You Might Be a Conservative If...

I hope my Liberal friends will use some self honest evaluation, and see if any of these principles apply to you. These are Conservative principles based on Russell Kirk's writing. I hope my Conservative friends will use this to more clearly articulate our Principles.

You might be a Conservative if you believe that there exists an enduring moral order. Do you believe that there is right and wrong, that there are, and have been, constant moral truths throughout human history.

You might be a Conservative if you believe we should adhere to custom, convention, and continuity. Do you believe these things are needed to have people live in peace, that just throwing out custom, convention, and continuity like revolutionaries advocate is destructive to peace and a functioning society.

You might be a Conservative if you believe in what may be called the principle of prescription. The principle of prescription states that the experience and precedents of ideas and practices going back centuries we should abide by, that really there's nothing new that will dramatically alter an improve our human condition. Do you believe in the accumulated wisdom of our forebears.

You might be a Conservative if you believe that we should be guided by the principle of prudence. Do you believe that society is so complex, humans must be reflective and slow, and determine to the best of our ability, the consequences of our decisions.

You might be a Conservative if you believe that you should pay attention to the principle of variety. Do you believe people should be equal before the law, and if you're a religious person add equal before God; and equal in those only. Social class, ability, and other natural orders of human institutions create and support diversity. Enforcing equality of outcome promotes uniformity.

You might be a Conservative if you believe and are chastened by the principle of imperfectability. Humans are flawed, and at best we can have only flawed society.
If some men try to order society according to Utopian principles, that will only lead to rebellion and violence (examples, German Nazism, Communism, Italian Fascism). At best we can accept that our flaws and imperfections will be reflected in society, and we can change and adjust to the best of our ability to improve upon those; that because of our human imperfections, no perfect society can be created.

You might be a Conservative if you believe that freedom and property are closely linked. Private property teaches personal responsibility, and is the foundation of social stability and productivity. Without personal property, only people with power will determine how everyone will live their lives.

You might be a Conservative if you believe in voluntary community, as opposed involuntary collectivism. We should help our fellow man voluntarily within our communities, and not leave it to centralized authority. One size does not fit all, even helping people. This does not mean that large political bodies or organizations should not be involved, but even then decisions should be made by local people.

You might be a Conservative if you believe the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions. There will always be persons or people that will want to dominate the citizens. Conservatives want limits with constitutional restrictions, political balances, and the enforcement of existing laws. The French and Bolshevik revolutions failed and ushered in even worse tyranny because there were no limits and checks to power.

You might be a Conservative if you believe that permanence and change must be recognized and reconciled in a vigorous society. Conservatives accept and promote change, but wants stability and continuity at the same time. Change should be in the from of increased talents and abilities, and at the same time prudent. Nothing should be wholly new or wholly old old, but continually linked one to another.

I've copied the principles Kirk has stated, and paraphrased his explanations, hoping this disclaimer avoids any plagiarism or copyright violations. To get Kirk's full statements of principle and summations, go here. I've done this to introduce these principles to some, to clarify some Conservatives' thinking, and for my Liberal friends, that maybe they'll re-assess what they think of Conservatives, and their own political values. My own transition from Marxist to Conservative took about ten years. That came about because I realized that I only knew about Conservatism what my fellow Leftists were saying, decided for intellectual honesty and integrity, and began reading Conservative writers.