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October 16, 2007
In The Future of Conservatism: Conflict and Consensus in the Post-Reagan Era (edited Charles W. Dunn) George H. Nash identifies four braided but distinct strands of modern American conservatism. Traditionalists value continuity, order and hierarchy; libertarians prize personal freedom and social spontaneity; neoconservatives blend the New Deal’s idealistic spirit with conservatism’s muscular nationalism; and religious conservatives fight relativism, secularism and immorality. These four stands come together to form one political movement---under Ronald Reagan in the US. Similarly with John Howard in Australia.
I understand Australian conservatism to increasingly be a marriage of convenience between "libertarian" (really classical liberal) fiscal conservatives and traditionalist (mostly Christian) social conservatives. I see the cultural contradictions-- eg., between libertarians and traditionalists--coming to the fore.
Tom Switzer, the opinion page editor of the Australian has article in Quadrant- entitled Conservatives are no longer losing the culture wars---that addresses the Australian situation. Switzer provides an overview of the last decade from within the trenches, and he argues that a more conservative and diverse cultural landscape has formed as a result of the culture wars.
Does he thrown any light on the nature and meaning of conservatism in Australia?
Switzer does go beyond the red-meat right-wingers and the triumphalist tub-thumper for capitalism. He says that:
The tide is turning in Australia’s culture wars. When you look at the way opinion in this country has surged back and forth over the last decade or so, I would suggest that there has been something of a political and cultural realignment of the nation. It’s a point that those on the broad Left are conceding, albeit grudgingly, but it’s also a point that too many on the Right have not fully realised. Conservatives may not have won the culture wars, but they are certainly not losing any more.
For decades, media sophisticates were able to control the political debate by all kicking in the same direction, like the Rockettes. In recent years, however, it is increasingly clear that the cultural landscape is no longer as flat and unvaried as that proverbial Australian sheep station. Whereas once conservative ideas were swept aside as being outside the boundaries of serious (and morally respectable) consideration, today they represent the political mainstream.
On the great battlefields of history, economics, education, citizenship, national sovereignty and values generally, conservative ideas and those of classical liberalism increasingly, although not of course completely, prevail.
What Switzer means by conservative ideas as distinct from free-market or neo-liberal economics is unclear. It means anti-Left (meaning left-liberal) and reference is made to national social cohesion, integration, a celebration of Australian history. It's more a party political account of the culture wars---a partisan gotcha in the culture-war--- than an exploration of the different strands of conservatism in Australia. Despite conservatism’s emergence as a powerful political force in the last decades, questions remain about its meaning and nature. So it is unclear where Australian conservatives stand on democracy or the authority of the state.
To dig deeper we need to return to Dunn's outline of the “10 Canons of Conservatism” in the introduction to The Future of Conservatism: Conflict and Consensus in the Post-Reagan Era:
1. Continuity — high value placed on social order from one generation to the next; social and political changes are often, although not always, possible from within
2. Authority — limited federal government; its role is defined by Constitution and should be followed
3. Community — countervailing force against power concentrated in government; individual participation in private, voluntary organizations facilitates human flourishing
4. Deity — Natural and Divine law trump those of man, who is accountable to God above all else; emphasis on traditional moral values, with a distrust of corruptible human nature
5. Duty — personal responsibility more important than individual’s rights; “What can you do for your country?” Not “What can it do for you?”
6. Democracy — must be within context of constitutional order; must be carefully designed to limit and separate power; each branch should do their job and respect a strict interpretation of the constitution
7. Property — ability to own is what defines a free and humane society; gives citizens a “stake” in the country and land
8. Liberty trumps Equality — we’ve a right to opportunity, not outcome; arbitrary standards stifle and numb desire of individual to create and excel; guaranteed freedom, not idyllic standard of living, is paramount
9. Meritocracy — “natural aristocracy” based on talent and ability, not wealth and title; some people are more qualified than others to lead
10. Antipathy toward Centralized government — strong opposition to Socialism and Communism
The first five of these can be deemed as Conservative, with 1 + 3 forming the Burkean strand of conservatism.
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