The basic principles of conservatism were formulated back in the 18th century in the pamphlets of Edmund Burke, and this term, along with the concept of "liberalism", came into political use in the first half of the 19th century. Over the past two hundred years since then, the content of both terms has changed significantly.
Definition of concept
Political scientists note that the modern conservative ideology in its main provisions coincides with the ideas of the liberals of the century before last. This greatly complicates the formulation of both the very concept of conservatism and its main ideas and principles.
The term itself comes from the Latin verb conservare - "to preserve". Accordingly, the main idea of conservatism is to preserve the existing order. Such an interpretation evoked a somewhat snobbish understanding of conservatism as something stagnant, retrograde and contrary to progress. The coming to power of representatives of this trend in many states of Western Europe (for example, in France orGermany) and the economic recovery that followed them showed that such an interpretation is far from the truth.
General provisions of the conservative ideology
Given the internal heterogeneity of this trend, we can still note some of the main principles of conservatism. First of all, they include some provisions of a philosophical order, such as the recognition of human imperfection in the presence of a single moral and religious order for all, conviction in the innate inequality of people and the rejection of the idea of the infinity of reason. From a social point of view, conservatism advocates the need to maintain rigid class hierarchies and proven institutions. In political terms, the main ideas of this movement are clearly secondary in nature, and their formulations are derived from liberal or socialist slogans.
Classic conservatism
The given common features in conservative platforms changed significantly in parallel with the development of society. Therefore, it is advisable to highlight certain internal boundaries in the process of developing ideas and principles of conservatism.
The classical period (the end of the 18th-19th centuries) is characterized by opposition to the liberal current from the position of the aristocratic strata of society. The main postulates of the current are being formed as a reaction to the promotion of the principles of the free market, fundamental human rights and universal emancipation.
In the first half of the XX century. on the basis of conservatism, ultra-right are createdideologies that included racism, nationalism, chauvinism and anti-Semitism. The radicalization of the current during the World Economic Crisis of 1929-1933 is especially noticeable, when conservative ideologists turned to the denial of democratic principles and the use of methods of physically eliminating rivals in the political struggle.
Neoconservatism
From the second half of the 20th century. there is a revision of the fundamental principles of the classical conservative ideology: they adapt to the needs of the emerging post-industrial society. The success of the governments of Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in the US allowed political scientists to talk about the phenomenon of neo-conservatism, despite some controversy of such a term.
Attitude towards this trend remains ambiguous. Political scientists draw attention to the fact that the reverse side of significant economic growth is the impoverishment of the lower strata of society. Even greater criticism of the neo-conservative ideology was caused by its proclamation of the possibility of expansion to protect national interests. The attack on the sovereignty of other states could take place both in the cultural or economic spheres, and take the form of open hostilities.
Social and economic program
It is based on the principle of anti-statism, that is, limiting government intervention in the market. It is from here that the difficulties in formulating concepts arise, since such a formulation of the question was characteristic of classical liberalism. However, this platform isbecame conservative, in contrast to the Keynesian policies pursued since the 1930s: according to neoconservatives, excessive state intervention in the economic sphere led to the stifling of free enterprise.
Another modification of the principles of conservatism manifested itself in relation to the social lower classes. The global economic crisis led to a sharp increase in unemployment, the lack of social guarantees for many sectors of society, therefore, within the framework of Keynesianism, there was a constant increase in allocations for various benefits. The neoconservatives strongly opposed this state of affairs, believing that instead of supporting the marginalized and their consequent disinterest in employment, the state should conduct advanced training or retraining courses. This approach also resulted in a tough monetary policy and tax cuts for the we althiest strata.
Features of Russian conservatism
The biggest difference between the Russian Empire and Western European countries was the preservation of serfdom until 1861. This left its mark on the formation of the basic principles of conservatism in Russia. Since the autocracy ruled out the possibility of parliamentarism, the opposition of currents was carried out only in the ideological sphere.
One of the first Russian conservatives was Prince MM Shcherbatov. In contrast to liberal statements about the need to abolish serfdom, he declared that there was no need for this. First, the peasants already enjoy most of theland for their own subsistence, and secondly, without the supervision of the landowners, they are simply pauperized. Shcherbatov's third counterargument was that the liberation of the peasants with land would lead to the impoverishment of the nobility, the most enlightened class of the empire, which was fraught with a social explosion.
Slavophiles
The lack of a tradition of political struggle has led to the fact that conservatism in its pure form in Russia has not been formed. It was replaced by the ideology of the Slavophiles, who saw in Russia a self-sufficient force capable of successfully resisting both internal and external problems while maintaining traditions.
The main object of criticism of the Slavophiles was the reforms of Peter I, the essence of which, in their opinion, was the artificial and violent transfer of Western orders to Russian soil without taking into account the possibilities of their adaptability. Hence the rejection of the reforms of Alexander II, in which they also saw a thoughtless breaking of social foundations. F. M. Dostoevsky pointed out this especially stubbornly, opposing Russian Orthodox culture to the Western way of life. However, in the end, Russian conservatism found itself caught between radical left and right currents and could not fulfill its shock-absorbing function.
Conservatism as a legal principle
The principles of conservatism and progressiveness, which were the basis for modern legal systems of Roman law, combined the orientation on the old legal practice with the admission of new interpretations of existing laws. From this point of view, conservatismseems to be a kind of shield against thoughtless reform of legislation. In fact, this principle has become the only guarantee for the preservation of the existing social order and form of government. An even more important consequence of this was the maintenance of respect for the law and the right in society.
