What Is Conservatism?
by Ashley Emans

What is conservatism? Can one reject the religious nostalgia of Russell Kirk, embrace the free market, and still be conservative? Or was Peter Viereck correct when he said, "Since the industrial revolution, conservatism is neither justifiable nor effective unless it has roots in the factories and trade unions"? How about Max Boot, who thinks Americanism must span the globe? Those who have been called conservative often show outright contradiction with each other.

How to define conservatism? I've heard it said that the name comes from our reluctance to embrace sudden change. This is utter nonsense given the history of modern conservatism in the U.S. I've never seen a group so anxious for overthrow of the status quo. The 1980 Republican platform wanted to get rid of the Department of Education (who needs it when every state has its own?) and most conservatives at least in the past have wanted to get rid of the IRS, the Bureau of Land Management, and another 50% of the city of Washington, DC in a heartbeat.

In fact, our Founding Fathers were the fringe radicals of Europe. The idea of conservative revolution is not unprecedented. While 18th century conservative Edmund Burke did say traditions give "wisdom without reflection," American conservatism is not merely tradition. Burke opposed the French revolution but sympathized with the American one. I would say U.S. conservatism is about limiting ("conserving") government's power over the individual.

The chief division between conservatives is how far they will take small government. Is true conservatism actually libertarianism? Or more simply put, should Ron Paul head the Republican ticket? If not, is the political party dominating the movement, rather than what should be the other way around? Progressive Republicans like Rudy McRomney have sneakily attempted to redefine conservatism to include them because they know that the Republican Party is populated by conservatives. Those not paying too much attention can be deceived. In other words, conservatism and Republicanism have been thrown out of their harmonious alignment of late.

Regarding Ron Paul, Gregory Scoblete on Realclearpolitics.com noted, "During the May 15 debate in South Carolina, Paul wondered how Republicans were able to capture the presidency in 2000. "We talked about a humble foreign policy," he said. "No nation-building; don't police the world." It's uncontested that old-school conservatism is non-interventionist, but this is also correct conservatism; not the fascism depicted in movies like V for Vendetta. Of course, non-interventionists still endorse trade and other non-coercive relationships; only isolationists do not.

Anti-Communism brought together many ideologies, and since Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War the right's fractiousness has been undeniable. The split between paleoconservatism and neoconservatism is the most famous. Neoconservatism was created by the former Trotskyists Irving Kristol and Norman Podhoretz. Their tagline, "Liberals mugged by reality," tells one all one needs to know: their policies are at base liberal, even socialist: "Permanent revolution" abroad is a Marxist ideal. In regard to their interventionist views, American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene asked, "Can one imagine one of today's neoconservative absolutists backing away from any fight anywhere?"

Keene recollected a discussion he once had with Bill Kristol: "I remember attending a small private dinner where Bill argued that with the defeat of the Soviet Empire, the United States "needed" a new crusade to engage our nation's energies and interests, because, as he put it, a nation's "greatness" is measured not by the prosperity of its people, but by its actions on the world stage."

Wiping tyranny off the world's surface is not America's duty to spend her resources on. Neither is it part of war's responsibility to rebuild our enemies afterward. It is not possible to end evil, and the utopian idea of trying to do so is creepy. Islamofascism is usually equated with Communism as a global threat. If this is accurate, the neoconservatives in the White House right now will be viewed by history as the most shrewd, courageous, and underappreciated individuals of our generation.

Despite the amorphousness of the word 'conservative,' it is still a much clearer label than 'libertarian.' If non-coercion is the basis of all libertarianism, it's possible to slip so far down into libertarianism as to come out the other end. Perhaps these lost few get so wrapped up in their non-coercion, they start coercing their non-coercion on others. This is called liberalism. Advocating "pro-choice" and then legislating taxes to 'create opportunities for the poor' follow one another in a confused mind. The moral relativism of liberalism simply means nihilism (and that's exhausting).

Many on the right create no distinction between what is Constitutional and what is right (NSA wiretapping). For example, while the Founders allowed for secularism, they did not intend to discourage religiosity, which is exactly what is being done now. To review, the Constitution says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This means that while the federal government cannot legislate a religion, should even a state government establish religion, nothing can be done about it by the federal government. Is that view also judicial activism, which we complain liberals do? You be the judge.

If you think a large government is basically inefficient, you're a conservative. If you think the government can't always protect you, you're a conservative. If you refuse to fall prey to bully scare tactics, you're a conservative. If you think either that government is inherently incapable of making your life perfect, or that this is not its job, you're a conservative. If you believe that you know what's best for you over some sleazy DC bureaucrat, you're a conservative. Katrina was vindicating. Do you think the feds fumbled the ball in New Orleans? Welcome aboard, we've built an entire political movement off the maxim that government is inept and won't save you. The Federal bureaucracy needs to get out of the way so decentralized or privatized services can work. I propose we make our new tagline "Question Authority:" the government, the media, Hollywood--and especially professors.

Ashley Emans is a student at the University of Florida.