'Conservatism' -- Social movement or Political movement?

[Dominic Harr]

If I may, I'd like to ask for an informal 'poll' of FReepers:

There are 2 'Conservative' movements in this country.

• Social Conservatives -- concerned about moral and social issues like gay marriage, teaching of Darwinism, etc.

• Political Conservatives -- 'conservative' meant as in, "Conservative with my money". Careful. Careful with spending, with defense, careful not to jump to conclusions, careful not to put "solutions" in place that will make the problem worse.

All I would like to know is, what % of us are which? Please respond and say which, or both.

[Dominic Harr]

If it's not too much of a bother, any feedback ya'll would feel like offering would be much appreciated.

P.S. -- I put this in 'News/Activism' cuz I thought it seemed related to Activism. If it belongs somewhere else, Modz, please correct my error.

Thanks!

[conservativewasp]

I've never considered there to be 2 types. A conservative is fiscally and socially conservative, if not they are not conservative.

[thoughtomator]

I'm a political conservative and social libertarian, myself... both stem from the same root, keeping the damned government out of peoples' wallets and homes and businesses and schools and any other place except where it is absolutely necessary.

[jdm]

I agree. The "other" 'conservative' would probably (really) be a Libertarian.

[capt. norm]

It's kinda' like the way it was with our forefathers when they arrived here. It is a mix between the two. It became that way when the "politcal" forces in England began to tread on the "social" aspect of their lives and they wanted something a lot less intrusive.

[P-40]

I don't separate the two. The personal is the political is the personal.

[aliquis]

Seems a bit too simplistic. It's not nearly as clear a division as that.

[JohnLongIsland]

conservatism: it's a life style.

[calex59]

I am a complete conservative, the government should stay the hell out of my life and my wallet!

[conservative physics]

I am both.

[yellowdoghunter]

From reading the homepage and what FR is all about, I would assume most are socially and fiscally conservative.

I know I am.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

What about both? Put me in the both category. They are more related than most people think.

[GSlob]

Well, libertarians tend to be fiscally conservative. And one could advance a lot of respectable precedents for "none of my business" attitude in matters social. One would think that the Prohibition lesson has sunk.

[chesley]

I'm both.

[Bryan24]

Conservative

- Defense primary purpose of Federal government

- Balance the budget

- Eliminate the deficet unless economically unwise (can't imagine why)

- Either Flat Tax or Fair Tax

- Eliminate the Dept of Education

- Phase out Social Security, go to private accounts

- Constitutional Amendment to outlaw abortion

- Constitutional Amendment to outlaw gay marriage

- Secure the borders

- Allow controlled legal immigration

I'm guess I'm conservative on both.

[loreldan]

Also there are Nat'l security conservatives.

[snowrip]

I have a hard time equating the word "conservative" with the word "careful"... It's a synonym, but philosophically speaking (which is what we're doing) conservatives are strong rather than careful. We prefer positions of strength when it comes to defense, foreign relations, etc.

Strictly speaking, conservative as a political description means "disposed to preserving existing institutions and conditions". We are that, too.

You could also include "intellectual conservatism" as the third movement. An intellectual conservative is someone who uses facts, rather than emotion, as intellectual currency in a debate. Opinions, philosophy, political and social ideals... all follow factual evidence. As most of us at FR uphold reason over emotion, I suppose we're all intellectual conservatives of one stripe or another.

[Irontank]

John Derbyshire wrote a piece in National Review last year called Twilight of Conservatism and, in it, he referenced John Micklethwait's and Adrian Wooldridge's book The Right Nation, and he notes that, in the book, Micklethwait and Wooldridge list the six fundamentals of classical, Burkean, Anglo-Saxon conservatism:

a deep suspicion of the power of the state.

a preference for liberty over equality.

patriotism.

a belief in established institutions and hierarchies.

skepticism about the idea of progress.

elitism.

Debyshire notes that American conservatism has mostly been strongly characterized by the first 3 and mostly contradicts the last 3....although I don't know if that's always been the case.

[Vaquero]

Darwinism is not ....in my book...is not about being a social conservative...it is about being a certain type of evangelical Christian...and one does not have to be an evangelical nor does one have to be a christian to be a social conservative. following a decent moral code, and condemnation of infanticide IS part of being a social conservative......IMHO anyway. a strong belief in the constitution is also part of being a social conservative. Primarily the second amendment..(and the first also.)and the rest.

[canuck_conservative]

Conservatives:

- believe in personal responsibility and can't stand evasiveness;
- always search for the truth, wherever the chips may fall;
- prefer to cure the disease, rather than treat the symptoms;
- have common sense and believe in ethical behavior.


.... and these traits apply BOTH in social and political matters!