ARE YOU A CONSERVATIVE?
There are many things that would align for you to be a “conservative” not just in name but also in world view. Not all conservatives think the same (same as Liberals and progressives) however we conservatives would share most of the same world views.
Conservative world views can vary depending on the country where you live. What may be considered conservative in New Zealand many not be true for Australia, UK or other countries and cultures. This website is directed at NZ conservatives and so we will address matters from that perspective. Firstly we must define what a conservative is and is not.
DEFINITION OF A CONSERVATIVE
There are many web sources to help us define “conservative” and lets look at Wikipedia’s view as it explains thing quite well and comprehensively.
To make matters more complicated Wikipedia gives many forms of conservatism and feel free to investigate them via here:
- 2.1 Liberal conservatism
- 2.2 Conservative liberalism
- 2.3 Libertarian conservatism
- 2.4 Fiscal conservatism
- 2.5 National and traditional conservatism
- 2.6 Cultural and social conservatism
- 2.7 Religious conservatism
- 2.8 Progressive conservatism
- 2.9 Authoritarian conservatism
Looking at the various forms of Conservatism we would take the approach for NZ and this website being directed to a mixture of the following conservative sub categories. We have highlighted in red the relevant types of conservatism that we ascribe to:
Liberal conservatism
Main article: Liberal conservatismLibertarian conservatism describes certain political ideologies within the United States and Canada which combine libertarian economic issues with aspects of conservatism. Its four main branches are Constitutionalism, paleolibertarianism, small government conservatism and Christian libertarianism. They generally differ from paleoconservatives, in that they are in favor of more personal and economic freedom.
Agorists such as Samuel Edward Konkin III labeled libertarian conservatism right-libertarianism.[37][38]
In contrast to paleoconservatives, libertarian conservatives support strict laissez-faire policies such as free trade, opposition to any national bank and opposition to business regulations. They are vehemently opposed to environmental regulations, corporate welfare, subsidies, and other areas of economic intervention.
Many conservatives, especially in the United States, believe that the government should not play a major role in regulating business and managing the economy. They typically oppose efforts to charge high tax rates and to redistribute income to assist the poor. Such efforts, they argue, do not properly reward people who have earned their money through hard work.
Libertarian conservatism
Main article: Libertarian conservatismLibertarian conservatism describes certain political ideologies within the United States and Canada which combine libertarian economic issues with aspects of conservatism. Its four main branches are Constitutionalism, paleolibertarianism, small government conservatism and Christian libertarianism. They generally differ from paleoconservatives, in that they are in favor of more personal and economic freedom.
Agorists such as Samuel Edward Konkin III labeled libertarian conservatism right-libertarianism.[37][38]
In contrast to paleoconservatives, libertarian conservatives support strict laissez-faire policies such as free trade, opposition to any national bank and opposition to business regulations. They are vehemently opposed to environmental regulations, corporate welfare, subsidies, and other areas of economic intervention.
Many conservatives, especially in the United States, believe that the government should not play a major role in regulating business and managing the economy. They typically oppose efforts to charge high tax rates and to redistribute income to assist the poor. Such efforts, they argue, do not properly reward people who have earned their money through hard work.
Fiscal conservatism
Main article: Fiscal conservatismFiscal conservatism is the economic philosophy of prudence in government spending and debt.[39] Edmund Burke, in his Reflections on the Revolution in France, argued that a government does not have the right to run up large debts and then throw the burden on the taxpayer:
…[I]t is to the property of the citizen, and not to the demands of the creditor of the state, that the first and original faith of civil society is pledged. The claim of the citizen is prior in time, paramount in title, superior in equity. The fortunes of individuals, whether possessed by acquisition or by descent or in virtue of a participation in the goods of some community, were no part of the creditor’s security, expressed or implied…[T]he public, whether represented by a monarch or by a senate, can pledge nothing but the public estate; and it can have no public estate except in what it derives from a just and proportioned imposition upon the citizens at large.
Most conservatives, especially in the United States, believe that government action should focus on moral and social questions and oppose government action to help the poor, to regulate the economy, or to protect the environment. They believe that government programs that seek to provide services and opportunities for the poor actually encourage dependence and reduce self-reliance. They oppose affirmative action. They oppose a progressive income tax.
