Formatia trans sicere educatorum

It often occurs to me that very few people actually know what it means to be a Conservative in today’s world. Many people hear the word conservative and automatically think Republican Party, or George Bush. Yet, the Conservative spectrum is too diverse to limit our definitions to Republican or George Bush. Rather, let us try to think of what a conservative is in the sense of the types of conservatives. It would be best if this undertaking goes from the oldest Conservative ideology to the newest. However before we begin, it is important to say a few words as to what is not a school of thought within the Conservative ideology.

Many people today define conservatives differently, some are social conservatives, some are fiscal conservatives, some are religious conservatives, etc. These are not properly speaking the schools of thought without conservative ideology. These terms are too specific, they don’t allow for enough wiggle room. Certainly one can be a Conservative without being a religious conservative, etc. By defining oneself as being a religious conservative, fiscal conservative or social conservative you are limiting yourself to too small of a field of thought. All of these fields must in some way reflect onto a conservative, they are like particles of light rather than light itself. The types of conservative ideologies can be thought of as the colors of light.

This takes us to our first school of thought within the Conservative movement, the oldest Conservative movement, Classical Liberalism. The big name in Classical Liberalism is John Locke, and some may even point to Adam Smith. Classical Liberals believe in the social contract theory, stating that individuals must consent to be governed. However, Classical Liberals do not define the size of government, or the kind of government as it is up to the individuals who make up the society to determine how they will be ruled. Classical Liberals accept personal rights, namely stemming from the Law of Nature and the three basic rights of life, liberty and property. Classical Liberals also do not believe that rights are restricted, i.e. one was a right yesterday may not be a right today and vice versa. Within the American system, prominent Classical Liberals include Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. In present day America one can look to a group like the Heritage Foundation as a Classical Liberal think tank.

Next we move to the second oldest school of thought, the Classical Conservative. The founder of Classical Conservative thought is Edmund Burke, a member of the British Parliament at the time of the American Revolution. Burke has the honor of being one of the few members of Parliament to support the American cause in the Revolution. Burke is most famous for his Thoughts Concerning the Revolution in France which rejected the French Revolution’s principles. Classical Conservatives, like Classical Liberals, believe in personal rights. However a distinct difference between the two is that Classical Conservatives believe in traditional rights, meaning that what is wrong today was wrong 200 years ago. Classical Conservatives tend to look towards tradition when promulgating their beliefs, although the Law of Nature is still present. Classical Conservatives believe in the rule of law over the rule of men, which makes them adverse to democracy in favor of a republican government. Classical Conservatives teach adherence to the writings of Aristotle, Plato, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas and the like. Slow change based on the rule of law is the preferred method of change for Classical Conservatives, if change is at all truly necessary. In America we can look to John Adams as the founder of Conservatism.

The next school of thought comes from the 20th Century and is almost entirely American based. Neo Conservative thought was begun by ex Communists/liberals and ex libertarians. The founder of this school of thought is Irving Kristol. Neo Conservatives preach foreign policy as the central aspect to American government. They often times are not adverse to a larger federal government and do accept some of the New Deal programs. Unlike Classical Conservatives and later Paleo Conservatives, Neo Cons adhere to a belief that it is part of our job as Americans to spread democracy and liberty around the world. Among the other prominent thinkers of the Neo Con movements include: Leo Strauss, a German Jew, who is credited with helping the Neo Conservative movement, but he himself cannot be strictly classified as such. Willmoore Kendall who was an ex Communist helped found the National Review with William Buckley, Jr. and was the founder of the University of Dallas Politics Department.

Finally we arrive at the youngest Conservative ideology, Paleo Conservatism. The movement began in the 1980s; the term was coined to differentiate between Paleo Cons, Neo Cons and Straussians. Paleo Cons favor a smaller size government with more states rights than Federal power. They adhere to more of a traditional Federalism than Neo Cons, who believe the Federal government can be useful to further its agenda. Paleo Conservatism can be linked to the south in that they both believe in stronger states rights. Paleo Cons can be linked to Classical Conservatives, though they are not necessarily the same ideology. Paleo Cons adhere to Christian values for their understanding of morality. It should be pointed out that Paleo Conservatives, like Neo Conservatives, are primarily United States phenomena. Among the prominent Paleo Conservatives include Mel Bradford, Ph.D. who is a former professor of literature at the University of Dallas. Bradford was a former Dixicrat as well. Paul Gottfried is also a Paleo Conservative. Russell Kirk, Samuel Francis and Pat Buchanan are other prominent Paleo Conservatives. The group ISI and their journal Intercollegiate Review, the Rockford Institute and their journal Chronicles, and the McLaughlin Group are all examples of Paleo Conservative organizations and publications.

In the end one could link Classical Liberals with Paleo Conservatives and Classical Conservatives with Neo Conservatives. However this would not be entirely correct as both Paleo and Neo Cons have links to Classical Liberals and Conservatives. Both Paleo and Neo beliefs tend to look at America rather than a universal perspective like Classical Liberalism and Conservatism. While Paleo Conservatives identify themselves as Classical Conservatives, they are strictly not. Paleo Cons adhere to the beliefs of Thomas Jefferson and John C. Calhoun, who tended more towards Classical Liberalism than Classical Conservatism. Of the four, only Neo Conservatives are in favor of an American involvement in the world while the other three wish to return to the older understanding of isolationism. As was said previously, it is a misunderstanding to call Fiscal Conservatism or Religious Conservatism a school of the Conservative ideology. While most Religious Conservatism tends to favor Paleo Conservatism, they are not exactly the same as Fiscal Conservatives can also favor Paleo Conservatism just as easily as Neo Conservatism. Classical Liberalism can be associated with a more moderate side of the Democratic Party in the United States as well as the Republican Party. Classical Conservatives can be associated with the Far Right in America, as can Neo Conservatives.