conservative says: at what cost?

What books should a conservative read to understand liberalism? - Quora:



The progressive impulse is to, for example, build a bridge; the conservative impulse is to question the cost, the impact, and why you would want to put a bridge somewhere where there never was one before. The progressive impulse is to embrace change that it hopes will lead to a better world; the conservative impulse is to question the change because just as often, man's progressive impulses have been shown to lead to at best something other than what he sought; at worst, they lead to a less desirable world than before.

So think of conservatives, properly understood, as people who are instinctively suspicious of change--and have plenty of good reasons to feel that way.

When these two impulses are in healthy balance, we collectively make better decisions.

Which leads me to why I can't be identified with conservatives any longer: for the most part in America they have been subsumed by the Religious Right and the Tea Partiers, neither one of which has any interest in what conservative has traditionally meant.





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What books should a conservative read to understand liberalism? / or liberals.  ppl they see as elitist jerks. I am wondering, now that much talk re books trying to understand 'white working class' voter, rural cnsness, politics of resentment..., are there bks for ppl coming fr that viewpnt, trying to undst liberal voters (maybe they'd say: that's *all* the other bks :) and I'd consider that...) - Quora    |



this answer is not to my qstn, but is v good (and is wh i got fr andrew sullivan re conservatism)

Kevin Christy,  Oct 2012

The progressive impulse is to embrace change that it hopes will lead to a better world; the conservative impulse is to question the change because just as often, man's progressive impulses have been shown to lead to at best something other than what he sought; at worst, they lead to a less desirable world than before. 

So think of conservatives, properly understood, as people who are instinctively suspicious of change--and have plenty of good reasons to feel that way. 

When these two impulses are in healthy balance, we collectively make better decisions.