What Is Conservatism?

***Originally posted on 6/10/07***

This was actually going to be my first blog, but the shamnesty bill reared its ugly head and trumped the initial plan. But, now that that debacle has passed for the time being, we can get back to this topic. So, what is conservatism?

A 'conservative' is not the same as a 'Republican', just as a 'liberal' is not the same as a 'Democrat', although there is enough overlap that a substantial stereotype exists. There are plenty of examples of people who cross over the line. President Bush is a perfect example - he is the leader of the Republican party and tough on terrorism, but he is also quite liberal on government spending and illegal immigration. Similarly, a number of Democrats were elected in 2006 that were quite conservative in many areas. Rudy Guliani is a liberal on social issues (i.e. pro-abortion) but conservative on national security (i.e. war on terror). So where is that elusive dividing line?

Rush Limbaugh -- love him or hate him -- is one of the biggest names in conservatism today. He almost single-handedly established what is now called the 'new media', which includes talk radio, Fox, and various other alternative forms of media like the blogosphere. He is widely considered an expert in conservatism; in fact, when the Republican party (led by conservatives like Newt Gingrich) swept into Congressional leadership in 1994 via the 'Contract With America', they asked Rush to come and speak to the freshman class of lawmakers on the subject.

So, it is with great confidence that I'm going to paraphrase one of Rush's recent monologues (from March 21st, 2007) regarding the main differences between the conservative and liberal mindset.

He first establishes that these are just generalizations, and that some givens are valid for all people: we all want economic prosperity, opportunity, and the chance at the American dream; we want to be left alone, not hassled by the government in the pursuit of that dream. The real question is how to provide that.

Rush suggests that liberals do not believe that a majority of people have the ability to realize the American dream on their own, and that they have a general contempt for 'average' Americans and 'average' human beings. The essence of liberalism is assuming that people are helpless and hopeless. That way, government can step in and provide 'assistance' to incompetent people, which actually creates a self-fulfilling prophecy - by disarming the competitive nature and entrepreneurial spirit, liberalism also disarms the American dream itself by drawing focus to the government and the benefits it provides rather than the individual. Conservatives, on the other hand, have faith in the individual and believe that rugged individualism is what defines excellence, and that its pursuit is what made America the greatest country on the planet. Conservatism believes that people can better themselves, and strives to educate, inspire, and motivate people to do just that. Conservatives want a great country full of people who can raise families and support them, and to inspire them because that's how they are. Conservatives are fundamentally optimistic but still realistic, believing they can triumph over the inevitable obstacles of life. Liberals think those obstacles are insurmountable for the individual, and thus need the government to help them get by.

So, Limbaugh asks, why are some people not conservative and some are? His answer is that you could look at specific issues like abortion or gay marriage (which, again, are stereotypical enough to give you a good idea of where someone stands), or any other big issue. But, in a general sense, he maintains that anyone who is in favor of the growth of government and the idea that people need an infinite amount of help because they can't do things on their own is not a conservative. This is true for both Democrats and Republicans.

The problem, Limbaugh, says, is that liberals -- in pursuit of their agenda -- use government to train their youth from grade school on up through college. They get youth into nonprofit organizations and Ivy league schools for the express purpose of going into government and continuing the perpetual bureaucracy until they can take over. Conservatives, however, look at government as something that should be invisible most of the time, and the basic philosophy targets individuals (i.e. small businesses, normal Americans) and seeks to empower them instead. Conservatives want limited government, and Limbaugh points out that using government to limit government is a difficult challenge for conservatives.

I would also add that a key difference is that of double standards. Conservatism tends to hold everyone to a single set of rules, while liberalism seems content to have one set of rules for the people making the rules, and another set of rules for everyone else. We'll get into more of this in the future.

As I said in one of my first blogs - a conservative would strive to teach a man how to fish so the man could then sustain himself; a liberal would rather give the man a fish so the man keeps coming back to him for help. It's a very different mindset, and one that is at play in essentially everything in the world of politics. As we continue to look at other issues, my goal is to illustrate the contrasts through simple examples in daily life.

For now, hopefully that gives you at least a starting point for understanding the fundamental differences.

There's my two cents.