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.

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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.

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To make matters more complicated Wikipedia gives many forms of conservatism and feel free to investigate them via here:

 Forms of conservatism

• 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 conservatism

Libertarian 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 conservatism

Libertarian 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 conservatism

Fiscal 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.

Cultural and social conservatism

Main articles: Cultural conservatism and social conservatism

Cultural 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 Right

Religious 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