BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CONSERVATISM

Basic principles of conservatism: Conservatism a political and social philosophy that encourages retaining traditional social institutions. This political ideology disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions and to restore traditional ones and limits change. Conservatism emphasizes on three principles; resistance to change, appreciation of the traditions and institutions of our culture and society and a preference of the security and comfort of the actual world ever the insecurities and dangers of future possibilities worlds. It defends the traditional social hierarchy insisting on the need for a government strong enough to restrain the passions of the people often taking skeptical promoting individual freedom and equality of opportunity in a competitive society.

Burke: Founder of modern conservatism ideology. He used tradition as a guide. He also included that a representative government is necessary; private property and the distribution of power amongst families, churches and voluntary associations forming the “little platoons”. His attitude toward aristocracy: he insisted that there was a place for aristocracy in the modern world. Burke generally favored capitalism as a system, but he can be a bit suspicious of actual merchants and people of commerce-> private property tends to many stakeholders (own your own staff). Edmund Burke: Burke’s views were a mixture of liberalism and conservatism. Burke accepted the liberal ideas of private property and the economics of Adam Smith but he thought that economics should come in second to the conservative social ethic, that capitalism should be secondary to the medieval social tradition and that the business class should come in second to aristocracy. He insisted on standards of honor passed down from the medieval aristocratic tradition, seeing aristocracy as the nation’s natural leaders. This limited the power of the crown, Burke found that the Parliament was better informed. He favored the establishment