Main articles: Cultural conservatism and social conservatismCultural conservatives support the preservation of the heritage of one nation, or of a shared culture that is not defined by national boundaries.[45] The shared culture may be as divergent as Western culture or Chinese culture. In the United States, the term cultural conservative may imply a conservative position in the culture war. Cultural conservatives hold fast to traditional ways of thinking even in the face of monumental change. They believe strongly in traditional values and traditional politics, and often have an urgent sense of nationalism.
Social conservatism is distinct from cultural conservatism, although there are some overlaps. Social conservatives may believe that the government has a role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviours. A social conservative wants to preserve traditional morality and social mores, often by opposing what they consider radical policies or social engineering. Social change is generally regarded as suspect.
A second meaning of the term social conservatism developed in the Nordic countries and continental Europe. There it refers to liberal conservatives supporting modern European welfare states.
Social conservatives (in the first meaning of the word) in many countries generally favour the pro-life position in the abortion controversy and oppose human embryonic stem cell research (particularly if publicly funded); oppose both eugenics and human enhancement (transhumanism) while supporting bioconservatism;[46] support a traditional definition of marriage as being one man and one woman; view the nuclear family model as society’s foundational unit; oppose expansion of civil marriage and child adoption rights to couples in same-sex relationships; promote public morality and traditional family values; oppose atheism,[47] especially militant atheism, secularism and the separation of church and state;[48][49][50] support the prohibition of drugs, prostitution, and euthanasia; and support the censorship of pornography and what they consider to be obscenity or indecency. Most conservatives in the US support the death penalty.
Religious conservatism
See also: Religious RightReligious conservatives principally seek to apply the teachings of particular religions to politics, sometimes by merely proclaiming the value of those teachings, at other times by having those teachings influence laws.[51]
In most modern democracies, political conservatism seeks to uphold traditional family structures and social values. Religious conservatives typically oppose abortion, homosexual behavior, drug use, and sexual activity outside of marriage. In some cases, conservative values are grounded in religious beliefs, and some conservatives seek to increase the role of religion in public life.
Progressive conservatism
Main article: Centre-right politics
Progressive conservatism incorporates progressive policies alongside conservative policies. It stresses the importance of a social safety net to deal with poverty, support of limited redistribution of wealth along with government regulation to regulate markets in the interests of both consumers and producers.[52] Progressive conservatism first arose as a distinct ideology in the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli‘s “One Nation” Toryism.[52][53]
There have been a variety of progressive conservative governments. In the UK, the Prime Ministers Disraeli, Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan,[54] and previous Prime Minister David Cameron are progressive conservatives.[55][56]
In the United States, the administration of President William Howard Taft was progressive conservative and he described himself as “a believer in progressive conservatism”[57] and President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared himself an advocate of “progressive conservatism”.[58] In Germany, Chancellor Leo von Caprivi promoted a progressive conservative agenda called the “New Course”.[59] In Canada, a variety of conservative governments have been progressive conservative, with Canada’s major conservative movement being officially named the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1942 to 2003.[60] In Canada, the Prime Ministers Arthur Meighen, R. B. Bennett, John Diefenbaker, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney, and Kim Campbell led progressive conservative federal governments.[60]
FUNDAMENTAL CONSERVATIVE POSITIONS we are adopting
ABORTION-No abortion especially late term
EUTHANASIA– No ‘Mercy Killing’
CLIMATE-Mans effect minimal, climate changes anyway
ISRAEL-One State Policy
CREATION VS EVOLUTION– Creation and changes within species
SMACKING-allowable for correction
YOUTH JUSTICE AGE– Don’t raise the age
THREE STRIKES– your out
PUBLIC REFERENDUMS– Binding at 66% of the country
PRISON SENTENCES– Serve the time and work for it
ALCOHOL– Raise Age to 20
MARRIAGE– Between one man and woman only
GENDER– Only two i.e. Male & Female
TAKE THE QUIZ TO SEE IF YOU ARE A CONSERVATIVE
You can use this website i Side With.com to find out where you are on the liberal/Conservative continuum.
