54-547: Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other The Rockford Institute was an American conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism , based in Rockford, Illinois . Founded in 1976, it ran the John Randolph Club and published
108-673: A federal republic under the rule of law . Conservative philosophy also derives in part from the classical liberal tradition of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, which advocated laissez-faire economics (i.e. economic freedom and deregulation ). Louis Hartz argues that socialism has failed to become established in the United States because of Americans' widespread acceptance of an enduring, underlying Lockean consensus. While historians such as Patrick Allitt (born 1956) and political theorists such as Russell Kirk (1918–1994) assert that conservative principles have played
162-432: A Conservative Party. They soon merged it into the state Democratic Parties. All of the major American political parties support republicanism and the basic classical liberal ideals on which the country was founded in 1776, emphasizing liberty, the rule of law, the consent of the governed , and that all men were created equal. Political divisions inside the United States often seemed minor or trivial to Europeans, where
216-612: A balance between federal government and states' rights . Apart from some right-libertarians , American conservatives tend to favor strong action in areas they believe to be within government's legitimate jurisdiction, particularly national defense and law enforcement while opposing government intervention in social issues such as healthcare and the environment . Social conservatives —many of them religious—often oppose abortion and same-sex marriage . They often favor prayer in public schools and government funding for private religious schools . Like most political ideologies in
270-657: A balanced budget. They argue that low taxes produce more jobs and wealth for everyone, and, as President Grover Cleveland said, "unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation". A recent movement against the inheritance tax labels such a tax as a " death tax ." Fiscal conservatives often argue that competition in the free market is more effective than the regulation of industry and is the most efficient way to promote economic growth . The Republican Party has taken widely varying views on protectionism and free trade throughout its history. Others, such as some libertarians and followers of Ludwig von Mises , believe all government intervention in
324-440: A decisive split from the nationalist-isolationism that the traditionalist conservatives (isolationists) had subscribed to up until this point. Paleoconservatives press for restrictions on immigration, a rollback of multicultural programs and large-scale demographic change, the decentralization of federal policy , the restoration of controls upon free trade , a greater emphasis upon economic nationalism and non-interventionism in
378-604: A good politician must "defend the moral order rooted in the Old and New Testament and Natural Law "—and that "the deepest problems in our society are not economic or political, but moral". According to historian Paul V. Murphy, paleoconservatives developed a focus on localism and states' rights . From the mid-1980s onward, Chronicles promoted a Southern traditionalist worldview focused on national identity, regional particularity, and skepticism of abstract theory and centralized power. According to Hague, Beirich, and Sebesta (2009),
432-556: A lecture in New York in January. On 5 May 1989 Neuhaus and his Religion and Society Center were evicted from the institute's New York office after he complained about what he said were "the racist and anti-Semitic tones" of Chronicles . The charge, which was supported by other leading conservatives, was denied by the institute. They said the office, called Rockford East, was closed for budgetary reasons and because of concerns that Neuhaus
486-499: A major role in U.S. politics and culture since 1776, they also argue that an organized conservative movement with beliefs that differ from those of other American political parties did not emerge in the U.S. at least until the 1950s. The recent movement conservatism has its base in the Republican Party , which has adopted conservative policies since the 1950s; Southern Democrats also became important early figures in
540-614: A monarchy, an established church, or a hereditary aristocracy. American conservatism is best characterized as a reaction against utopian ideas of progress and European political philosophy from before the end of World War II . Russell Kirk saw the American Revolution itself as "a conservative reaction, in the English political tradition, against royal innovation". In the 2022 book The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism , Matthew Continetti noted that
