- Key People:
- Marcel Lefebvre
- St. Pius X
- Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther
- Related Topics:
- political system
- ideology
- neotraditionalism
- paleoconservatism
- tradwife
- On the Web:
- Humanities LibreTexts - Conservatism (Sep. 12, 2026)
conservatism
-
What is conservatism in politics?
Conservatism is a political doctrine that emphasizes the importance of traditional institutions and practices. Conservatives value what has been inherited from the past rather than abstract ideals, favoring gradual change that maintains continuity and stability. They view society as an interconnected organism, not just a collection of individuals, and believe government should serve existing ways of life rather than trying to transform society.
Because conservatives harbor a distrust of human nature, rootlessness, and untested innovations, they rely on political, cultural, and religious frameworks. They believe that people are what they are because they have inherited the skills, manners, morality, and other cultural resources of their ancestors.
2 Britannica SourcesThis answer is created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are the main beliefs of conservatism?
Conservatism is a political doctrine that emphasizes the importance of traditional institutions and practices. Conservatives generally prefer historically inherited ideas to abstract or idealistic ones, grounded in the belief that society is a living organism with closely connected, interdependent members.
Key tenets include:
* A preference for tradition, historical continuity, and established frameworks in society and governance.
* Skepticism towards radical social and political change, with a focus on maintaining stability.
* Emphasis on institutions like family, religion, and traditional values to provide structure and self-discipline.
* A view of government as a servant to existing ways of life, resisting the urge to transform society.
* Distrust of human nature, with recognition of humans being driven by passions and desires, thus needing restraint from traditional institutions.2 Britannica SourcesThis answer is created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do conservatives feel about change and tradition?
Conservatives generally exhibit a skepticism toward the idea that significant moral improvements can be achieved through political and social change. They place a strong emphasis on tradition, historical continuity, and established institutions, viewing them as vital for maintaining social order. This perspective arises from a belief that human nature is prone to irrationality, selfishness, and violence, necessitating restraints provided by traditional frameworks such as family, religion, and cultural norms. Change is viewed cautiously, with a preference for gradual adaptation over radical or untested innovations.
2 Britannica SourcesThis answer is created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are some common types of conservatism?
Conservatism is more of a temperament than a doctrine. It generally displays a distrust of rootlessness, untested innovations, and human nature, relying instead on historical continuity and traditional frameworks. Here are a few common types of conservatism:
- Social conservatism Social conservatism emphasizes the preservation of traditional social mores, gender roles, family, and sexual morality, often through legislation against abortion, same-sex marriage, and pornography.
- Neoconservatism This mainly American group believes that high taxation and government regulation hamper economic growth. They support a smaller welfare state that encourages self-reliance and defends middle-class values. They are also interventionist in foreign affairs, supporting the advancement of American interests and combating communism.
- Paleoconservatism Paleoconservatives advocate for policies inspired by the Old Right, celebrating America’s Christian heritage and opposing immigration. However, they have faced accusations of isolationism, racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism.
4 Britannica SourcesThis answer is created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How has conservatism influenced different governments?
Conservatism, a political doctrine valuing traditional institutions and practices, emerged in the late 18th century, reacting to the French Revolution. It favors historically inherited norms over abstract ideals, viewing society as an organic whole.
Figures like Metternich influenced 19th-century European politics, promoting traditionalism and the restoration of monarchies. After World War I, conservative parties in Europe were initially weakened but later recovered, emphasizing market economies and social services. Margaret Thatcher's government in Britain, during the 1980's, focused on individual initiative and laissez-faire economics.
2 Britannica SourcesThis answer is created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does conservatism compare to other political philosophies, like liberalism or socialism?
Conservatism generally emphasizes tradition, skepticism towards radical social change, and the importance of institutions to restrain human nature.
In contrast, liberalism is more open to social change to protect individual freedom, with modern liberals willing to experiment with large-scale social changes.
Socialism advocates public control of property and resources, aiming for social equality and cooperation rather than individual competition. Democratic socialism seeks a decentralized socialist economy within a democratic political system. Conservatism, however, typically favors private enterprise and a market economy, distrusting government intervention in the economy.
4 Britannica SourcesThis answer is created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
conservatism, political doctrine that emphasizes the value of traditional institutions and practices.
Conservatism is a preference for the historically inherited rather than the abstract and ideal. This preference has traditionally rested on an organic conception of society—that is, on the belief that society is not merely a loose collection of individuals but a living organism comprising closely connected, interdependent members. Conservatives thus favor institutions and practices that have evolved gradually and are manifestations of continuity and stability. Government’s responsibility is to be the servant, not the master, of existing ways of life, and politicians must therefore resist the temptation to transform society and politics. This suspicion of government activism distinguishes conservatism not only from radical forms of political thought but also from liberalism, which is a modernizing, antitraditionalist movement dedicated to correcting the evils and abuses resulting from the misuse of social and political power. In The Devil’s Dictionary (1906), the American writer Ambrose Bierce cynically (but not inappropriately) defined the conservative as “a statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.” Conservatism must also be distinguished from the reactionary outlook, which favors the restoration of a previous, and usually outmoded, political or social order.
It was not until the late 18th century, in reaction to the upheavals of the French Revolution (1789), that conservatism began to develop as a distinct political attitude and movement. The term conservative was introduced after 1815 by supporters of the newly restored Bourbon monarchy in France, including the author and diplomat Franƈois-Auguste-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand. In 1830 the British politician and writer John Wilson Croker used the term to describe the British Tory Party (see Whig and Tory), and John C. Calhoun, an ardent defender of states’ rights in the United States, adopted it soon afterward. The originator of modern, articulated conservatism (though he never used the term himself) is generally acknowledged to be the British parliamentarian and political writer Edmund Burke, whose Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) was a forceful expression of conservatives’ rejection of the French Revolution and a major inspiration for counterrevolutionary theorists in the 19th century. For Burke and other pro-parliamentarian conservatives, the violent, untraditional, and uprooting methods of the revolution outweighed and corrupted its liberating ideals. The general revulsion against the violent course of the revolution provided conservatives with an opportunity to restore pre-Revolutionary traditions, and several brands of conservative philosophy soon developed.
This article discusses the intellectual roots and political history of conservatism from the 18th century to the present. For coverage of conservative ideas in the history of political philosophy, see political philosophy.