Conservatives value the wisdom of the past and are generally opposed to widespread reform.
Modern political conservatism emerged in the 19th cent. By 1850 the term conservatism, probably first used by Chateaubriand, generally meant the politics of the right . The original tenets of European conservatism had already been formulated by Edmund Burke , Joseph de Maistre , and others. They emphasized preserving the power of king and aristocracy, maintaining the influence of landholders against the rising industrial bourgeoisie, limiting suffrage, and continuing ties between church and state . The conservative view that social welfare was the responsibility of the privileged inspired passage of much humanitarian legislation, in which English conservatives usually led the way.