594-756: A more militaristic , interventionist foreign policy aimed at promoting democracy abroad, which stands in stark contrast to Paleoconservatisms more isolationist foreign policy. Neoconservatives often name communism and Islamism as the biggest threats to the free world. They often oppose the United Nations for interfering with American unilateralism. National conservatism focuses on upholding national and cultural identity . National conservatives strongly identify with American nationalism , patriotism , and American exceptionalism , while opposing internationalism , globalism , and multiculturalism . The movement seeks to promote national interests through
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#1732779775506648-704: A professor of history at Mount Holyoke College , wrote: Here was no lover of government by plutocracy, no dreamer of an America filled with factions and hard-packed cities. Here was a man who loved America as it was and had been, one whose life was a doughty testament to the trials and glories of ordered liberty. Here ... was the model of the American conservative. Paleoconservative Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Paleoconservatism
702-521: A response to American social changes of the 1960s. Allan Carlson served as president until 1997. He and Howard left to found The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society which opposes abortion , divorce , and homosexuality, promoting instead the "child-rich, married parent" family, an offshoot of the Rockford Institute. It was located in Rockford, Illinois . Thomas Fleming , editor of Chronicles , succeeded Carlson as president of
756-443: A return to traditional conservative ideals relating to gender, race, sexuality, culture, and society. Paleoconservatism differs from neoconservatism in opposing free trade and promoting republicanism . Paleoconservatives see neoconservatives as imperialists and themselves as defenders of the republic. Paleoconservatives tend to oppose abortion, gay marriage , and LGBTQ rights . Paleoconservatives believe that tradition
810-614: A smaller government is known as starve the beast . Activist Grover Norquist is a well-known proponent of the strategy and has famously said, "My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." The argument in favor of balanced budgets is often coupled with a belief that government welfare programs should be narrowly tailored and that tax rates should be low, which implies relatively small government institutions. Neoconservatism emphasizes foreign policy over domestic policy. Its supporters, mainly war hawks , advocate
864-446: A steady flow of "prescription and prejudice". Kirk's use of the word "prejudice" here is not intended to carry its contemporary pejorative connotation: a conservative himself, he believed that the inherited wisdom of the ages may be a better guide than apparently rational individual judgment. Through much of the 20th century, a primary force uniting the varied strands of conservatism, and uniting conservatives with liberals and socialists,
918-406: A strong national defense , gun rights , capital punishment , and a defense of Western culture from perceived threats posed by communism , Islamism and moral relativism . American conservatives may question epidemiology , climate change , and evolution more frequently than moderates or liberals . In the United States, " conservative " is often used very differently from the way it
972-543: A study of human experience. On this point we are, without reservations, on the conservative side. According to Peter Viereck , American conservatism is distinctive because it was not tied to a monarchy, landed aristocracy, established church, or military elite. Instead American conservatives were firmly rooted in American republicanism , which European conservatives opposed. They are committed, says Seymour Martin Lipset , to
1026-527: Is a political philosophy and a paternalistic strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism , Christian ethics , regionalism , traditionalist conservatism , and non-interventionism . Paleoconservatism's concerns overlap with those of the Old Right that opposed the New Deal in the 1930s and 1940s as well as with paleolibertarianism . By the start of the 21st century,
1080-536: Is a form of democratized Whig constitutionalism plus the free market . The point of difference comes with the influence of social liberalism ". American conservatives tend to support Christian values , moral absolutism , and American exceptionalism , while opposing abortion , euthanasia , and some LGBT rights (depending on the politicians). They tend to favor economic liberalism , and are generally pro- business and pro- capitalism , while opposing communism and labor unions . They often advocate for
1134-467: Is a form of reason, rather than a competing force. Mel Bradford wrote that certain questions are settled before any serious deliberation concerning a preferred course of conduct may begin. This ethic is based in a "culture of families, linked by friendship, common enemies, and common projects", so a good conservative keeps "a clear sense of what Southern grandmothers have always meant in admonishing children, 'we don't do that'". Pat Buchanan argues that
