What Is A Conservative?

What is a conservative?  You might be surprised. See some definitions (below) and you will probably learn that YOU ARE A CONSERVATIVE. (One characteristic of true conservativism is that it does not depend on a person's religious beliefs.)

The classical definitions of liberalism and conservatism are surprisingly different than what we find in the current, often divisive political rhetoric in the United States today. A true American conservative is actually the classic liberal.

The confusion of definitions is due to the fact that these philosophies were initially developed in Europe. The European Liberal philosophers influenced the writers of our Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. These founding documents of our Country then have become the "established institutions" upon which the true conservative pursues the goals of our nation.

Definitions (applying to politics)

Liberal

(Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2006)
"1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. (often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
6. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
8. open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc."

Conservative

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
"As a modern political tradition, conservatism traces to Edmund Burke's opposition to the Fr. Revolution (1790), but the word conservative is not found in his writing. It was coined by his Fr. disciples, (e.g. Chateaubriand, who titled his journal defending clerical and political restoration "Le Conservateur"). Conservative as the name of a British political faction it first appeared in an 1830 issue of the "Quarterly Review," in an unsigned article sometimes attributed to John Wilson Croker. It replaced Tory (q.v.) by 1843, reflecting both a change from the pejorative name (in use for 150 years) and repudiation of some reactionary policies. Extended to similar spirits in other parties from 1845."

[DCC note: This is an important perspective. At the time the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Consitution were written, "Conservative" meant supporting monarchy, strong centralized government, limited individual rights, and the religious heirarchies of the Catholic Church and Church of England. It was liberals in that period who advocated democracy, limited govenrment, and individual rights. A true American Conservative leans toward preserving what those original "liberals" wrote in Declaration of Independence and U.S. Consitution.]

(Ambrose Bierce, "Devil's Dictionary," 1911)
"A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others."

Classical Liberalism

Wikipedia.org - for full discussion and references see Wikipedia's "Classical liberalism" entry.
"Classical liberalism (also known as traditional liberalism and laissez-faire liberalism, or, in much of the world, simply called liberalism) is a doctrine stressing individual freedom. This includes the importance of human rationality, individual property rights, natural rights, the protection of civil liberties, constitutional limitations of government, free markets, and individual freedom from restraint as exemplified in the writings of Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Thomas Paine and others. As such, it is seen as the fusion of economic liberalism with political liberalism. The "normative core" of classical liberalism is the idea that laissez-faire economics will bring about a spontaneous order or invisible hand that benefits the society, though it does not necessarily oppose the state's provision of a few basic public goods. The qualification classical was applied in retrospect to distinguish early nineteenth-century liberalism from evolutions in liberal thought during the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially the "new liberalism" associated with Thomas Hill Green, Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, which grants the state a more interventionist role in the economy, including a welfare state. Classical liberalism is not to be confused with the ideology that is commonly called "liberalism" today in the United States, as "classical liberalism" is actually closer to being a tendency of "conservatism" in the U.S., albeit only in economic matters."

Core goals of "classical liberals" that true American Conservatives want to conserve:

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Preamble of the Declaration of Independence

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed.

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is in the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."