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 civilization in which it appears. In Western culture, depending on the particular nation, conservatives seek to promote a range of institutions, such as the nuclear family, organized 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, progressive or reactionary, moderate or extreme. (Full article...)

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The Independent Women's Forum (IWF) is an American conservative, non-profit, non-partisan research and educational institution focused on domestic and foreign policy issues of concern to women. In 2006, the group whose ideology is economic conservative, had 20,337 members and a budget of $1.05 million. The group advocates "equity feminism," a term first used by IWF author Christina Hoff Sommers to distinguish conservative feminism from what she refers to as "gender feminism," which she claims opposes gender roles as well as patriarchy. According to Sommers, the gender feminist view is "the prevailing ideology among contemporary feminist philosophers and leaders" and "thrives on the myth that American women are the oppressed 'second sex.'" Sommers' equity feminism has been described as anti-feminist by critics. As the organization's slogan—"All Issues are Women's Issues"—suggests, IWF members seek to participate in policy discussions not only about issues commonly referred to as "women's rights," but also about such topics as national defense and foreign policy. According to its mission statement, IWF "builds greater respect for limited government, equality under the law, property rights, free markets, strong families, and a powerful and effective national defense and foreign policy."

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Conservative: One who admires radicals a century after they're dead.
— Leo Rosten, in R.L. Woods's The Modern Handbook of Humor (1967)

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Mike Huckabee's band, Capitol Offense, has played for political events and parties, including entertaining at unofficial inaugural balls in Washington, D.C. in January 2001 and later again 2005, both organized and promoted by the conservative website Free Republic

Credit: Flickr upload bot

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Did you know...

...that Fred Ryan was instrumental in the development of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library?

... that Holly Coors, wife of beer magnate Joseph Coors, stated while planning to run for governor of Colorado that the way to help women was "not the Equal Rights Amendment but through free enterprise"?

... that Canadian Conservative Party candidate Bernard Trottier won a seat in the 41st Canadian Parliament by defeating the incumbent Michael Ignatieff, the leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Official Opposition, in the 2011 federal election?

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Selected anniversaries in April

1960 – Barry Goldwater publishes The Conscience of a Conservative. The book reignited the American conservative movement and made Goldwater a star.

9th

1948 – the period known as La Violencia begins with the assassination of Colombian Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. For the next ten years Liberals, Communists and Conservatives would fight each other in the conflict.