The well-known website, Wikipedia, defines conservatism as:
. . . a political and social philosophy
promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and
civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, hierarchy,
and authority, as established in respective cultures, as well as property
rights. Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as
organized religion, parliamentary government, and property rights with the aim
of emphasizing continuity.[1]
Conservatives, like liberals, are not monolithic, meaning
their beliefs are varied and diverse. What one conservative holds most dear may
not match what another conservative proclaims as fundamental. However, most conservatives
have similar guiding principles that are held in varying
degrees as foundational. A partial list of those principles is provided below.
I have prepared this list, culled from a dozen or so
conservative websites, in response to plaintive questions many liberal friends
have posed to me, such as “Why do conservatives vote against their vested
interests” (such as economic, social, etc.) and “What is it that conservatives
really believe?” Hopefully, in listing those guiding principles I will have
given liberals something to think about, meaning voting behavior involves
complex reasoning, not simplistic knee-jerk reactions. For many conservatives,
voting for or against a specific ballot measure may be influenced by
foundational principles that may not be apparent to anyone unfamiliar with the
range of conservative beliefs.
In other words, I urge liberals to see conservatives as complex people, the greater majority of whom are not knuckle-dragging deplorables. If liberals are going to continue to oppose conservatives in the voting booth, at the very least they should try to recognize conservatives’ real-world values rather than the dubious strawmen often created to demonize them.
Note: the following list is not intended to be all-inclusive.
Guiding Conservative Principles
Individual
liberty/freedom.
Property
rights are paramount; meaning no person is free if they are restricted from
owning and possessing property.
Limited
government, low taxes, and few business regulations.
Free
markets based on capitalism/private enterprise and little government
interference.
Personal
responsibility trumps government assistance.
Empowerment
of the individual to solve problems; rugged individualism; self-help rather
than government welfare, meaning government is not the solution to domestic
social problems.
Public
and private social services are an intentionally corrupt scam to keep minority
groups on what is called the Democrat Plantation.
Government
should provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals and capitalize
on opportunities.
Many if
not most government programs/agencies should be privatized to create jobs, generate
opportunities, and thus reduce poverty.
“Judicial
deference” is highly valued while “judicial activism” is not; meaning the Originalist
Theory of constitutional interpretation seeks to determine the intended meaning
of the text and does not grant judges free rein to create new rights and powers.
States’
rights are paramount; state control should trump federal control.
Civil
institutions (family, voluntary associations, organized religions, etc.) are
society’s lifeblood and should be protected from government interference.
The
right to life is sacred, meaning abortion and euthanasia are murder while
executing convicted criminals is both moral and just.
High rates
of religious participation are greatly preferred.
Education
is the bedrock of freedom and the gateway to opportunity.
Socialism/communism
is evil.
Most
Democrats want the U.S. to become much more socialist until government controls
nearly everything in our lives.
Right
to work/anti-union; unions are socialist creations.
Corporations
and corporate executives are more highly valued than unions or blue-collar
employees.
National
security is the federal government’s first obligation and is necessary to
democracy.
Preferential
treatment of races by any means is wrong; civil rights are individual rights and do not guarantee
equality of outcomes.
Healthcare
provided by the government (socialized medicine) means that everyone will get
the same low-quality care.
Immigration
laws must be enforced: illegal immigrants should be deported.
Gun control
laws violate the 2nd Amendment, which is highly prized as inviolate.
A giant
conspiracy of local, state, and federal elections officials across the country ignores
or denies the existence of massive, wide-scale voter fraud.
At
least 10,000 climate scientists around the world are engaged in a massive
criminal conspiracy to perform demonstrably bad science in order to receive more
government grants to do more bad science; although no scientists have yet been
able to expose the way that conspiracy has taken control of all climate
research in every industrialized country, it’s only a matter of time.
