Kirk's Six Canons of Conservative Thought (radical, rating, leader, economic)
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1. Belief that a divine intent rules society as well as conscience, forging an eternal chain of right and duty which links great and obscure, living and dead. Political problems, at bottom, are religious and moral problems.
So, nobody can be a conservative unless he believes in God?
1. Belief that a divine intent rules society as well as conscience, forging an eternal chain of right and duty which links great and obscure, living and dead. Political problems, at bottom, are religious and moral problems.
This still dominates the conservative mind although, at the risk of sounding like Marx, political problems are also economic problems. A view that conservatives have always thought.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim
2. Affection for the proliferating variety and mystery of traditional life, as distinguished from the narrowing uniformity and egalitarianism and utilitarian aims of most radical systems.[/b]
I think conservatives have been adopting, more and more, a live and let live attitude unless it contradicts their moral and religious covenants. The last part of this canon applies to thought and speech, though. Think and speak right or else be called a RINO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim
3. Conviction that civilized society requires orders and classes. The only true equality is moral equality; all other attempts at leveling lead to despair, if enforced by positive legislation. Society longs for leadership, and if a people destroy natural distinctions among men, presently Bonaparte fills the vacuum.[/b]
It is this rule that shows how much libertarian thought has influenced conservative thought. Though he may believe it, no conservative says this out loud.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim
4. Persuasion that freedom and prosperity are inseparably connected, and that economic leveling is not economic progress.[/b]
This still dominates conservative thought.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim
5. Faith in prescription [e.g., custom and tradition] and distrust of "sophisters and calculators." Man must put a control upon his will and his appetite, for conservatives know man to be governed more by emotion than by reason. Tradition and sound prejudice are checks upon man's anarchic impulse.[/b]
This rule has faded in importance due to libertarian influences.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim
6. Recognition that change and reform are not identical, and that innovation is a devouring conflagration more often than it is a torch of progress. [/b]
I can guess why Mr. Kirk wrote #6. Tradition (he believed the past should always be conserved, in my opinion) usually is destroyed by innovation. The reason for innovation is that the traditional ways don't provide for a changing society. Conservatives are as strong supporters of innovation as anyone else.
1. Belief that a divine intent rules society as well as conscience, forging an eternal chain of right and duty which links great and obscure, living and dead. Political problems, at bottom, are religious and moral problems.
This still dominates the conservative mind although, at the risk of sounding like Marx, political problems are also economic problems. A view that conservatives have always thought.
I suspect that Kirk would argue that even economic problems are, at bottom, religious and moral problems. That's definitely my own position.
Quote:
Originally Posted by geofra
2. Affection for the proliferating variety and mystery of traditional life, as distinguished from the narrowing uniformity and egalitarianism and utilitarian aims of most radical systems.
I think conservatives have been adopting, more and more, a live and let live attitude unless it contradicts their moral and religious covenants. The last part of this canon applies to thought and speech, though. Think and speak right or else be called a RINO.
Good observation re: the RINO and anti-RINO phenomenon. Kirk was definitely not a party hack. But this canon in historical context refers, I believe, to the tendency in America at the time - and right up to our own time among some conservatives - to demand a degree of conformity from American sub-cultures that effectively deracinates them and undermines their own legitimate heritage. Kirk lamented the destruction of ethnic neighborhoods in America's cities, for example, along with forced racial integration via school busing, and the mass uniformity that radio and television was imposing on society.
There's a definite tension within American conservatism on this point. But if you look closely enough at liberal projects like multiculturalism, you discover that it is really the same thing Kirk laments in this canon. Multiculturalism deprives every specific culture of public authority in society. In effect, multiculturalism itself becomes the culture and the only culture that is tolerated.
I believe that Kirk was also setting conservatism against American projects overseas. Some of his writing suggests that Americanizing our former enemies after WW-II, turning them all into commercial republics rather than preserving what was good in their historic cultures, was ill-advised and deprived the world of beauty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by geofra
3. Conviction that civilized society requires orders and classes. The only true equality is moral equality; all other attempts at leveling lead to despair, if enforced by positive legislation. Society longs for leadership, and if a people destroy natural distinctions among men, presently Bonaparte fills the vacuum.
It is this rule that shows how much libertarian thought has influenced conservative thought. Though he may believe it, no conservative says this out loud.
Personally, I don't see this. In my experience with the movement, libertarians are ideologically opposed to orders and classes, at least to the extent that they can't be bought by commercial success. But I'm open to being persuaded otherwise. Maybe some of C-D's libertarians can speak to the point.
I love this canon and don't mind saying it out loud.
This is the catechism. These are conservative principles, as far as allegiance to the republican ideals of the United States allow. Those who cannot agree and subscribe are not conservatives and should avoid identifying themselves as such. It matters not one whit whether Kirk wrote in the 20th century or the 16th; the essence of the idea of conservatiism makes such an objection otiose.
This is the real deal. If you thought you were a conservative, but find yourself in disagreement with these principles, then I must regretfully inform you that you are a Liberal at best and at worst a Jacobin. Welcome to grown-up politics.
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