The term 'conservative' - denoting groups as diverse and incompatible as the religious right, libertarian free-marketeers and free-spending neocons - has been lost to politics. Yet the original conservative ideology, first developed in the eighteenth century by Edmund Burke, was concerned with managing change. Genuine conservatism has its own relevance in a complex and dynamic world where change is rapid, pervasive and dislocating. Conservatism transcends traditional politics, and has surprising applications - not least as the most appropriate and practical response to climate change. Conservatism by Kieron O'Hara is a revision of the traditional conservative philosophy for the modern age. It shows what a properly conservative ideology looks like today, and demonstrates that self-styled 'conservatives' actually promote damaging change in their own and other societies.
Drawing on such great conservative thinkers as Burke and Adam Smith, philosophers ancient and modern from Plato to Wittgenstein, and today's social commentators such as Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Ulrich Beck and Jared Diamond, this outline of conservative philosophy lays bare our lack of understanding of our own societies, showing how risk pervades society and how it should be managed. It also proves that conservatism is distinct from neo-liberalism, neo-conservatism and the extreme positions of today's 'culture warriors'. O'Hara has written a complete and consistent description of a philosophy of change and innovation. His book shows how conservatism is an ideology sensitive to cultural differences between the US, Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and elsewhere, while highlighting the issues of technology, trust and privacy. This book will appeal to anyone interested in the history, and future, of political philosophy and social thought.