Conservative Republican Fellowship
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Conservative Republicans
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What is the Conservative Republican Fellowship?
Conservatism is a preference for the historically inherited rather than the abstract and ideal. This preference has traditionally rested on an organic conception of society that is, on the belief that society is not merely a loose collection of individuals but a living organism comprising closely connected, interdependent members.
Conservatives thus favor institutions and practices that have evolved gradually and are manifestations of continuity and stability. Government's responsibility is to be the servant, not the master, of existing ways of life, and politicians must therefore resist the temptation to transform society and politics. This suspicion of government activism distinguishes conservatism not only from radical forms of political thought but also from liberalism, which is a modernizing, anti-traditionalist movement dedicated to correcting the evils and abuses resulting from the misuse of social and political power.
In The Devil's Dictionary (1906), the American writer Ambrose Bierce cynically (but not inappropriately) defined the conservative as "a statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others." Conservatism must also be distinguished from the reactionary outlook, which favors the restoration of a previous, and usually outmoded, political or social order.
