minivanburen wrote:What does conservatism mean to you? Not in terms of a definition per se, but in terms of how you relate to it. Is it a worldview that guides you to certain moral conclusions? Is it just a description of a general set of policy positions? Is it merely a reaction against or the negative of liberalism or socialism?
Of course it depends on the context. "Conservative" dress or decor is something quite different than how sociopolitical conservatism is defined in 21st century America. But assuming that you were thinking of the latter with your question:
To me conservatism is liberty to be who and what you are so long as reasonable law and the rights of others are not violated. It is common sense societies organized and structured to allow both allow reasonable maximum liberty while reflecting the culture and values that a people wishes to have. Again the goal is not acceptance by others but rather the right to have the kind of society we wish to have.
Philosophically it is the ability to change what needs to be changed while preserving that which has served us well as a people. It puts results and consequences as more important than motive or method, and it looks to find what works and discontinue what does not and/or that produces unintended unacceptable consequences.
In America it is appreciation for and ability to know, understand, and learn from our history and the symbols of it, both the good and the bad as well as the value of common language, borders, culture. Conservatism understands that good laws and regulations are necessary for a country and the societies within it but these should be kept to what is absolutely beneficial and necessary to produce an orderly society that respects the rights of all.
And finally it is appreciation for the blood and treasure expended to adopt a Constitution that has produced the most free, most prosperous, more charitable, most beneficial to all nation that has ever existed on Planet Earth, and a belief that such Constitution limited all branches of the federal government to a narrow range of specific responsibilities. Everything above and beyond those responsibilities are unconstitutional.