Conservatism: What Is It?

[zonmoy]

To understand Conservatism, shall we read a few good Conservative authors like William F. Buckley and George Will (both of whom are brilliant), then summarize the principles they explain to us?



Shall we then organize our notes and write a nice little essay on Conservatism? Something creative and clever? We can quote a few Conservative leaders like Arizona’s Barry Goldwater (whom I admired very much), former English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former President Ronald Reagan, and perhaps even President G. W. Bush - thus capturing the expression of Conservative thought in its native tongue?



This would have earned a good grade from Professor Leonard in “POLS 304 - American Political Thought.” If I were to write such an essay and you were to read it, then we both would surely understand Conservatism, wouldn’t we?



Unfortunately, no, we would not. American Conservatism is a complex thing, and is not easily understood. However, a Machiavellian can begin to understand it if he or she is willing to consider the following ideas:

http://www.midasjones.com/html/what_is_conservatism_.htm

[The Magistrate]

1. A Beautiful Piece, Sir: It Should Not Just Be Read, It Should Be Memorized....

[The Magistrate]

9. One Gem Towards The End Of This, My Friends....

"Do not bother to reply to Conservative rhetoric or analyze it. Speak only of Conservative behavior. Don’t speak to Conservatives; speak about them. The moment that you start reacting to Conservative rhetoric, they are controlling the contest and you will lose."

[Ron Green]

2. K&R - a very useful and fun site. For me, in a nutshell conservatism is rooted in the belief

that the differences among people are more important than the commonalities; in other words, God is not loving and universal but fragmented and jealous.

This basic misconception allows conservatives to maintain their divisive policies and fool lots of people into supporting them.

[Warpy]

3. Overall excellent article, minus some minor nitpicking

Personally, I do find conservatives united in one aspect: they all fear inconvenience more than death, itself.

That's why they're resistant to change, even changing an obviously erroneous opinion that has caused them trouble. Changing it might be inconvenient, they might have to explain themselves at some point.

However, the rest of the article is a good description of the various conflicting factions under the label "conservative." The fear of inconvenience is what keeps the warring factions united.

[zbdent]

4. William F. Buckley (sr.) couldn't have been a conservative -

he seemed so intellectual ...

[DailyGrind51]

17. For all his intellect, Buckley did not seem to understand the difference

between "Christian fundamentalism" and his own "Catholicism".

[bryant69]

5. I suspect it's a piece written about liberals with the numbers filed off

and conservatives put in the position. Certainly everything the author says lines up with what they say about us.

But of course we are right when we say it about them and they are wrong when they say it about us.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Indenturedebtor]

6. A very good, enlightening, and long article there :D

Be sure to read all 4 parts of it!

Thanks for posting OP!

[Hydra]

7. That was an exceptional article

And it supports what I've been finding in life lately- you can't convince people of the truth when they think they are "right." It simply isn't possible.

Instead, you have to DO and marginalize the people who are attempting to stop you for their own benefit.

Ironic that the method they use against us is the obvious countermeasure.

[TrogL]

8. The author needs to make the distinction between...

Conservatism, fascism and the Authoritarian personality.

[electropop]

11. In 21st century USA, all 3 are the same thing.

[Riktor]

13. No, they are not.

Conservatism is every bit as ideologically varied as liberalism. It is ludicrous to lump Cletus the socially conservative yokel into the same motivational category as Archibald Thistlewick XXIV, Bostonian industrial mogul. To do so is to engage in an uninformed, speculative rant... the kind of tripe we're used to hearing from the likes of Rush, Pappa Bear, and Glenn Beck.

[electropop]

14. The "conservative (bowel) movement" actively works to keep them lumped together.

Archibald needs Cletus' support in order to provide the veneer of legitimacy. Even if Cletus is clueless as to the way he's being used, he believes that Archibald is his friend, and that they are both part of the same movement.

[Riktor]

15. Not quite

Archibald befriends Johnny Fratboy, an upper-middle class, educated go-getter with expensive tastes and the gift of gab. Archibald finances Johnny's campaign, and in return Johnny convinces Cletus, who hates Archibald's elitism and blames him for the economic stagnation of his hometown of West Pigsknuckle, Arkansas, that Archibald is, in fact, a liberal. Because Archibald doesn't believe in hashing out his hard-earned inheritance for such trivialities as public education, Cletus is none the wiser.

Archibald keeps reaping the benefits of a widening income gap, Johnny makes just enough to sate his lust for hookers, scotch, and cocaine, and Cletus gets to feel like a populist martyr. Sure, they're all technically on the "same side", but their motivations are completely different.

The OP sought to find some uniform reason as to why some people are conservative. Clearly, the OP is utterly without merit in this regard, no matter how ridiculous conservatism really is (and, indeed, we can all agree it is pretty ridiculous).

[zonmoy]

16. Actually if you looked at the original article.

I see cletus as being the prey of the predators that run the right wing. he has been manipulated by a predatory and malevolent god to vote for the views of other manipulative and malevolent predators.

[Cheap_Trick]

10. Conservatism is a disease

Baseball bats are the cure.

[zonmoy]

12. going to need a much stronger cure than baseball bats though.

[DailyGrind51]

18. "Conservative" is "I've got mine, so piss on you!"

"Liberal" is "I've got mine and I will work to create conditions so that it becomes possible for you to have your's also!"