle of variety
…"The only true forms of equality are equality at the Last Judgment and equality before a just court of law; all other attempts at levelling must lead, at best, to social stagnation"…
- Sixth, conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability
…The ideologues who promise the perfection of man and society have converted a great part of the twentieth-century world into a terrestrial hell…
- Seventh, conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked
…Property is sacred to freedom because of what property requires of the individual. Property must be maintained by the owner, and this as noted by Kirk instills in us all a sense of responsibility, not only to ourselves but to the community in which we live…
Contrast this with the responsibility that the Left tries to enforce via legislation and political correctness. We believe that this sense of responsibility is a consequence of self-interest and ownership. Liberals, as Obama has declared, do not respect this idea of Private Property; else, why is wealth redistribution so much a part of their Ethos.
Given that this is Thanksgiving time, Liberals should review the Tragedy of the Commons as seen leading up to the first Thanksgiving…
- Eighth, conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism
…If, then, in the name of an abstract Democracy, the functions of community are transferred to distant political direction—why, real government by the consent of the governed gives way to a standardizing process hostile to freedom and human dignity…
We hear often that tired phrase "we’re all in this together". While it may be true, Liberals use it to force that collective reasoning. Once that ability to choose is gone, Rights begin to wither as the individual, upon which our Founding Fathers concentrated, becomes subservient to the Group. Then, whoever controls the group controls the individual.
- Ninth, the conservative perceives the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions
…The Founders, wisely, understood man’s lust for power and where the passions of man would lead once power was attained….
Absolute power corrupts absolutely
- Tenth, the thinking conservative understands that permanence and change must be recognized and reconciled in a vigorous society
…Through careful deliberation and adherence to the other nine principles we will embrace progress as long as it is not the cult of Progress (notice the capital P).
Our challenge, now, is how to take in this philosophy (in part or in whole) and figure out the translation of it to action. How do we take this philosophy and apply it to today’s problems and issues? And how to convince others of its rightness?
