Portal:Conservatism
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Introduction
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology, which seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilisation in which it appears. In Western culture, depending on the particular nation, conservatives seek to promote and preserve a range of institutions, such as the nuclear family, organised religion, the military, the nation-state, property rights, rule of law, aristocracy, and monarchy. Conservatives tend to favour institutions and practices that enhance social order and historical continuity.
Edmund Burke, an 18th-century Anglo-Irish statesman who opposed the French Revolution but supported the American Revolution, is credited as one of the forefathers of conservative thought in the 1790s along with Savoyard statesman Joseph de Maistre. The first established use of the term in a political context originated in 1818 with François-René de Chateaubriand during the period of Bourbon Restoration that sought to roll back the policies of the French Revolution and establish social order.
Conservatism has varied considerably as it has adapted itself to existing traditions and national cultures. Thus, conservatives from different parts of the world, each upholding their respective traditions, may disagree on a wide range of issues. Historically associated with right-wing politics, the term has been used to describe a wide range of views. Conservatism may be either libertarian or authoritarian, populist or elitist, moderate or extreme. (Full article...)
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It first contested Alberta's 2008 provincial election, and was able to capture seven percent of the popular vote but failed to win a seat in the Legislative Assembly. Support for the party rose sharply in 2009 as voters grew increasingly frustrated with the government, resulting in a surprise win by outgoing leader Paul Hinman in an October by-election. The party's popularity continued to increase when in the fall of 2009, Danielle Smith won election as leader, and by December 2009, the Wildrose Alliance was the leading party in opinion polls with 39 percent support, 14 points ahead of both the governing Progressive Conservatives (PCs) and the opposition Liberals. Wildrose's caucus has grown to four members, after two former PC members of the Legislative Assembly defected in January 2010 and an independent MLA joined the party in June 2010.
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The struggle between the opponents and defenders of capitalism is a struggle between innovators who do not know what innovation to make and conservatives who do not know what to conserve.
— Simone Weil, "The Power of Words" in Selected Essays 1934-1943 (1957)
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In 1905, Calvin Coolidge met and married a fellow Vermonter, Grace Anna Goodhue, who was working as a teacher at the Clarke School for the Deaf. While Grace was watering flowers outside the school one day in 1903, she happened to look up at the open window of Robert N. Weir's boardinghouse and caught a glimpse of Calvin Coolidge shaving in front of a mirror with nothing on but long underwear and a hat. After a more formal introduction sometime later, the two were quickly attracted to each other. They were married on October 4, 1905, in the parlor of her parents' home in Burlington, Vermont.
They were opposites in personality: she was talkative and fun-loving, while he was quiet and serious. The marriage was, by most accounts, a happy one. As Coolidge wrote in his Autobiography, "We thought we were made for each other. For almost a quarter of a century she has borne with my infirmities, and I have rejoiced in her graces."
Credit: Brian0918
Did you know...
- ...that in 1984 Ronald Reagan timed his first presidential proclamation of National Sanctity of Human Life Day to coincide with the anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade?
- ...that in Edward Heath's 1968 Declaration of Perth, he pledged the Conservative Party's support for Scottish devolution, a policy later reversed by Margaret Thatcher?
- ... that for Theodore Dalrymple's book Life at the Bottom, he interviewed over 10,000 people who had attempted suicide?
Selected anniversaries in June
- 1979 – in the United States, the Moral Majority is founded by Jerry Falwell and Paul Weyrich.
- 1983 – the United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945.
- 1987 – in a reference to the Berlin Wall, US President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall!"
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