Despite attempts to define a “true conservatism,” the phenomenon is so slippery as to elude such efforts. While liberals and socialists boast guiding principles in their efforts to govern and improve their societies, conservatives lack something comparable. What unites conservatives is less a substantive set of principles than an attachment to tradition. Which tradition? Well, their own, whatever that might happen to be.
Obviously, every society has its traditions which it passes down to future generations through various means. Although we have experienced revolutions in technology and social mores over the centuries, we still for the most part live within a civilization shaped in countless ways by our forebears. We expect that people will live up to shared social norms when, say, eating in a restaurant, attending a concert, or meeting a new person. Churches, workplace communities, amateur football clubs, theatre troupes, and so forth all have standards to which members must conform. These are informed by traditions inherited from the past.
But what happens when our traditions conflict with each other?
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