Political Science



Political Science

Introduction

Few political concepts cause more confusion than conservatism. Whereas most academic commentators agree that it is an ideology, many self-styled conservatives hotly deny this. Even among academic commentators, conservatism tends to be treated differently from other ideologies, and most of the varying accounts are open to contestation. This entry first reviews the ways in which conservatism has been defined by Edmund Burke and by later thinkers. It then considers the influence of the conservative perspective on political life in Britain, the United States, and in Western political thought more generally. The first of many hurdles encountered by writers on conservatism is the claim that it is not an ideology like liberalism or socialism; instead, conservatives are said to be pragmatic, making political decisions on the basis of their knowledge of specific circumstances, rather than trying to implement policies on the basis of abstract theorizing. An empirical approach to politics is indeed an essential ingredient of conservatism. However, this is not to say that all pragmatists are conservative. Even Vladimir Lenin was capable of being pragmatic in certain circumstances, but obviously he was not a conservative. For students of ideology, the important point is to analyze the arguments of those who attach a high priority to pragmatism regardless of circumstances. Equally, in familiar usage conservatism is taken to denote an opposition to change but opponents of change can be found within all political systems. Therefore, all the issues related to political science will be discussed in detail

Discussion

When the analysis will be accepted, the final eclipse of Burkean conservatism as a political project in Britain coincides almost exactly with the emergence of the United States as the world's most potent power. Burke had spoken out in favor of the American cause during the War of Independence. However, in ...