Portal:Conservatism

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Introduction

Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology, which seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in which it appears. In Western culture, depending on the particular nation, conservatives seek to promote a range of institutions, such as the nuclear family, organized religion, the military, the nation-state, property rights, rule of law, aristocracy, and monarchy. Conservatives tend to favour institutions and practices that enhance social order and historical continuity.

Edmund Burke, an 18th-century Anglo-Irish statesman who opposed the French Revolution but supported the American Revolution, is credited as one of the forefathers of conservative thought in the 1790s along with Savoyard statesman Joseph de Maistre. The first established use of the term in a political context originated in 1818 with François-René de Chateaubriand during the period of Bourbon Restoration that sought to roll back the policies of the French Revolution and establish social order.

Conservatism has varied considerably as it has adapted itself to existing traditions and national cultures. Thus, conservatives from different parts of the world, each upholding their respective traditions, may disagree on a wide range of issues. Historically associated with right-wing politics, the term has been used to describe a wide range of views. Conservatism may be either libertarian or authoritarian, populist or elitist, progressive or reactionary, moderate or extreme. (Full article...)

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Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) was the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989, after having a career as governor of California and in Hollywood.

Early in his presidency, Reagan implemented sweeping new political and economic initiatives. His supply-side economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics", advocated reducing tax rates to spur economic growth, controlling the money supply to reduce inflation, deregulation of the economy, and reducing government spending. In his first term he survived an assassination attempt, took a hard line stance against labor unions, and ordered the 1983 invasion of Grenada. The next year, he was reelected in a landslide. His second term was primarily marked by foreign matters, including the 1986 bombing of Libya, and the revelation of the Iran–Contra affair, and the end of the Cold War.

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It only takes 20 years for a liberal to become a conservative without changing a single idea.

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On August 11, 1984, United States President Ronald Reagan, while running for re-election, was preparing to make his weekly Saturday address on National Public Radio. As a sound check prior to the address, Reagan made the following joke to the radio technicians:

Though this was not the first time Reagan had joked prior to giving a speech or address, the Soviet official news agency, TASS, condemned the joke, declaring that "USSR condemns this unprecedentedly hostile attack of US President" and that "this kind of behaviour is incompatible with high responsibility the heads of nuclear states are bearing for the destinies of their own people and the mankind".

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Selected anniversaries in April

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