Conservatism

CONSERVATISM, AS AN intellectual and political force, existed in the United States even before the founding of the nation. Modern conservatism (which emerged after World War II) brought together a broad range of ideas and traditions—from the classical liberal of the 19th century, to the social conservatives of the latter 20th century. Postwar conservatives lamented the liberalism of federal government, as well as the spread of communism around the globe. Conservatives spent the early postwar years defining their positions on freedom and order before turning to politics, where they achieved some of their greatest success during the 1980s and 1990s. Since World War II, the political center in the United States has shifted right, as demonstrated by the growth of conservatism from a barely recognized ideology to a major political force.

Modern conservatism found its inspiration in two different strains of conservative thought, libertarianism and traditionalism. Friedrich Hayek's Road to Serfdom (1944) perhaps best distilled the libertarian or individualist perspective. Hayek focused on the primacy of individual freedom and the merits of free market or laissez-faire capitalism. Libertarianism saw society as a reflection of individual desires. Capitalism provided the best route to individual freedom. Therefore, the government should preserve competition, private initiative, and property rights. Traditionalism took its cue from natural law, Christian theology, and 19th-century European conservatism. Richard Weaver's Ideas Have Consequences (1947) outlined the traditionalist view that divine order and principle should serve as the foundation of civilization. The modern world, according to Weaver, faced problems because of the decay of objective moral order and the decline of community. Society required a set of shared beliefs based on moral or emotional bonds. While dubious of the effects of capitalism, traditionalists maintained the preservation of private property was of the utmost importance in dealing with the encroaching state.

The spread of Communism after the Bolshevik Revolution (1917) added another element to the postwar conservative movement. Conservatism before the Cold War tended towards isolationism. However, as former Communists such as James Burnham, Whittaker Chambers, and Frank Meyer moved rightward, conservatives began to call for active Anti-Communist foreign policy. [Page 138]Their personal experience provided the right with an inside look at Communism. Burnham, after he drifted away from Communism, became perhaps the most influential conservative voice on foreign policy matters. In Struggle for the World (1947), Burnham highlighted the monolithic nature of Communism and called on the west to resist Communist expansion. In Containment or Liberation (1953), he attacked the liberal's containment policy for dealing with the Communist menace. Burnham called for rollback—the liberation of Communist countries from their oppressors—through a network of alliances, the maintenance of nuclear superiority, and a willingness to fight with those weapons.