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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Conservatism 101

What is Conservatism?

 


 Introduction

 

William F. Buckley, Jr., the patron saint of the modern conservative movement, stated in 1955 that his groundbreaking publication, National Review, would “stand athwart history yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so.”  After two world wars, the Great Depression and a government largesse engendered through the New Deal, many began to wonder whether America’s founding principles were still intact.  Was America ready to face the challenges that lay ahead in curbing the ever expanding welfare state, a moral malaise, and the rising threat of global communism that all but threatened to uproot its traditions of limited government, individual liberty, free enterprise, a strong national defense, and the preservation of civil society?
In this first session we’ll be detailing the foundation and roots of American conservatism, progressivism – the antithesis of conservatism, and the different branches that make up the modern conservative movement.  Each branch represents a collection of ideas and solutions that have withstood the test of history and time.  This presentation will detail how what largely started as a marginalized movement of ideas — then became a powerful political force in American politics.



 

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