This is an excerpt from my interview with Dr. Brad Birzer in which we discuss the definition of conservatism. -P
Penjammin: Let's talk about mischaracterizations, what conservatism is and what it's not. So we've kind of been looking at [conservatism] from a bunch of different angles. I was kind of trying to identify the thing and then try to analyze it, see what it is that makes it conservative and what's more accidental. Now let's try to do some contrast. What is conservative accused of being, compared to what it is?
Brad: Yeah, I think the biggest thing, and this would be in terms of conservatism as well as libertarianism, I think the biggest criticism is that we're selfish, that we're only thinking about the self and we're not thinking about others. And to me, when we look at everything from the American founding all the way up to Russell Kirk, we're really looking at our relations with one another. So it's not just Brad and Pen. It is two human beings who are interacting with one another, and we bring out the best hope in one another. That's what we're trying to do. So when I engage my daughters or I engage my students, I'm not trying to make them little Brad's. I'm trying to make them who and what they were meant to be . . . We make them better for what they are meant to be, which either God or nature (or both probably) has defined.
For more, check out The Imaginative Conservative. Also, hear the whole episode here:
Penjammin grew up in a labyrinthine cavern. Later he ran with the wolves, enjoying life in the sweet scent of his game, until pirates landed and… (see “about” above). Get his eletters at penjams.com/subscribe.