A brief history of the five kinds of conservatism By Fred Hutchison

"During this time of political setbacks for conservatives, it is a good time to consider the vital role of Conservatism in Western cultural and political history.

Conservative ideals played a crucial role in the rise of the West, and Liberalism did not. In fact, Liberalism appeared during the 18th century after the West had already become the premier civilization of the world in literature, philosophy, art, music, architecture, economics, commerce, exploration, science, technology, war, and politics.

There is an illusion abroad in the land that Liberalism is an old tradition, and that Conservatism arose in the late 1940's as a reactionary force. This essay will demonstrate that four of the five kinds of Conservatism were very old when Liberalism first appeared.

Conservative ideals have consistently had salutary effects upon culture. In contrast, Liberalism has never been better than a mixed blessing and was often destructive to Western culture. It was destructive because it propagated false views about the nature of man, society, government, and the cosmos.

In this essay, I shall introduce each of the five major kinds of Conservatism in the order of its first historical appearance from 800 B.C. to 1300 A.D. The next essay — part 2 — covers 1300 to 2000 A.D. The historical order of appearance of the schools of Conservatism is: 1) Traditionalism, 2) Christian Conservatism, 3) Natural Law Conservatism, 4) Neoconservatism, and 5) Libertarianism."

Full Article...

Sphere: Related Content