Conservatism has a bad reputation, often because too many people don't even know what it means to be "conservative". Your typical modern day folk conflates Conservatism with rigidity, bigotry, line-dancing, boring old folks, cowboy hats, absolute resistance to change in any way, shape or form, or any variation or combination of the aforementioned.
Conservatism is not all of the above. If one bothers to actually read Russell Kirk, Edmund Burke, or Roger Scruton, one comes to realize that Conservatism is not about resisting change, but rather about respecting experience, customary traditions & ancestral wisdom.
Conservatism is, as Michael Oakeshott famously proclaimed:
"to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, actual to the possible, the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the sufficient to the superabundant, the convenient to the perfect, present laughter to utopian bliss."
Conservatism is not an ideology per se. It scoffs at the notion of an "ideology" as history has shown time & time again that ideologies of different stripes often beget unrestrained revolutions which necessitate outright erosion of cultural values (i.e. the practical implementation of Marxism in the 20th Century which we will visit again later). Sadly, the concept of "ideology" is often pigeonholed with "intellectualism" and "intelligence" today. Thomas Sowell, however, brilliantly deconstructs this false dichotomy in his seminal work 'Intellectuals and Society' by explaining that "intellectualism" and "intelligence" are distinct from each other. He describes an intellectual's work as "beginning with ideas and ending with ideas." Conservatism, on the other hand, recognizes that while ideas certainly have some value such as the ability to rouse and inspire, ideas are also often limited in terms of practical application. A typical 'intellectual', especially in modern academia, is unconcerned with such practicality as long as his or her ideas gain traction among college students, irrespective of how fancifully utopian they may be.
More importantly, the point that I want to make is that conservatives welcome change (contrary to popular belief) - but only when change is absolutely necessary, realistically capable of being implemented, and in small doses. This is to prevent an outright upheaval of customary traditions and practical wisdom bestowed to us by our ancestors. Such upheaval occurred with the violent French Revolution (which Edmund Burke was so vehemently opposed to), the implementation of Communism in Russia in the 20th Century, as well as the abolition of Confucian teachings that promoted traditional family values such as filial piety in China after embracing the same Communism that tore Russia asunder. Many on the Radical Left today, when desperately decrying Conservatism, fail to remember these historical events that caused humanity much bloodshed, and instead wish to overhaul entire structures and foundations that have been laid by our ancestors before us for centuries.
This aspect of change vis a vis Conservatism was something I learnt about a few days ago during Chinese New Year which fell on the 5th and 6th of February of this year. As part of an ongoing quest to find out more about my heritage & roots, I decided to devote an extra amount of time this year to helping my Mother prepare food for the Chinese New Year season and to observe the customs that she followed (Matriarchs form an important part of Chinese families, and mothers are often walking repositories of customary traditions). Armed with a pen and notebook, I intently scribbled down recipes that my Mother learnt from her parents, as well as a list of "To do's" for this festive occasion. One such recipe, famous among my family & friends, is what's known as her signature "Lucky Balls" dish - which is basically steamed Chinese meatballs construed to be fortuitous because of its vibrant array of colours.
This recipe was passed down to my Mom by my paternal Grandfather who used to be a chef, and he would only cook these "Lucky Balls" once a year for Chinese New Year. Mom, a brilliant chef herself (though only for private hire) took the extra effort to learn the recipe and has been preparing this meal every year since. This Chinese New Year, I took notice that Mom had added two extra ingredients to her "Lucky Balls" dish that my Grandfather had not initially added. Was this a break in tradition? I doubt it. It was my Mom adding her own "touch" to the "Lucky Balls" recipe - which, of course, made it tastier. Perhaps, I might add a special touch of my own to the recipe as well in the future. And this is precisely what the value of custom & tradition is about - not sticking rigidly to old practices, but adding something new or adapting it every time it passes down to the next generation. Mom didn't rigidly or stubbornly stick to custom & tradition for the sake of it. She adapted it, changed it, but more significantly - in minute amounts.
Upheaval, for me, would be something like making "Lucky Sausages" out of the ingredients traditionally used for my Mom's "Lucky Balls" dish, for there is nothing I cherish more than the memories of my Mom moulding the mixture of meat and other ingredients (I'm obviously not telling) into the particular spherical shape I've been accustomed to seeing & eating since I was a young boy.
As one final example, Mom ordinarily uses rock sugar for her special Chinese New Year drink consisting of Red Dates and Longans, but this year, she used fine sugar for the sake of convenience. Is this an upheaval of tradition? No it isn't. The very essence and substance of the practice remains.
Likewise, this is reflective of Conservatism properly understood, and particularly how conservatives view change - that change, should it occur, be fomented through a delicate process. We change what is necessary, or adapt certain practices to our times, but we ultimately respect and keep the substance of our customary traditions and ancestral wisdom alive. As Roger Scruton succinctly establishes in his recent book 'Conservatism: An Invitation to the Great Tradition' - "As [Edmund] Burke said, 'we must reform in order to conserve', or, in more modern idiom: we must adapt. But we adapt to change in the name of continuity, in order to conserve what we are and what we have."
With that, I wish everyone reading a very Happy Chinese New Year.
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