conservatism

any social and political doctrine which seeks to defend the institutions and social values of the existing order.
any relatively stable set of POLITICAL ATTITUDES in support of the status quo, i.e. policies which seek to sustain or renovate rather than reconstruct the social fabric. As such, conservatism is the opposite of radicalism.
support for the British Conservative Party. Conservative political ideology, in its modern forms, first manifested itself as a reaction to the French Revolution. Edmund Burke, in his Reflections on the French Revolution (1790), produced a classic statement in defence of the old order. His central argument was that the established social and political institutions should be defended because they existed; they had grown ‘organically’. Hence, they were a better guide to action than any theoretical construction, no matter how rational the latter may seem. Burke's ideas have provided a core theme. Conservatism has rarely been based on any overtly stated political philosophy, since the danger is that it could be regarded as ‘abstract’ and ‘ideological’.

Another persistent theme of traditional conservatism has been that the social order must be maintained by a leadership composed of ÉLITES holding key positions of political responsibility The STATE is seen as playing a central role in guaranteeing the social order, authority, and the maintenance of social hierarchy Inequalities are seen as necessary elements of society Conservatives also stress the importance of custom and tradition as prerequisites of a stable social order. MANNHEIM (1953), however, distinguishes between conservatism and ‘static traditionalism’. Conservative politics has often involved changes which have been seen as necessary for the preservation of the social order: renovation rather than reconstruction of the social fabric. Such notions rest on another central theme in conservative thought, the belief that the mass of people, because of their inherent qualities, including ignorance and selfishness, are unlikely to create a satisfactory social order through their own efforts. See also WORKING-CLASS CONSERVATISM, DEFERENCE, NEW RIGHT, THATCHERISM, PROPERTY.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000

Conservatism

Apley, George

scion of an old Boston society family, he exemplifies its traditions and remains in old-fashioned mediocrity. [Am. Lit.: The Late George Apley in Magill I, 499]

Conservative party

British political party, once called the Tory party. [Br. Hist.: NCE, 632]

Daughters of the American Revolution

(D.A.R) conservative society of female descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 132]

elephant

symbol of the Republican party. [Am. Hist.: Misc.]

John Birch Society

ultraconservative, anti-Communist organization. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 1421]

laissez-faire

political doctrine that an economic system functions best without governmental interference. [Politics: Misc.]

Luddites

arch-conservative workmen; smashed labor-saving machinery (1779). [Br. Hist.: Espy, 107]

Republican Party

U.S. political party, generally espousing a conservative platform. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 424]

Warbucks, Daddy

espouses a reactionary law-and-order society threatened by decadence, bureaucracy, and loss of Puritan virtues. [Comics: Berger, 84]

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Conservatism

adherence to all that is old, outmoded, and stagnant and hostility and opposition to progress and to everything that is new and progressive in society, science, technology, and art.