Accountable
Well-Known Member
Columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. is generally so partisan that I can only take him in very small doses, but this time he writes a pretty good, thoughtful, and positive opinion of conservatism. I don't necessarily agree with every word, but it's a good read. Here's an excerpt:
Still, I have written over the years with respect and some real affection for conservatism and its writers and thinkers because I believe that conservatism challenges the progressive worldview in at least three indispensable ways.
First, conservatives are suspicious of innovation and therefore subject all grand plans to merciless interrogation. Their core question goes something like this: Maybe you think this new health (or education or environmental) plan is a great idea, Mr. Liberal, but will it really work?
[...]
Second, conservatives respect old things and old habits. They are not always right in this. Racial segregation and discrimination are good examples of "old ways" that were morally wrong. But an admiration for what the conservative writer Russell Kirk called "custom" and "convention" speaks to something deep in the human heart.
[...]
Related to this is the third great contribution of conservatism: a suspicion of human nature and a belief that humans cannot be remolded like plastic. Conservatives see a fallen side of human nature usually described in terms of original sin. And when utopians propose to create a New Man or a New Woman, the conservative typically cries: Stop!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...03/23/AR2010032302427.html?wpisrc=nl_opinionsFirst, conservatives are suspicious of innovation and therefore subject all grand plans to merciless interrogation. Their core question goes something like this: Maybe you think this new health (or education or environmental) plan is a great idea, Mr. Liberal, but will it really work?
[...]
Second, conservatives respect old things and old habits. They are not always right in this. Racial segregation and discrimination are good examples of "old ways" that were morally wrong. But an admiration for what the conservative writer Russell Kirk called "custom" and "convention" speaks to something deep in the human heart.
[...]
Related to this is the third great contribution of conservatism: a suspicion of human nature and a belief that humans cannot be remolded like plastic. Conservatives see a fallen side of human nature usually described in terms of original sin. And when utopians propose to create a New Man or a New Woman, the conservative typically cries: Stop!
