Amerika

Conservatism existed before the French Revolution. Then we were simply those who reminded everyone that there were no new ideas under the sun, that particularized and local decisions mattered more than centralization, and that time-honored things existed for a reason.

After the French Revolution, all of us who realized that equality was both not found in nature and not found in nature for a reason, namely that it reduces everyone to inactivity, got lumped in together under the Right-wing banner as those who did not want to go along with the Crowd takeover.

If you analyze what conservatism has always been, you find that it has two prongs: (1) realism, or measuring results in reality and not human opinions, and (2) a qualitative drive to quality, goodness, beauty, health, sanity, and excellence (arete) as opposed to moral correctness.

We are ends-over-means people since this is part of realism. If something is necessary, it does not matter what you do to achieve it (barring apocalyptic actions) if that is necessary to achieve it. If it is not necessary, you cast it aside.

This is part of the natural selection at the heart of conservatism. We believe in that which is honored by time for being functional and achieving excellence. We try things, discard the less able, and keep the able.

In this way, conservatives are the most progressive side of the political spectrum because what we do actually works instead of simply appearing like it might work and therefore becoming popular.

Morality, for us, consists of what works and is not a method in the means-over-ends calculus of the Left. If you have to kill a busload of orphans to save the world, you do it. Everything is a tradeoff.

Conservatism becomes incompatible with conventional morality at this moment. Realistic positive outcomes are our morality; others prefer to regulate methods, such as “do not kill,” and later designate ambiguous exceptions.

In the conservative view, if killing provides a better option than not killing, you not only can do it but should do it, at least if you want better outcomes in the gradual method of natural selection.

We reject conventional morality because all it does is tie our hands while the mediocre and bad get ahead, while distracting us with a vision of morality and heaven that prizes the meek and subservient.

Like many of us, conservatives of a primal nature view religion, philosophy, and laws as an addendum to common sense, or that which has been time-tested in reality.

Our only morality consists of what works, and we are unconcerned with everything else since it is based on popularity and the only common denominator in human groups is the pursuit of pleasant illusion at the expense of reality.

Tags: conservatism, morality