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The Left’s caricature of conservatism is that it is driven by a desire for power and dominance. Hierarchies must remain intact; those who hold power must retain it.
In response, conservatives need to highlight a vision of conservatism that is humane.
For what the Left fails to grasp is that conservatism—at least the Western variety, which we so readily associate with our belief in liberty and the rule of law—is largely driven by love and acceptance.
Contrary to what some leftist theorists seem to believe, not every aspect of human interaction is a matter of power and dominance. Society is also shaped by the human need for attachment and community. From this perspective, people become conservative because they wish to preserve a world that is their own, a world they love. This is illustrated by several recurring themes in conservative thought.
The conservative individual’s emotional connection to their society manifests, for instance, as a sense of gratitude. Gratitude is inherently calming. It allows us to find rest in existence and to perceive life as sufficient: not everything needs to change, nor does everything require improvement.
The modern world, by contrast, is largely defined by frustration: everything must be remade, streamlined, and scrutinized; something must happen; something must be done.
Here, the capacity for gratitude allows us to rest in what has already been accomplished and what already exists. Yet gratitude also offers the benefit of strengthening our relationship with the people or things for which we are grateful. We have received something from someone; we have been granted a place in something created for us. We are allowed to participate in something greater than ourselves.
A conservative tends to view the world as imbued with significance and meaning. The disenchanted world is a concept used in sociology and cultural analysis to describe our modern world, where everything becomes a subject of dispassionate knowledge and rationality. Europe’s sometimes ancient nations – territories where language, culture, and community could take shape and evolve –are being transformed into little more than administrative zones for labor and organized coexistence.
An “enchanted world,” then, is one where the work and ideas of past generations remain present in both nature and culture. It is a world where a city is not merely a network of streets and boxy buildings, but also a story, an identity, a life, a context. Even nature appears ensouled in the enchanted world.
The concept of reconciliation is also important to conservatives—reconciliation with the world, but also with humanity itself. And this is something that sometimes infuriates committed leftists: conservatives regularly express a forgiving attitude toward our human shortcomings. While conservatives certainly champion law and order, they simultaneously avoid legislating for the sake of legislation. They prefer trust, common sense, and sometimes even a bit of good old-fashioned mischief. They have no patience for all the sanctimonious world-improvers and their urge to set things right and correct behavior. Is it so terrible if we are a little selfish? Will the world end because of a bit of sexism? Can’t we be allowed to smoke on outdoor terraces, at least? Or eat meat? Fly? Drive to work?
J.R.R. Tolkien is sometimes cited as an author whose work conveys a genuinely conservative view of existence. That he prefers an enchanted world to a disenchanted one is obvious to anyone who has read his books. Yet what is also interesting is the affectionate way he describes his heroes’ moral shortcomings. The small hobbits are brave, independent, and kind-hearted. But they are also ignorant, prejudiced, and petty. Most hobbits want nothing to do with strangers. They are deeply suspicious of anything and anyone that deviates from the norm. What is remarkable is that Tolkien allows the hobbits to be all of this without ever portraying it as problematic.
Another distinct feature of Tolkien’s writing is the clear contrast between home and away. This is, of course, a contrast between safety and adventure, but also between the familiar and the other. “There and Back Again” is the subtitle of “The Hobbit”. However, the importance of home does not mean that hobbits are uninterested in the foreign; Tolkien’s world contains a magnificent cultural and linguistic diversity. And contrary to what many on the Left believe, conservatives often harbor a keen interest in foreign lands and cultures. “We like difference,” the Left says, yet they seem mostly intent on claiming that differences never actually matter. If they truly appreciated difference, perhaps they would not be so committed to erasing all distinctions in a gender-neutral, multicultural melting pot.
Gratitude, love, attachment, enchantment, forbearance, and acceptance. Love for what is one’s own, but also for the other. We need to get better at highlighting the rich humanism inherent in a humane conservatism.