Modern conservatism is classical liberalism as developed by English political philosopher John Locke. His basic principles were the personal rights of life, liberty, and property. Clearly, today’s “post modern liberal” has nothing in common with John Locke. Today’s liberalism has more in common with Marxism/progressivism/socialism — but as with all things Leftist, the lexicon is changed in order to mask true identity and intentions. So Thomas Jefferson took Locke’s principles and revised them to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (as opposed to the progressive socialists’ guarantee of happiness). The point is that conservatism is a philosophy of governance which advocates and promotes individuals and their rights — as opposed to collective group rights, mind you. Conservatism is a political ideology that is not dependent upon political party, but is defined by principle. Locke supported the idea of the social contract which means government is entrusted by the people with certain powers for their protection. Jefferson referred to this in the Declaration of Independence as the “consent of the governed” — hence why we have representative government. Conservative principles are rooted in our foundational documents the Declaration and Constitution — by way of limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual sovereignty, free market economy, and national security (common defense).
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 03:48:15 +0000
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