A political viewpoint that sees value in conserving past traditions is called conservative, especially this can be applied to the viewpoint that sees value the timeless truths about human nature and society in the Judeo-Christian religion. The leading modern conservative was Edmund Burke, an English philosopher and statesman, who believed that the perennial truths of Western civilization (from ancient Greek and Roman philosophy and law, Western Christianity, classical literature such as that of Shakespeare, high art, architecture, and music) reflect the best things in the world and must be taught to young people to produce civilized, decent, and moral human beings and a healthy, orderly society. Burke and other conservatives do not believe that humans are naturally good, noble, and perfectible, but rather, from a Judeo-Christian perspective, see people as fallen, sinful, selfish, and rebellious. So to become as good as possible, economically and morally, people must be shaped and disciplined by the best of the past (education, art, family, patriotism, law, religion, property). This requires authority in the family, the church, the school, and government. So, conservatives want to "conserve" those aspects of society and culture that civilize and improve human beings. Like Aristotle and Christ, they assert that only through virtue can man be happy.

From this conservative attitude, Burke criticized liberal and radical social movements, beginning with the French Revolution of 1789. These "progressive" social movements are in error in two ways: (1) They assume that humans are good by nature and only made bad by their environment, so (2) the way to improve humanity is to change society radically, throwing out the past and creating an entirely new social order. For conservatives, this radical dream of creating a perfect society (through democracy, equality, communism, feminism, etc.) will end in nightmare and disaster. The arrogance of any group or generation to think it knows more than the wisdom of the past ages will doom it to destruction and misery.

So, all utopian schemes or idealistic reforms, for conservatives, will lead to chaos and unhappiness. They are, therefore, to be resisted as a cruel and deceptive trick. Any reform group that promises to solve all human problems is suspect, for conservatives. It is much better to preserve the best of the past, to be patient with the world's wrongs, and to change or improve social conditions slowly. Stability, order, dignity, respect, authority, religion, property, classical education, traditional family, and patriotism are the conservative values.

This "organic" British conservatism sees the social contract with the past and the future--revering the past traditions and caring for the future world that we leave our children. Burkean conservatives hate innovation, disrespect, and change for the sake of change. They even identify a restless desire for radical change with mental illness. Most of all, they fear the seductive quality of radical reformers' promises of liberty and prosperity for all because they deceive the ignorant and destroy the good. Twentieth-century revolutions (communism in Russia and China) show the disaster of such radical change; the new regimes are more oppressive than the ones they overthrow. The American Revolution of 1776 Burke saw as acceptable because it preserved traditional British values of mixed government, property rights, and law. Like the British Revolution of 1688, the U.S. Constitution preserved the past rather than discarding it. For conservatives, civilized society (art, industry, education, order, stable family, religious traditions) is a fragile structure that takes generations to build up but that is easily and quickly ruined by radical reform.

This backward-looking stance of conservatives gives them a reputation for being reactionary, dull, and against progress. Burke felt that given human limitations, progress and improvement can occur only very slowly and gradually; any sudden change for good is an illusion. So a conservative places importance on private life: family, church, neighborhood, friendship, work, where people have close relationships and can really make a difference in others' lives. Grand social movements, for conservatives, do not really touch people for good, which require personal contacts.

Contemporary expressions of conservative thought occur in the U.S. Republican Party's pro-business stance (encouraging private property wealth), Christian conservative morality (upholding traditional religious values), and strong military policies (protecting national power and independence). Some conservatives split over Reagan's free-market economic policy, claiming that unregulated capitalism is a radical force for change that upsets traditional standards.

In Western political thought, conservatism, or "right wing," politics take various forms. In France, Joseph de Maistre advocated an ideal medieval, French, Catholic society. In Germany, a secular order unified by the nation characterized conservative thought (in its extreme form Nazism). In Britain, Michael Oakeshott continued the Burkean conservative tradition. In the United States, William F. Buckley, Daniel Bell, George F. Will, and Irving Kristol expressed a traditional conservatism. Economists F. A. Hayek and Milton Friedman represent conservative fiscal outlooks, especially in their criticism of liberal economic policies.

Most modern societies have a balance between conservative and liberal attitudes, causing a moderate overall policy.

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