Conservatism Contradictions

Conservatism values importance of religion, economic growth, limited government and strong national defense, but as a result of trying to uphold so many values, contradictions arise. In order to better understand what these what these contradictions are and the reasons for why they exist, this paper will first establish conservatives’ views on economy, international relations and the relationship between religion and politics compare conservative’s views and then analyze the contradictions as well as uniformity between these views. On the subject of religion, conservatives do believe in a deity, or something similar of that nature. A deity could exist because of religious faith or simply because they do not trust human nature. By acknowledging God as a higher power, conservatives believe that this allows man and government to hold Him accountable for their actions and mistakes. And in doing so, this places a supreme law that “rules society as well as conscience, forging an eternal chain of right and duty which links great and obscure, living and dead.” (Story and Laurie, 47) which prevent man and government from having free reign. When government tries to implement laws that are contradictory to divine law, conservatives seek to challenge the validity of those said laws. Conservatives believe that democracy should occur under the context of the constitutional, an order that should not only limit and separate governmental power, but also to encourage democratic opinion and deliberation. Conservatives believe that “to preserve our republican social order, no radical extra-Constitutional steps are necessary. The constitution and the laws on our statute books are generally sufficient, if they are enforced.” (Story and Laurie, 81). This essentially means that they want courts to interpret the law as it is written rather than bending it or creating their own version of the law. They do so because they believe keeping a strict interpretation of the