If the results, and subsequent outcry that has followed, of the 2016 Presidential Election have taught me anything, it’s that there is a widespread misconception about what it means to be conservative - especially among my liberal, college-aged peers. Tell a college liberal that you’re a conservative or, worse yet, that you voted for Donald Trump, and it won’t be long before you’re declared to be a racist, sexist, xenophobe, or some combination of the lot.
While I don’t necessarily blame anyone for having this type of initial gut-reaction based on some of the rhetoric and/or executive actions taken by now president Donald Trump, what I can say is that such generalizations couldn’t be further from the truth of what it really means to be conservative. Subsequently, the following is my attempt to debunk what I see to be the biggest misconceptions that currently exist concerning conservatives.
The Big Myth – Conservatives Don’t Care About Society
Conservatives often catch heat by their liberal counterparts for seemingly “not caring about society.” For example, conservatives are typically against things such as affirmative action, the progressive tax system, government-sponsored welfare programs, and a variety of other policy viewpoints that are intended by liberals to lead to the betterment of society. One’s immediate reaction to these conservative objections might be that conservatives simply don’t care about the concerns of society. The fact of the matter, however, is that conservatives simply have different views regarding the means to which the ends (i.e., the betterment of society) can be achieved.
Understanding the Difference – Individualism vs. Collectivism
The majority of differences between liberal and conservative viewpoints can be boiled down to one key ideological difference – individualism vs. collectivism. In short, liberals believe that individuals, acting in their own self-interest, can’t be trusted to independently act in the best interest of society. Therefore, it is up to the government to see that society is improved over time through policy and political intervention. Conversely, conservatives believe that government action to cure such social ills is generally ineffective. Thus, it is through pursuing individual responsibility, liberty, and limited government that the concerns of society are best addressed.
This may seem counterintuitive; after all, what better way is there to change society than simply making laws that ensure such change takes place? But history is littered with examples of how individual action - not government intervention - has been a powerful force for change. One need look no further than individuals like Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, or Mahatma Gandhi to find examples of how individuals, not government, could create profound and meaningful change throughout society.
In fact, Gandhi is often quoted as once having said, “be the change you want to see in the world” – a clear focus on individual responsibility toward the betterment of society. The power of individual action is perhaps best described by Adam Smith who explained, “it is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities, but of their advantages.”
These types of ideas are at the heart of what it means to be conservative. Conservatism isn’t about resisting change, oppressing minorities, or fearing foreigners. Rather, conservativism is the belief that only individuals, acting in their own self-interest, while simultaneously accepting personal responsibility and pursuing individual liberty, can create lasting, meaningful, and positive change in society.
In writing this, I have no intentions of changing your own world-view, I don’t intend for you to agree with me, and I certainly don’t make any attempt to make you join the Trump bandwagon. What I do hope, however, is that this brief touch on what it means to be conservative will be enough to help you understand why being conservative doesn’t make me or anyone else a bad person; rather, it simply means we have differing views on how to handle very real challenges.
