On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 08:33:26 GMT, necoandjeff wrote:

> Edward Mills wrote:
>> On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 07:15:13 GMT, necoandjeff wrote:
>>
>>> First, define your conservatism (it can mean so many things these
>>> days), so we can see how much we have in common.
>>
>> Conservativism is a political philosophy which holds dear the values
>> that have withstood the test of time.
> 
> Wow. That's it huh? You're entire political philosophy in a nutshell.

That's it. Most philosophies can be reduced to simple maxims, and those
that can't generally don't survive Occam's razor.

> So
> what is to guide a conservative  when those values are challenged? For
> example, place yourself in the 1850s. Someone suggests (brace yourself) that
> salvery is an amoral institution that should be abolished. How would your
> conservative forefathers have reacted to that?

Slavery was often seen as immoral then as it is now. Perhaps even moreso
since those who lived through it were able to witness it firsthand. But
regardless, conservativism also places a value on change - just let's not
be too fast.

> (Note that, although Lincoln
> was, as the Republicans never tire of informing us, a Republican, he was, at
> least by your definition, a liberal of his day, at least with respect to
> that particular issue.)

I have not defined "liberal"so how could he be a liberal due to my
definition? 

> Or how about the suggestion that women be given the
> right to vote half a century later, or that blacks not be deprived of equal
> protection another approximately half century later? Couldn't one argue
> that, while conservatives (by your definition) always have a defensible
> position to rest their laurels on at any given point in time, when seen in
> hindsight, through the eyes of history, they are simply the ones who are
> always (by definition, according to your definition) on the losing side of
> progress? 

Progress is also a conservative value according to my definition. 

> Please note that I'm not quarreling with conservatism per se, just
> your rather simplistic definition of it, so no need to break out that trusty
> hammer just yet.

Hows about I break out my razor?