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How to Think About the Foundations of American Conservatism James W No. 22 How to Think About the Foundations of American Conservatism James W. Ceaser, Ph.D. ontemporary American conservatism, which is Reagan. The remarkable diversity of this coalition has Cnotorious for its internal factionalism, is held been both a source of strength and a source of weak- together by a self-evident truth: conservatives’ shared ness for the conservative movement. Each part came antipathy to modern liberalism. Their main objections into existence at a different time and under differ ent are well-known. circumstances, and each has been guided by a different Almost to a man or woman, conservatives oppose principle by which it measures what is good or right. using government authority to enforce a vision of greater equality labeled by its supporters, with great • For religious conservatives, that principle is seduction, as “social justice.” Nearly as many conser- biblical faith. vatives object to the use of government authority—or, • For libertarians, it is the idea of “spontaneous alternatively, to the denial of government authority order,” the postulate that a tendency is opera- where it is natural, legal, and appropriate—to pro- tive in human affairs for things to work out for mote a worldview of individualism, expressivism, and themselves, provided no artificial effort is made secularism. Finally, most conservatives want nothing to impose an overall order. to do with an airy internationalism, frequently suspi- • For neoconservatives, it is a version of “natural cious of the American nation, that has shown itself so right,” meaning a standard of good in political inconstant in its support for the instruments of secu- affairs that is discoverable by human reason. rity that are necessary in the modern world. • Finally, for traditionalists, it is “History” or No shame attaches, or should, to relying in politics “Culture,” meaning the heritage that has come on the adhesive property that comes from the senti- down to us and that is our own. ment of common dislike. That sentiment is the heart that beats within the breast of the conservative move- There are refinements and subdivisions that could ment, supplying much of its unity. This heart sustains be added to this schema, but it represents, I think, a four heads, known generally as religious conserva- fairly standard approach to discussing the different tives, economic or libertarian-minded conservatives, intellectual currents inside the conserva tive coali- natural-rights or neoconservatives, and traditionalists tion. Recently, however, a number of com mentators or paleoconservatives. have fallen into the practice—I use this expression The four heads comprise a coalition of the willing advisedly—of replacing this four-part schema by a that came together during the presidency of Ronald two-part division based on a distinc tion between the Published by 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002-4999 (202) 546-4400 • heritage.org The Heritage Foundation’s First Principles Series explores the fundamental ideas of conservatism and the American political tradition. For more information call 1-800-544-4843 or visit heritage.org/bookstore. Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress. 2 No. 22 concepts of “Culture” and “Creed.” The new system that concerns him. He labels that culture “Anglo-Prot- of categorization derives from a book published last estantism,” which refers to everything that Huntington year by Samuel Hun tington, entitled Who Are We? in elects to emphasize among the first New England set- which the author offers these concepts as the two basic tlers. His selection boils down to four main elements: modes in any society for establishing national identity.1 our language (English); our religion (dissenting Prot- The cate gories are meant to refer to the whole nation, estantism); our basic polit ical beliefs (a commitment to but conservatives have applied them to discussions of liberty, individualism, and self-government); and our their own movement. race (white). My argument in this essay will be that introduc- Since Huntington wants Culture to work as a ing this new categorization schema represents a huge source or standard of identity, and identity in a pos- error, especially as a way of discussing conser vatism. itive sense, he allows it to evolve in order to per form The Culture–Creed distinction does not sim plify; it its function. In its evolved form, the Culture to which distorts. Built into its categories are premises that we should look refers—still—to the English language attempt by fiat to order and arrange the different and to the same commitment to liberty and self-gov- parts of the conservative coalition. Not only is this ernment; the notion of religion is broadened slightly arrangement “partisan,” in the sense of favoring the from dissenting Protestantism to Christianity insofar Cultural category, but it also attempts, with no basis as it has been Protestantized. Race as a criterion of either in principle or in