Social conservatism
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Social conservatism is a political or moral ideology that affirms behaviors associated with a culture's traditions. However, the accepted meaning of traditional morality often differs from group to group within social conservatism. Thus, there are really no policies or positions that could be considered universal among social conservatives. There are, however, a number of principles to which at least a majority of social conservatives adhere.
A second meaning of the term has developed in the Nordic countries and Continental Europe. Here it refers to liberal conservatives supporting modern European welfare states.
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[edit] Present Social Conservative Issues in the United States
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- pro-life views on abortion
- favor restriction of civil marriage rights to heterosexuals
- promotion of traditional religious sexual values
- protection of key American industries like defense, certain raw materials, and agriculture from foreign competition
- focus on stronger families
- opposition to big government's involvement in values education
- prison reform that focuses on rehabilitation through education and labor
- opposition to federal financing for embryonic stem-cell research
- protection of 2nd Amendment rights
- protecting the continuation of the family farm
- opposed to illegal immigration
- reducing and/or reforming welfare for the poor and needy
- greater financing for education
- lower taxes with spending focused on education, defense, and infrastructure
- placement of tariffs on countries that do not uphold human rights
- allowing for the teaching of creationism in schools
[edit] Social vs. Other Conservatisms
There is no necessary link between social and fiscal conservatism. In fact, some social conservatives are otherwise apolitical or even left-wing on fiscal issues. For example, social conservatives may also support a degree of government intervention in the economy, and as such will tend to support the concept of a social market economy to further this aim. This concern for material welfare, like advocacy of traditional mores, will often have a basis in the religion of the social conservatives in question. Whereas a fiscal conservative is only concerned with conserving limited taxes to protect their money, a social conservative is more concerned with conserving traditional values, beliefs, and ideals. Examples include the Christian Social Union of Bavaria, the Family First and Democratic Labor Party of Australia, the so-called red tory movement in Canada, and the Communitarian movement in the United States.
There is more overlap between social conservatism and paleoconservatism in that they both have respect for traditional social forms. However, paleoconservatism has a strong cultural conservative strain which social conservatism, in and of itself, is not necessarily allied with. For example, John Burger, writing in Crisis Magazine in 2005, said:
"The presence of a significant population of culturally Catholic immigrants offers hope that their culture will permeate a decadent American society and contribute to the re-evangelization of native-born Catholics. . . Abortion is still illegal in most Latin American countries. And in most areas, it’s not even part of a person’s consciousness." [1]
[edit] Social Conservative Political Parties
Many Christian Democratic Parties around the world are socially conservative.
Australia
- Democratic Labor Party
- Family First
- Christian Democratic Party
- A large number of Liberal Party and National Party members in Australia are considered socially conservative also, as are those members of the Australian Labor Party associated with the Shop Stewards union.
Belgium
Canada
- Family Coalition Party of Ontario
- Christian Heritage Party of Canada
- A large number of Conservative Party members in Canada are considered socially conservative.
Chile
France
Germany
India
Ireland
Japan
Nigeria
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States
- Constitution Party
- A large portion of members of the Republican Party are self-identified social conservatives.
[edit] Resources
External Links
Books
- Carlson, Alan, The Family in America: Searching for Social Harmony in the Industrial Age (2003) ISBN 0-7658-0536-7
- Carlson, Alan, Family Questions: Reflections on the American Social Crisis (1991) ISBN 1-56000-555-6
- Fleming, Thomas, The Politics of Human Nature, (1988) ISBN 1-56000-693-5
- Gallagher, Maggie, The Abolition of Marriage: How We Destroy Lasting Love (1996) ISBN 0-89526-46 4-1
- Himmelfarb, Gertrude, The De-moralization Of Society (1996) ISBN 0-679-76490-9
- Hitchens, Peter, The Abolition of Britain. (1999) ISBN 0-7043-8117-6
- Jones, E. Michael, Degenerate Moderns: Modernity As Rationalized Sexual Misbehavior. (1993) ISBN 0-89870-447-2
- Kirk, Russell, The Conservative Mind, 7th Ed. (2001) ISBN 0-89526-171-5
- Magnet, Myron, Modern Sex: Liberation and Its Discontents (2001) ISBN 1-56663-384-2
- Medved, Diane and Dan Quayle, The American Family: Discovering the Values That Make Us Strong (1997) ISBN 0-06-092810-7
- Sobran, Joseph, Single Issues: Essays on the Crucial Social Questions (1983) ISBN 1-199-24333-7.
Social Conservative News Services
Social Conservative Web Sites
