A Better Conservatism Requires a Better Firmament

I at tribute today’s friction on America’s political right to three factors. The first relates to the enduring difficulty of translating the principles of conservatism into practice. American conservatism is made up of a number of governing tenets that, though related in purpose and often mutually reinforcing, can at times point us in different directions. For instance, conservatives prize individual liberty, community cohesion, tradition, and small-scale democratic governing. But a local ordinance regulating gambling likely puts those principles into tension. Similarly, it’s impossible to simultaneously maximize business innovation, creative destruction, the preservation of longstanding institutions, and the protection of local crafts and trades. So while Russello is correct that the American right combines an intellectual movement as well as a movement dedicated to politics and policies, we should appreciate that the two will never perfectly mesh. Read Full Article »