fact, to place faith inside of distinction drops out. Culture, thereby suggesting a natural grouping of As for Creed, Huntington initially defines it in a traditionalists and religious conservatives in opposi- social science fashion as the taking of bearings from tion to natural-rights or neoconservatives. Whether theoretical claims that are offered in principle as uni- this attempt was undertaken consciously or not is versal or applicable to all. Examples of Creed that he of little matter; what counts are its effects, and these identifies are communism and classical liberalism. The could have serious and negative implications for the use of these broad-based theoretical concepts is what conservative movement. Huntington means by Creedalism as distinguished from Culturalism. As he says at one point: THE CONCEPTS OF CULTURE AND CREED Let me now take a step back and describe the People are not likely to find in political prin- concepts of Culture and Creed. Huntington initial ly ciples [i.e., a Creed] the deep emotional content provides a social science definition of Culture that is and meaning provided by kith and kin, blood so broad as to be meaningless. Culture con sists of “a and belonging, culture and nationality. These people’s language, religious beliefs, social and politi- attachments may have little or no basis in fact, cal values, assumptions as to what is right and wrong, but they do satisfy a deep human longing for appropriate and inappropriate, and to the objective meaningful community. institutions and behavioral patterns that reflect these subjective elements.” Once again, however, Huntington’s interest in Who Huntington is less interested, however, in social sci- Are We? is more in our own Creed than in Creeds in ence than in recovering a basis today for patrio tism general. Our Creed consists of an idea of nature, spe- and for securing unity in America. It is our Culture cifically of natural rights, as articulated in documents like the Declaration of Independence. 1 Samuel Huntington, Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s How does the binary distinction between Cul ture National Identity (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004). and Creed replace and subsume the four-part divi- No. 22 3 sion of conservatism? The implication is the follow- than any nation ordered to exalt the few at the ing. The category of Culture consists of tra ditionalists expense of the many or made from a common and religious conservatives—the first for the obvious race or culture or to preserve traditions that reason of their emphasis on our his tory and culture have no greater attribute than longevity.3 and the second because Hunting ton identifies dissent- ing Protestantism as first or original. The category of In Auster’s view, the McCain–Bush position rep- Creed consists of natural-rights or neoconservatives resents the perfect expression of creedal thinking: and libertarians—the former because they regularly reference natural rights and the Declaration of Inde- According to McCain, the meaning of America is pendence and the latter because they think in terms of that we have no common culture and no coher- general princi ples of economic reasoning. ent set of traditions but give equal freedom to An example will help to illustrate how this bina- all cultures, traditions and religions. Such a cul- ry mapping of conservatism has entered into con- tureless society is stronger and more enduring temporary discussion. Lawrence Auster, an outspoken than any other.4 conservative, publishes an instructive blog entitled “View from the Right.” Never one to mince words, he Auster may have taken some liberties with the strict begins a spirited entry of October 25, 2005, with an claims of Bush and McCain, but his general point could attack on President George W. Bush (one of his fre- not be more clear: The end result of the Creed is at best quent targets) in an article iron ically entitled “Under indifference, at worst hostility, to Culture. Bush and the American Creed, America Continues Its Bold Progress”: THE PROBLEM WIth thE CULTURE–CREED DISTINctION At President Bush’s annual Ramadan dinner at This application of the Culture–Creed distinc tion to the White House this week—did you know the the conservative movement contains two assumptions. President has an annual Ramadan dinner?—he The first is that Creedalists are not true conservatives, announced for the first time in our nation’s his- but conservatives on their way to becoming liberals, if tory we have added a Koran to the White House they are not there already. The other is that religious Library. Yippee.2 conservatives—meaning those concerned with bibli- cal faith—fall inside the category of Culturalists. Here Arguing that this recognition serves unwisely to would seem to be the main gambit involved in this legitimize Islam in America, Auster finds further evi- analysis: to define those of faith as closer to cultural dence of this same error in a passage from a speech traditionalists than to proponents of natural rights.
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