Conservatism: Core Ideas

This lesson examines the core ideas and principles of conservatism — one of the three core ideologies in the Edexcel A-Level Politics specification. Conservatism is distinctive in its preference for pragmatism, tradition, and incremental change over radical reform.

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The Origins of Conservatism

Conservatism emerged as a reaction against the radical ideas of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution (1789). While liberals and socialists embraced reason, progress, and equality, conservatives warned that rapid, radical change could destroy the social fabric.

The founding text is Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), in which Burke argued that rebuilding society from scratch was reckless and doomed to produce tyranny.

Burke: "A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation."

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Core Principles of Conservatism

1. Tradition

Conservatives value tradition — the accumulated wisdom of the past, embodied in institutions, customs, and practices that have stood the test of time.