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#17327797755061188-419: Is a large and mainstream ideology in the Republican Party and nation. As of 2021, 36 percent of Americans consider themselves conservative, according to polling by Gallup, Inc. Conservatism in the United States is not a single school of thought. According to American philosopher Ian Adams, all major American parties are " liberal and always have been. Essentially they espouse classical liberalism , that
1242-549: Is categorized, others regard the movement known as Trumpism as supported by, if not a rebranding of, paleoconservatism. From this view, the followers of the Old Right did not fade away so easily and continue to have significant influence in the Republican Party and the entire country. The prefix paleo derives from the Greek root παλαιός ( palaiós ), meaning "ancient" or "old". It is somewhat tongue-in-cheek and refers to
1296-508: Is known for promoting anti-globalism, anti-intervention, and anti-immigration stances within conservative politics, and is considered one of the leading paleoconservative publications. As of 2017, the executive editor was Aaron D. Wolf and, as of 2012, Srđa Trifković was editor for foreign affairs. Contributors over the years have included the conservative activist Peter Gemma. As of 2021, its website names Paul Gottfried as its Interim Editor-in-Chief and Edmund Welsch as Executive Editor, and
1350-537: Is used in Europe. Following the American Revolution , Americans rejected the then core ideals of European conservatism, which were based on landed nobility , hereditary monarchy , established churches , and powerful armies. Conservatives in the United States historically view individual liberty within the bounds of conservative values as the fundamental trait of democracy . They typically believe in
1404-733: The Southern Agrarians as forebears in this regard. Paleoconservatives are generally critics of Israel and supporters of the Arab cause in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ; they have argued that supporting the country damages foreign relations with the Islamic world and American interests abroad. Buchanan has asserted that "Capitol Hill is Israeli occupied territory". Kirk argued that "Not seldom has it seemed... as if some eminent Neoconservatives mistook Tel Aviv for
1458-407: The antimodernism of the paleoconservative movement defined the neo-Confederate movement of the 1980s and 1990s. During this time, notable paleoconservatives argued that desegregation , welfare, tolerance of gay rights , and church-state separation had been damaging to local communities, and that these issues had been imposed by federal legislation and think tanks. Paleoconservatives also claimed
1512-575: The conservative part of the paleoconservative label, saying that they do not want the status quo preserved. Fleming and Paul Gottfried called such thinking "stupid tenacity" and described it as "a series of trenches dug in defense of last year's revolution". Francis defined authentic conservatism as "the survival and enhancement of a particular people and its institutionalized cultural expressions". Paleoconservatives support restrictions on immigration, decentralization , trade tariffs and protectionism , economic nationalism , isolationism , and
1566-452: The nuclear family . There are two overlapping subgroups of social conservatives: the traditional and the religious. Traditional conservatives strongly support traditional codes of conduct, especially those they feel are threatened by social change and modernization. Religious conservatives focus on conducting society based on the morals prescribed by fundamentalist religious authorities, rejecting secularism and moral relativism . In
1620-692: The 1980s preached traditional moral and religious social values. The history of American conservatism has been marked by tensions and competing ideologies. During the era of Ronald Reagan , a coalition of ideologies was formed that was known as "the Three Leg Stool " — the three legs being social conservatives (consisting of the Christian right and paleo-conservatives ), war hawks (consisting of interventionists and neoconservatives ), and fiscal conservatives (consisting of right-libertarians and free-market capitalists ), with overlap between
1674-600: The American conservative movement has been fractured for a century. Political conservatives have emphasized an identification with the Founding Fathers of the United States and the U.S. Constitution . Scholars of conservative political thought "generally label John Adams as the intellectual father of American conservatism". Russell Kirk points to Adams as the key Founding Father for conservatives, saying that "some writers regard him as America's most important conservative public man". In 1955, Clinton Rossiter ,
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1728-521: The Charlemagne Institute have been described as central to the paleoconservative intellectual movement. Chronicles peaked in the 1990s and helped shape the paleoconservative revival that accompanied Patrick Buchanan 's 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns. At its peak, it had 15,000 subscribers. As of September 2016 there were 6,700 subscribers. The Rockford Institute was founded in 1976 by Rockford College president John A. Howard as
