"The conservative, therefore, never views history as progressive, but, instead, as revelatory. That is, history reveals when and where the virtues have become manifest and where the vices have predominated. " This is a great response to that tired cliche, "The right side of history"!
Amy, thanks for this. I've never called myself a "classical liberal" but I have called myself a libertarian. So, it's quite possible that my definition of conservatism is tainted by libertarianism. From my perspective, classical liberalism and conservatism share much in common, but conservatism is much, much older--dating back to the ancient world.
"The conservative, therefore, never views history as progressive, but, instead, as revelatory. That is, history reveals when and where the virtues have become manifest and where the vices have predominated. " This is a great response to that tired cliche, "The right side of history"!
Thanks, Tad! I'm most definitely not a progressive or in the least sympathetic to a progressive sense of history.
Wow. Still trying to digest it all. I remain confused as to whether there's a difference between classical liberalism and conservatism?
Amy, thanks for this. I've never called myself a "classical liberal" but I have called myself a libertarian. So, it's quite possible that my definition of conservatism is tainted by libertarianism. From my perspective, classical liberalism and conservatism share much in common, but conservatism is much, much older--dating back to the ancient world.
God bless Russell Kirk