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    What is Conservative?

    Filed Under politics 

    I am curious about something in Joel Monka’s recent post, A Conservative in a Liberal Faith. In one paragraph he describes conservatism (note: PP stands for Principles & Purposes):

    None of the general principles of a classic (not a religious right) conservative, things like fiscal responsibility, personal responsibility and personal action, that rights reside within the citizen and are only loaned to the government, not vice-versa, least government possible, and even that as local as possible, etc., are in conflict with the PPs- with one possible exception: Conservatives recognize that government is rarely the right vehicle to address the basic issues, that either the marketplace or other citizen organizations (like churches) are far more effective in issues where hearts and minds must be changed. This is in direct opposition to the current mindset of the majority of the UUA, who seem to believe that social justice comes only from the pages of a sternly-worded fax to a congressman.

    The thing is, I can agree with all of those statements, and yet I’m not a conservative. And I don’t think I’m deluding myself; I can’t think of any other person who would call me conservative, either.

    Surely, there’s got to be something more to being a conservative than is mentioned here? Is it a difference of values - or one of methods? I have a hard time even calling myself “a liberal.” While I’m “liberal” at times, I have a hard time accepting that label when it’s used to describe someone like John Kerry. We’re not even in the same book, never mind on the same page. (For Bush, I’d have to say we’re in two completely different libraries.)

    Isn’t the nature of conservatism defined as resistance to change? I associate it with the supporting of the status quo. Is this inaccurate?

    Some time ago the DH and I were having a conversation about power in our society. The DH posited that there are three major powers in the US: government; private industry; and the people. I’m interested in ways that the power of the people can be expressed and fulfilled. I feel as though conservatives are interested in bolstering the power of industry, and liberals want to increase the power of the government. (Noam Chomsky points out that it’s in the best interest of industry that the people distrust their government, because the government is the only force powerful enough to restrict industry).

    So I’m left with the question of … who is interested in increasing the power of the people? At every turn I see private corporations encroaching on the rights and freedoms of people - whether it’s Clear Channel suing cities for allowing public murals (citing them as “unfair competition” with billboard ads), or the very current issue of Net Neutrality. And government is dominated by a fairly homogenous group of people who are constantly being pressured by private interests (and in some cases, being run by high profile representatives of private interests).

    Any advice on the subject would be much appreciated.

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    5 Responses to “What is Conservative?”

    1. Ms. Theologian on March 6th, 2007 6:18 pm

      Well, first I love that you quoted Noam Chomsky, and that’s a really good quote. I am fiscally conservative and dislike the idea of large government in our lives, yet I’m flamingly liberal. I think this is because at the heart of it, I disagree with the emotional issues: I think gays should be able to marry (and adopt), I think women should be able to work outside the home (or not), and that people of color haven’t been many opportunities that they should have and that we should correct that. To me being conservative has a lot to do with being okay with the status quo, resisting change, and respecting authority—I’m not okay with any of that.

    2. jess on March 6th, 2007 6:53 pm

      Joel presents the classical definition of conservatism, which the current Conservative movement as they have branded themselves has gotten as far away from that as possible. It seems to me that today’s Conservatives are in favor of as little government as possible when it comes to regulating industry and the pursuit of wealth, and as much government as possible when it comes to defining what they consider to be moral behavior.

      I’m a liberal because I believe in sharing the wealth, in helping the disadvantaged, in using government to regulate the balance of power between the haves and the have-nots. But I value classical conservative ideas of protecting our resources for future generations and fiscal responsibility. I don’t think either dominant political party gets it right.

      And Noam Chomsky is so very smart.

    3. Philocrites on March 6th, 2007 7:53 pm

      You may be interested in something I wrote in 2005 about how “conservative” UUs are really liberals who don’t like the word. Liberalism, although people resist acknowledging it, is the democratic, pluralist ethos of the United States, the cultural and intellectual tradition embraced in different ways by most political ideologies with real influence in our country.

      Some of them may call themselves progressives; others call themselves libertarians; others call themselves neoconservatives; others say they’re liberals. But the appearance of genuine political conservatism — a conservatism deeply opposed to liberalism — is new in the United States, and would have an almost impossible time reconciling with core liberal commitments in Unitarian Universalism, like a person’s right to choose their faith, choose their leaders, and openly question the authority of ancient traditions. Ain’t nothing conservative about those ideas.

      You can be a conservative liberal in the UUA, but you can’t be a conservative conservative. At least I can’t fathom it.

    4. Will Shetterly on March 6th, 2007 9:43 pm

      Much of the problem is that Americans still want an either/or political spectrum. Things make more sense when you factor libertarianism into the mix. We don’t have a name in the US for the libertarian left; the libertarian right is represented by Goldwater Republicans and the Libertarian Party. UUs, whether conservative or liberal, tend to be libertarian.

    5. Joel Monka on March 7th, 2007 4:28 am

      Philocrites and especially Will said it very well. And as Jess noted, there has been a change over time… many who self-identify as “conservative” really aren’t; they’re merely Republicans. And, of course, many Democrats aren’t Liberal, either.

      Additionally, history has changed things. 45 years ago, conservatives opposed JFK’s tax cuts as too risky; Republicans prefered the slow-but-sure pay down of the national debt. But when Kennedy proved that the resultant economic boost actually increases tax revenues- a smaller piece of a much larger pie- conservatives adopted the concept and by the time Reagan came along, it had completely flipped from a Liberal/Democratic thing to a Conservative/Republican thing.

      Bush, however, isn’t a good conservative even by modern standards. His tax cuts are the single conservative issue he’s done; No Child Left Behind and Medicare Drug Benefits are both huge expansions of the size and scope of government, which is NOT conservative. I don’t call the war in Iraq a conservative/liberal thing; before we knew how bad our intelligence was, opinions were all over the place.

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