1782-653: The Rockford Institute. The institute also retained the Ingersoll Prize, which the Rockford Institute had established in 1983 to honor conservative thinkers. Fleming, a founding member of the League of the South , was described as a neo-Confederate by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). In 1988 the institute and Richard John Neuhaus , a Lutheran pastor, invited Cardinal Ratzinger to give
1836-489: The Southern " Bible Belt " and in recent years played a major role in the political coalitions of George W. Bush and Donald Trump . Fiscal conservatism has ideological roots in capitalism , limited government , free enterprise , and laissez-faire economics. Fiscal conservatives typically support tax cuts , reduced government spending , free markets , deregulation , privatization , minimal government debt , and
1890-475: The United States is based on a belief in individualism , traditionalism , republicanism , and limited federal governmental power in relation to U.S. states . Conservatism is one of two major political ideologies of the United States with the other being liberalism . Conservative and Christian media organizations and American conservative figures are influential, and American conservatism
1944-474: The United States , conservatism originates from republicanism , which rejects aristocratic and monarchical government and upholds the principles of the 1776 U.S. Declaration of Independence ("that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness") and of the U.S. Constitution , which established
1998-491: The United States, this translates into hard-line stances on moral issues, such as opposition to abortion , LGBT rights , feminism , pornography , comprehensive sex education , and recreational drug use . Religious conservatives often assert that America is a Christian nation , calling for laws that enforce Christian morality . They often support school prayer , vouchers for parochial schools , and restricting or outlawing abortion . Social conservatives are strongest in
2052-745: The belief in America's "superiority against the cold reactionary monarchical and more rigidly status-bound system of European society". In terms of governmental economic policies, American conservatives have been heavily influenced by the classical liberal or libertarian tradition as expressed by Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman , and a major source of influence has been the Chicago school of economics . They have been strongly opposed to Keynesian economics . Traditional ( Burkean ) conservatives tend to be anti-ideological, and some would even say anti-philosophical, promoting, as Russell Kirk explained,
2106-441: The club's activities. In 2018 the Rockford Institute merged with the Charlemagne Institute (renamed from Intellectual Takeout in 2018), which became the new publisher of Chronicles . As of 2021 Devin C. Foley is listed as the Charlemagne Institute's chief executive officer. Chronicles is a U.S. monthly magazine published by the Rockford Institute. Its full current name is Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture . The magazine
2160-463: The conduct of American foreign policy. Historian George Hawley states that although influenced by paleoconservatism, Donald Trump is not a paleoconservative, but rather a nationalist and a right-wing populist . Hawley also argued in 2017 that paleoconservatism was an exhausted force in American politics, but that for a time it represented the most serious right-wing threat to the mainstream conservative movement . Regardless of how Trump himself
2214-699: The divide between the left and the right led to violent polarization, starting with the French Revolution . In 2009, Emory University history professor Patrick Allitt wrote that attitude, not policy, are at the core of differences between liberals and conservatives: Certain continuities can be traced through American history. The conservative 'attitude' ... was one of trusting to the past, to long-established patterns of thought and conduct, and of assuming that novelties were more likely to be dangerous than advantageous. No American party has ever advocated traditional European ideals of "conservatism" such as
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2268-416: The economy is wasteful, corrupt, and immoral. Fiscal conservatism advocates restraint of progressive taxation and expenditure. Fiscal conservatives since the 19th century have argued that debt is a device to corrupt politics; they argue that big spending ruins the morals of the people, and that a national debt creates a dangerous class of speculators. A political strategy employed by conservatives to achieve
2322-501: The era, we are, without reservations, on the libertarian side. The profound crisis of our era is, in essence, the conflict between the Social Engineers, who seek to adjust mankind to scientific utopias, and the disciples of Truth, who defend the organic moral order. We believe that truth is neither arrived at nor illuminated by monitoring election results, binding though these are for other purposes, but by other means, including
