Liberal conservatism

Liberal conservatism has two senses. It can refer to (1) the combination of economic liberalism with the classical conservative concern for established tradition, respect for authority and, sometimes, although in an increasingly lesser-sense, religious values. The term 'liberal' here refers not to center-left modern liberalism (the dominant present-day meaning of liberalism in the United States, the British Isles, and English-speaking Canada) but to free-market liberalism, laissez-faire economics. In those English-speaking countries, "liberal conservatism" in this sense is often simply called "conservatism". Consequently, in these countries, "liberal conservatism" is "freed up" to take an alternative meaning, (2) as a synonym for neoliberalism, either on the basis that it means the conserving of liberalism as described here against collectivist policies, or that it is a combination of fiscal conservatism with a concern for civil liberties. This article deals with liberal conservatism in the first sense.

Liberal conservatism usually takes hold among conservatives in countries where liberal economic ideas are considered traditional, and therefore conservative.

In countries where liberal conservative movements have entered the political mainstream, the terms "liberal" and "conservative" may become synonymous (as in Australia and in Italy), or they may be redefined such that liberal conservatives keep one of them and the other is taken up by a different group (as in the United States, where liberal conservatives use the term "conservative", and "liberal" generally means Modern American liberalism, a social liberal movement). Modern American liberalism contains many elements of social democracy and often advocates restrictions on free enterprise that fall outside the bounds of laissez-faire.

The liberal conservative tradition in the United States combines the economic individualism of the classical liberals with a Burkean form of conservatism (which has also become part of the American conservative tradition, for example in the writings of Russell Kirk).

Liberal conservative political parties exist in a number of countries, and they are usually most entrenched in Anglo-Saxon cultures.^{[dubious – discuss]}

See also