Small-c conservative

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A small-c conservative is anyone who believes in the philosophy of conservatism but does not necessarily identify with an official Conservative Party. The word "conservative" is used in lower case as the word refers to general principles of conservatism and is not a proper noun, as in a political Conservative Party.

Contents

Context

Canadian

The term was especially popular in Canada during the 1990s when the Progressive Conservative Party was centre-right with the Reform Party (later, the Canadian Alliance) further to the right. Members and supporters of the Reform Party/Canadian Alliance would thus describe themselves as small-c conservatives.

British

This term is also used in the United Kingdom to describe those who are conservative in the sense of resisting radical change rather than being members or supporters of the official Conservative Party. For example, the House of Lords as a body tends to resist social change and executive power and therefore—regardless of the numbers of lords who take the Conservative party whip—it is described as "small-c conservative". [1]

Australian

A small-c conservative in Australia is generally a member of the Liberal Party who is more moderate on social policy and conservative on fiscal policy. The Liberal Party is made up of such small-c conservatives as well as the more right-wing big-C conservatives.

Related Research Articles

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The Canadian Alliance, formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 2000 to 2003. The Canadian Alliance was the new name of the Reform Party of Canada and inherited many of its populist policies, as well as its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons of Canada. The party supported policies that were both fiscally and socially conservative, seeking reduced government spending on social programs and reductions in taxation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive Conservative Party of Canada</span> Canadian centre-right political party from 1942 to 2003

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a centre to centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reform Party of Canada</span> Former federal political party in Canada

The Reform Party of Canada was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest movement that eventually became a populist conservative party, with strong Christian right influence and social conservative elements. It was initially motivated by the perceived need for democratic reforms and by profound Western Canadian discontent with the Progressive Conservative Party.

Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institutions, such as traditional family structures, gender roles, sexual relations, national patriotism, and religious traditions. Social conservatism is usually skeptical of social change, instead tending to support the status quo concerning social issues.

The Conservative Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance, the latter being the successor of the Western Canadian–based Reform Party. The party sits at the centre-right to the right of the Canadian political spectrum, with their federal rival, the Liberal Party of Canada, positioned to their left. The Conservatives are defined as a "big tent" party, practising "brokerage politics" and welcoming a broad variety of members, including "Red Tories" and "Blue Tories".

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A Blue Tory in Canadian politics is a conservative who advocates for free-market or economically liberal policies. The term has been applied to members of the modern Conservative Party of Canada and provincial Progressive Conservative parties, as well as the historical Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Reform Party of Canada and Canadian Alliance. In contemporary language, Blue Tories are sometimes described as a "true-blue Conservative".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social conservatism in Canada</span>

Social conservatism in Canada represents conservative positions on issues of family, sexuality and morality. In the European and North American context, social conservatives believe in natural law as well as traditional family values and policies. In Canada's modern context, social conservatism also includes pro-life values on abortion and euthanasia.

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Paternalistic conservatism is a strand of conservatism, which reflects the belief that societies exist and develop organically and that members within them have obligations towards each other. There is particular emphasis on the paternalistic obligation, referencing the feudal concept of noblesse oblige, of those who are privileged and wealthy to the poorer parts of society. Consistent with principles such as duty, hierarchy, and organic unity, it can be seen as an outgrowth of traditionalist conservatism. Paternalistic conservatives do not support the individual or the state in principle but are instead prepared to support either or recommend a balance between the two depending on what is most practical.

Conservatism in the United Kingdom is related to its counterparts in other Western nations, but has a distinct tradition and has encompassed a wide range of theories over the decades of conservatism. The Conservative Party, which forms the mainstream centre-right party in Britain, has developed many different internal factions and ideologies.

Progressive conservatism is a political ideology that attempts to combine conservative and progressive policies. While still supportive of capitalist society, it stresses the importance of government intervention in order to improve human and environmental conditions.

References

  1. Ingolfur Blühdorn, Uwe Jun, Economic efficiency-democratic empowerment, p. 109

See also