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The political Left frequently speaks of the importance of nurturing and preserving democracy. And we conservatives can only agree. We believe in the West, we believe in Western democracy, and we believe in government by the people.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of democracy is that opposing political camps must be able to accept that their adversaries can win an election. Moreover, those adversaries might win several elections in a row. Yet, if they win in accordance with the shared rules of the democratic game, there is little to be done about it; such are the rules of democracy. Voters decide for themselves which politicians they wish to entrust with power.
In the stable democracies of the West, this system has generally worked well so far. A possible exception is the 2020 US presidential election, where many of Trump’s supporters found it extremely difficult to accept the electoral defeat.
That was a painful experience for many European conservatives. The problem was compounded by the fact that President Trump himself has claimed the election had been stolen through fraud. Trump’s exit from his first term in January 2021 was not dignified. Even as conservatives, we must unfortunately acknowledge this.
At the same time, it must be said that the events in the US following the 2020 election are fundamentally a manifestation of the deep-seated mistrust existing between the Right and the Left throughout the Western world. The contemporary Left portrays Western democracy as being under threat from an authoritarian new Right. The Right, for its part, argues that the Left has hijacked democracy by controlling public institutions and the media, and by branding its opponents as undemocratic. Perhaps the divisions we currently see in the West between a progressive left and a conservative right stem from the left’s refusal to heed the warnings conservatives have long issued against rapid and ill-considered societal changes.
For over two hundred years, conservative thinkers have warned of the consequences of rapid and sweeping societal transformations. As early as 1790, Edmund Burke predicted that the French Revolution—then only just underway—would result in despotism. And today, 230 years later, we know that no revolution carried out with the aim of creating a new and egalitarian society has come anywhere near realizing its stated intentions. Quite the opposite.
We are no longer subjected to armed revolutions. Yet, on an ideological and societal level, a leftist revolution is in full swing. The modern Left views our traditional Western society as deeply unjust. Consequently, everything must be remade. Hierarchies must be challenged. National and gender identities should ideally be dissolved. A biological male is just as much a woman as a biological female—provided he claims to be one…
Conservatism believes in community, but also in beneficial hierarchies and traditional identities. These identities need not confine us. Women and men should have equal rights and obligations; however, conservatives see no issue with viewing women and men as two distinct categories of people, or with acknowledging the role biology plays regarding our sex.
Thus, we can also say that conservatism advocates respect for the natural order—for what is given by nature—as well as for common sense and tradition. This means that a conservative society does not fundamentally challenge people’s perception of reality. Perhaps we discuss too infrequently just how radical parts of the Left are in their critique of traditional norms and hierarchies. The Left is no longer content merely to seek the leveling of economic disparities; the very foundations of our understanding of human nature (such as the fact that human beings are either men or women) are also being called into question.
Extensive and often uncontrolled immigration into the Western world has also posed a significant challenge to our Western societies. For even though newcomers may integrate and become French, German, or perhaps Swedish citizens, the fact remains that many Europeans feel the demographic composition of their countries is changing too rapidly. This means that our national identities are no longer quite self-evident.
We would likely face fewer tensions in our Western societies if we agreed to limit and regulate migration flows. Of course, people who wish to work and become part of our societies should be able to come to Europe. Yet, this does not preclude the view held by many Europeans that it will be easier to maintain social cohesion and preserve our democracies if the people living in their countries share the same values and culture.
Conservatism teaches us to cherish our culture, identity, and language, as well as our schools, healthcare systems, and sense of security. We might add that it also teaches us to nurture our democracies. Sweeping societal changes that fail to secure the buy-in of all citizens will inevitably create friction. We should, therefore, avoid subjecting the sense of community upon which democracy relies to unnecessary strain.
From a conservative perspective, it is entirely valid to argue that the radicalism of the progressive Left is driving the very divisions our democracies are currently struggling to manage. If people do not feel their views—regarding which population should shape the West or the definitions of “man” and “woman”—are being challenged, they will be far less afraid of letting the Left win an election.