Portal:Conservatism

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Introduction

Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology, which seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in which it appears. In Western culture, depending on the particular nation, conservatives seek to promote and preserve a range of institutions, such as the nuclear family, organised religion, the military, the nation-state, property rights, rule of law, aristocracy, and monarchy. Conservatives tend to favour institutions and practices that enhance social order and historical continuity.

Edmund Burke, an 18th-century Anglo-Irish statesman who opposed the French Revolution but supported the American Revolution, is credited as one of the forefathers of conservative thought in the 1790s along with Savoyard statesman Joseph de Maistre. The first established use of the term in a political context originated in 1818 with François-René de Chateaubriand during the period of Bourbon Restoration that sought to roll back the policies of the French Revolution and establish social order.

Conservatism has varied considerably as it has adapted itself to existing traditions and national cultures. Thus, conservatives from different parts of the world, each upholding their respective traditions, may disagree on a wide range of issues. Historically associated with right-wing politics, the term has been used to describe a wide range of views. Conservatism may be either libertarian or authoritarian, populist or elitist, progressive or reactionary, moderate or extreme. (Full article...)

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Conservapedia is an English-language wiki project written from a self-described American conservative Christian point of view. The website considers itself to be a supporter of conservative, family-friendly content. It was started in 2006 by homeschool teacher and attorney Andy Schlafly, son of conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, to counter what he called the "liberal bias" of Wikipedia. It uses editorials and a wiki-based system to generate content. Examples of the ideology of Conservapedia in its articles include: accusations against US President Barack Obama, criticism of Wikipedia's supposed liberal bias, criticism of relativity as promoting relativism, claiming a proven link between abortion and breast cancer and asserting that the goals of a so-called Homosexual Agenda includes indoctrination. Conservapedia also operates the Conservative Bible Project, a conservative interpretation of the Bible. Conservapedia has received negative reactions from the mainstream media, as well as from various figures from both ends of the political spectrum, including commentators and journalists, and has been criticized for bias and inaccuracies.

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The struggle between the opponents and defenders of capitalism is a struggle between innovators who do not know what innovation to make and conservatives who do not know what to conserve.
— Simone Weil, "The Power of Words" in Selected Essays 1934-1943 (1957)

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Canadian Prime Minister John A. Macdonald called an election for 5 March 1891. The Liberals were heavily financed by American interests; the Conservatives drew much financial support from the CPR. The 76-year-old Prime Minister collapsed during the campaign, and conducted political activities from his brother-in-law's house in Kingston. The Conservatives gained slightly in the popular vote, but their majority was trimmed to 27. The parties broke even in the central part of the country but the Conservatives dominated in the Maritimes and Western Canada, leading Liberal MP Richard John Cartwright to claim that Macdonald's majority was dependent on "the shreds and patches of Confederation". After the election, Laurier and his Liberals grudgingly accepted the National Policy, and when Laurier himself later became Prime Minister, he adopted it with only minor changes.

Credit: Jkelly

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Did you know...

...that in 1984 Ronald Reagan timed his first presidential proclamation of National Sanctity of Human Life Day to coincide with the anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade?

... that in 1952, after giving the Checkers speech, Richard Nixon dictated a telegram resigning as Dwight D. Eisenhower's running mate, but his campaign manager Murray Chotiner ripped it up unsent?