On the Origins of Conservatism
I suspect that many self-proclaimed conservatives in the United States believe that "conservatism" is an effort to conserve the ideals of the American Republic.
I consider this a noble goal. Unfortunately, the Conservative Movement in the United States is doomed to failure for a very simple reason:
"Conservatism" is not the ideals of liberty. Conservativism is not even drawn from the ideals of the Founding Fathers. Conservatism is clearly not spirit of the American Experiment in self-rule.
Conservatism is a partisan ideology that uses an oppositional style of discourse to gain power. The Conservative ideology occasionally makes reference to the ideals of liberty. Simply referencing ideas or projecting images is not sufficient to restore liberty.
I've come to realize that the ideals of conservatism are antithetical to liberty.
Conservatism is based on partisan discourse.
This is easy to prove. Simply listen to self-proclaimed conservatives on Fox News or Talk Radio. Most conservatives spend more time projecting negative images on to their opposition than they spend developing the ideals of liberty.
Modern Liberals (aka progressives) play the same game. Progressives spend their days projecting negative images on to conservatives.
Conservatism and Progressivism share the same style of negative discourse. This is why we are so divided today.
I care about liberty. Unfortunately the underlying oppositional style of the conservative movement undermines efforts to defend and expand individual liberty.
People who truly want to defend liberty must learn to call out both the left and right.
One of the easiest things to do is to point out the origins of Conservatism. So, I the visual aid to the right using a picture from the Wikipedia Commons
This wonderful picture shows King William IV, the youngest son of King George III.
The picture is so inspiring. King William IV has a red sword and is wearing a cape and a stunning three layer tutu with tights and sort of garter on his right leg.
Anyway, King George IV had a huge problem.
In the 1830s, the people were demanding electoral reforms. Such reforms would strengthen the Whigs and make the Tories a minority party. King William IV appointed Sir Robert Peel to the task of rebranding the Tory Party.
The Tories, as students of the US Revolution may recall, were the people who leveled their muskets at the US Founders during the American Revolution.
Sir Robert Peel admired the way that Napoleon Bonapart restored the monarchy during the French Revolution. Napoleon did this by denouncing his enemies as "liberal ideologues." Napoleon restored the established church as a political entity and made public speaches about free markets while a legislative body called the "Senate Conservateur" gave blessing to Napoleon's every whim.
The French used the term "conservatif" to describe Napoleon's strategy.
Under the leadership of Sir Rorbert Peel, the Tory Party rebranded itself as the "Conservative Party." To this day members of the Conservative Party proudly call themselves "Tories."
People seeking to destroy the American Experiment in Self Rule come from both directions. The enemies of freedom gain power by dividing and conquering the people. The easy way to divide people is to destroy the language.
The ruling elite destroyed the term liberal. Modern Liberalism is almost diametrically opposed to classical liberalism.
The project false images while corrupting our language and schools.
The most powerful way to do this is to point out the origins of conservatism and progressivism and to show how both the left and right are false.
Anyway, I am off to receive a weekly lecture about how "liberalism" is bad and "conservatism" is the answer by a fool who has never studied history as is clueless on how one should avoid the mistakes of the past.