Conservatives believe in things like individual liberty, limited government, free market capitalism, and traditional values. The heart of conservativism is much more nuanced, of course, and deeply intellectual. Understanding, “what is a conservative,” is not hard. The caricature of conservativsim propagated by the left is wrong. Let’s look deeper into the issues driving the conservative mind.
Individual Liberty
Individual liberty and personal freedom are predicated on the idea that each person is allowed to do whatever he or she wants so long as it does not trample on the freedom of another person. For our general purposes, we’ll use the terms liberty and freedom interchangeably. As some people say, “I’m free to do as I please up until my freedom bumps up against yours.”
Liberty can only exist where citizens accept individual responsibility for their actions. If someone is free, then he or she shouldn’t need government and must have a strong sense of self-reliance. Freedom and liberty can’t work if people are incompetent. For this reason, conservatives believe that government intervention breads incompetence – If the government gives people fish, they’ll forget how to fish for themselves and become permanently incompetent, and therefore, dependent on the state.
More to Liberty
There is more to liberty than just the idea that we each should be free to do as we please.
Out of liberty arises a sense of equality – from the founders we learn “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…” We are, thus, all equally free. Guaranteeing equal outcomes is the antitheses of freedom because the government must take from some people and give to others, which deprives both of freedom. We are only equal when the government treats us all as free people entitled to the exact same treatment – i.e. fair taxes, equal justice, eliminates subsidies to “necessary” companies, and ends affirmative action.
The primary purpose of the Constitution is to halt government from encroaching on the rights of citizens. Not only is the document full of personal guarantees, especially in the Bill of Rights, but it also establishes a system of divided power. Checks and balances, separation of power, federalism, and divided power among the three branches of government are all intended to prevent government abuse. All this reduces the chances of one person or group accumulating enough power to trample on the divine freedoms of citizens.
Natural rights are rights granted from God. The concept plays prominently in the Declaration of Independence, as liberty is among the “unalienable Rights” granted from our “Creator.” The right to liberty is a gift from God, and no man or government can take it. When the Founders created the Constitution, they did with natural rights in mind.
The United States has a long history of preserving freedom from government intervention in our lives. Lincoln carried this forward by fighting to secure the individual liberty of all Americans, Martin Luther King, Jr echoed the freedom themes set forth in the Declaration of Independence, and more recently Reagan, the Tea Party and every contemporary Republican candidate promotes “liberty and justice for all.”
Limited Government
The Founders created a government centered on democratic values and limited government. Out of the founding arises self-rule and all the rest of it. The structure of government dreamed in the Declaration of Independence, that is based on free people governing themselves, is established by the United States Constitution, and it’s furthered by the Bill of Rights.
Notably, the First Amendment protects specific freedoms – freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition. The Second Amendment gives the First teeth by granting citizens the right to “bear arms” so that they can prevent the government from trampling their rights. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizers. The Tenth Amendment state that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Clearly, the purpose of the government designed by the Founders was to limit government so that the individual could thrive.
These principles remain. As President Regan said in his Frist Inaugural address: “Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.” And later he quibbled that
“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” In recent decades, government bureaucrats and agencies have grown exponentially, which is exactly what the Founders fought against. For many conservatives, it’s time we re-think the size and scope of these government agencies and programs– the EPA, Department of Education, FBI, and IRS, for example need major overhauls.
Free Market Capitalism
Economic freedom and property rights are the natural outgrowth of free people. People must be able to pursue their own business interest free from government intervention. Capitalism has a bad reputation in some circles, but it is single handedly responsible for improving the lives of billions of people around the globe. It’s also responsible for maintaining freedom from the government.
Examples from Asia to Europe to Africa of controlled economies – that is, authoritative regimes old and new – demonstrate that people are not only without freedom, but women and minorities suffer the most. Whenever there is not free market capitalism, there is oppression because the government picks the winners and losers. There is also massive poverty, corruption, and low standards of living for most people.
Free market capitalism is the fairest economic system in the history of the world because it understands human nature and unleashes the ingenuity of free men and women. It encourages people to create, work hard, invent, and compete with each other. Less government makes the system work better.
Traditional Values
Traditional values are the shared morals and cultural norms that make the United States a great place to live. These are things that bind us. Traditional values often assume that behaviors and wisdom from the past should be handed down through the generations. They are behaviors that make life better, easier, and safer.
For many these values come directly from the Bible. The word of God instructs us on morality, family, the roles of men and women, hard work, and sins like pride and overindulgence. The good book tells us: don’t tell a lie, don’t covet your neighbor’s belongings, it instructs us to love our neighbors, exercise self-control, worship God, and the list goes on. From a Christian perspective these things are true and good, but from a secular perspective they are equally necessary to maintain order and encourage freedom.
Outside the Bible, conservatives typically believe in a firm moral code – a unified understanding of what is good and what is bad. Without it, people can’t be free because others will constantly encroach on their freedom and chaos will prevail.
Part of Christianity is the notion of free will. So, we see Christians find the conservative idea of liberty as consistent and complimentary of God-given free will. This idea that we have a moral code handed to us from God, and God wants to give us free will, is so consistent with liberty it’s impossible to divorce morality from liberty.
As mentioned above, the concept of natural rights is a touchstone for many conservatives, especially Christians. Rights and morality come from God, the “author of liberty.” Accordingly, Christians have worked feverishly through the years to advance liberty and equality in America.
Additional Ideas on Conservative Values
From Edmond Burke we get the idea that we each engage with our families, communities, organizations we want – not by govt edict. Those voluntary associations create our world. We find argument for “natural law” and necessity for morality to accompany free people.
William F. Buckley defined conservatism as “freedom, individuality, the sense of community, the sanctity of the family, the supremacy of the conscience, the spiritual view of life.”
According to Barry Goldwater “the Conservative looks upon politics as the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order.” He continues by arguing that “the practice of freedom requires the establishment of order.” Law and order are required because people can’t be free if someone else is constantly infringing on their freedom.
Lastly, “ordered liberty” encapsulates the core conservative idea, according to some. This might be the simplest and most valuable phrase for conservatives.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
What does all this mean in practice? What issues excite conservatives most? The concepts described herein are central to most Republicans, but some Republicans are not conservative. It’s important not to assume the Republican platform always aligns with conservatism. Of course, the central aims described in this essay are achieved by restoring the Founders’ vision for the nation. Here is a list of issues contemporary conservatives support. It’s not exhaustive, like this essay, but it highlights many of the key issues.
- Reducing the size and scope of the federal government so individuals or states can act freely on issues from schools to roads;
- A full-throated defense of the United States Constitution, especially the free exercise of religion, First Amendment freedoms, and Second Amendment;
- Reducing taxes on individuals and businesses;
- Deregulating businesses so the free market can work;
- Promoting law and order by supporting local law enforcement; and
- Protecting the life and freedom of every citizen, equally – including the unborn.
For more information on these and other topics, visit our YouTube channel where we have videos on various books related to conservatism. You can also read our review of Tim Scott’s book and Ron DeSantis’ book for commentary from contemporary politicians. The place to begin learning more about the Untied States Constitution and liberty is the Federalist Papers.