2376-482: The magazine Chronicles . In 2018 the Rockford Institute merged with the Charlemagne Institute (renamed from Intellectual Takeout in 2018), which became the new publisher of Chronicles . The Charlemagne Institute describes itself as "leading a cultural movement to defend and advance Western Civilization, the foundation of our American republic." Chronicles, the Rockford Institute, and since 2018
2430-607: The more intellectual wing of the white nationalist movement", and in another article said it was "controversial even among conservatives for its racism and anti-Semitism". Conservatism in the United States Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Conservatism in
2484-556: The movement had begun to focus more on issues of race . The terms neoconservative and paleoconservative were coined by Paul Gottfried in the 1980s, but the term originated following the outbreak of the Vietnam War and a divide in American conservatism between the interventionists and the isolationists . Those in favor of the Vietnam War then became known as the neoconservatives (interventionists), as they marked
2538-481: The movement's history. In 1937, Southern Democrats formed the congressional conservative coalition , which played an influential role in Congress from the late 1930s to the mid-1960s. In recent decades, Southern conservatives voted heavily Republican. Conservatism in the United States is not a single school of thought. Barry Goldwater in the 1960s spoke for a " free enterprise " conservatism. Jerry Falwell in
2592-452: The paleoconservatives' claim to represent a more historic, authentic conservative tradition than that found in neoconservatism . Adherents of paleoconservatism often describe themselves simply as "paleo". Rich Lowry of National Review claims the prefix "is designed to obscure the fact that it is a recent ideological creation of post-Cold War politics". Samuel T. Francis , Thomas Fleming , and some other paleoconservatives de-emphasized
2646-528: The preservation of traditional cultural values , restrictions on illegal immigration , and strict law and order policies. In the United States, there has never been a national political party called the Conservative Party. Since 1962, there has been a small Conservative Party of New York State . During Reconstruction in several states in the South in the late 1860s, the former Whigs formed
2700-413: The radical libertarian Murray Rothbard , Jared Taylor of the white nationalist journal American Renaissance , the white nationalist Peter Brimelow , the writer Samuel Francis , and the journalist and politician Pat Buchanan . It was named for John Randolph (described by the historian Quinn Slobodian as "a slaveholder whose catchphrase was 'I love liberty, I hate equality'"). Chronicles promoted
2754-614: The sides . In the 21st century United States, types of conservatism include: In February 1955, in the first issue of National Review , William F. Buckley Jr. explained the standards of his magazine and articulate the beliefs of American conservatives: Among our convictions: It is the job of centralized government (in peacetime) to protect its citizens' lives, liberty and property. All other activities of government tend to diminish freedom and hamper progress. The growth of government (the dominant social feature of this century) must be fought relentlessly. In this great social conflict of
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#17327797755062808-500: Was hosted by (and listed as a programme of) the Charlemagne Institute. In 2000, James Warren of The Chicago Tribune called Chronicles "right-leaning" and wrote, "There are few publications more cerebral". He described a Chronicles article criticizing the finances of Donald Trump , who was then considering a Reform Party presidential campaign. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) described Chronicles in 2017 as "a publication with strong neo-Confederate ties that caters to
2862-469: Was not following institute policies. The split was seen by leading conservatives as a sign of the division between the paleoconservative and the neo-conservative elements of the movement. The John Randolph Club (1989–1995) was a project of the Rockford Institute to promote alliances between paleoconservatives and paleolibertarians . The club has been described as neo-Confederate , promoting secession , and favoring white Southerners. Founding members included
2916-697: Was opposition to communism, which was seen not only as an enemy of the traditional order but also the enemy of Western freedom and democracy. Between 1945 and 1947, it was the Labour government in the United Kingdom, which embraced socialism, that pushed the Truman administration to take a strong stand against Soviet Communism . Social conservatism in the United States is the defense of traditional family values rooted in Judeo-Christian ethics and
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