Classical Conservatism

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Branding is quintessential to the preservation of any company or organization; the ability to change ones image or perceptions to concur with the society it is apart of vital to the survival of said entity. Likewise, the ideology of classical conservatism has undergone a similar restructuring in order to stay relevant in the United States. For the spanned human history conservatism has been the default ideology, aristocracy, monarchy, military, dictatorships, and theocracies all have roots in conservatism. While the ideology classical conservatism has been a the catalyst to multiple uprisings and revolutions, through well calculated strategies, conservatism has been able to quickly adapt to the changing times and become embedded in even modern…show more content…
With monarchy and theocracies the ruling class is looked at as ordained by god, and that allows them to rule with little to no resistance from the average citizen. Military and dictatorship regimes on the other hand, rely on force and fear to control the lower classes. Although, classical conservatism is extremely elitist at is core, it does not shy away from the responsibility the ruling class has to take care of the weaker members of society. However, over time the ruling class becomes greedy and succumbs to the life of excess they are privy to and neglect the needs of the poor, creating large inequalities, it is during this shift in responsibilities that up risings and revolutions are born. In addition to elitism, religion is also found at the foundation of classical of conservatism. The principal of merging church and state allows the ruling class control over the fundamental values in which people believe in. Both the marriage of church and state and elitism work together to weed out any rebellious natured citizens; for example, the church would excommunicate individuals who questioned the ruling class, and the state and elitism would allow executions to take place for insubordinate members of…show more content…
For many Americas the term conservatism is connected with strong Christian values and high moral principals, so the religious foundation is still present. However, the U.S. Constitutions explicit prohibits the melding of church and state in order to keep religious freedom the law of the land, the people who subscribe to ideology have found ways to maneuver around that clause. Take for instance President George Bush and his “faith-based initiative”. Churches were given government stipends to provide social services for the community it is apart of, problems occur when churches go again the Presidents political values, and risked losing the government funding. Many Pastors view President Bush’s initiative as a necessary evil to provide for their community and change their stance on certain topics, mirroring the classical conservatism approach of using religion as a way to control the population. In the same manor conservatives in American use religion as a means to secure power and authority, elitism is also a fundamental trait of modern conservatism. Though not as covert as the use of religions, America operates under the control of a number of families, such as, the Bush’s, Kennedy’s, Roosevelt’s, and Rockefeller’s and Koch. While they do not sit on thrones are the aristocrats of
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