Liberal conservatism

[[File:Edmund Burke by James Northcote.JPG|thumb|165px|[[Edmund Burke]], called the "father of conservatism," was a member of the {{wpl|Whigs (British political party)|Whigs}}, a British classic liberal party.]]
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{{ctransquote|Sometimes I'm [[Classical liberalism|liberal]], sometimes I'm [[conservative]] and sometimes I'm [[Christian democracy|Christian Social]].|German|"Mal bin ich liberal, mal bin ich konservativ, mal bin ich christlich-sozial."|||[[Angela Merkel]]<ref>[http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/merkel-bei-anne-will-dinge-tun-die-aus-dem-rahmen-fallen-1.403011 Sueddeutsche Zeitung: "Dinge tun, die aus dem Rahmen fallen," 03.22.2009 ]</ref>}}

'''Liberal conservatism''' is a center-right idea that combines [[classical liberalism]] and [[conservatism]]. Though it is an idea close to economic liberalism, it is distinguished from general conservatism in that it values traditional values socially and culturally embraces moderate elements. Liberal conservatism is generally considered part of {{wpl|conservative liberalism}}, but both are often used in a similar sense.

In the [[United States]], "[[Liberalism#Social liberalism (i.e., U.S. style liberalism)|Liberalism]]" (i.e., center-left {{wpl|Modern liberalism in the United States|modern liberalism|)}} is recognized as the opposition camp to "Conservatism", but in [[Europe]], "[[Liberalism#Classical liberalism|Liberalism]]" (=Mainly [[classical liberalism]] or moderate economic liberalism) is perceived as a Conservative-friendly idea and is at odds with "Socialism"(=Mainly [[social democracy]] and [[democratic socialism]]) and [[Liberalism#Social liberalism (= U.S. style liberalism)|social liberalism]]. In other words, in the case of 'liberal' conservatism in Europe, there is no link to 'liberal' in the American political context.

==Regional liberal conservatism==
In Japan, the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]] claims to be a liberal conservative party itself,<ref>{{cite book |editor=William D. Hoover |title=Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Exa7XoW-1n8C&pg=PA211 |year=2011 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7539-5 |page=211}}</ref> but in reality, it shows a strong right-wing tendency that borders on social conservatism or national conservatism. This is a mixture of hard-line conservatism and Japanese nationalism based on traditional Japanese culture.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Magara |editor1-first=Hideko |editor2-last=Sacchi |editor2-first=Stefano |year=2013 |title=The Politics of Structural Reforms: Social and Industrial Policy Change in Italy and Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=beLDAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |page=95 |isbn=978-0-85793-292-1 |access-date=November 22, 2020 }}</ref> Moreover, "liberal conservatism" and "neo-conservatism" are not clearly distinguished in Japan, and the 1998 {{wpl|Liberal Party (Japan, 1998)|Liberal Party}} also advocated neo-conservatism.

In Western Europe and Northern Europe, the mainstream center-left to left is often social democracy, while the mainstream center-right to right is often liberal conservative ([[Christian Democratic Union of Germany]], {{wpl|Austrian People's Party|,}} {{wpl|Moderate Party|Moderate Party of Sweden|,}} {{wpl|The Republicans (France)|French "Republicans"|,}} {{wpl|People's Party (Spain)|People's Party of Spain|,}} etc.).

"Liberalism" in Italy mainly means "Liberal conservatism". It is the main ideology of [[Forza Italia]], no different from [[Silvio Berlusconi]]'s shrine. However, this side also shows social conservatism or some nationalist tendencies compared to other European liberal conservative parties. [[Liberal Party of Australia|Australia's Liberal Party]] is also more of a conservative or liberal conservative party than general liberalism.

In Italy and Eastern Europe, liberal conservatism is considered liberalism, but in Western and Northern Europe, liberal conservatism is distinct from liberalism. In Western and Northern Europe, liberal conservatism sometimes conflicts with ordinary liberals. The reason is that liberal conservatism is basically more like moderate conservatism than liberalism, although it is basically seasoned with [[classical liberalism]].

The [[Conservative Party of Canada]] is also classified as a liberal conservative party, but there are a few social conservatives.

===In the United States===
American conservatism is based on republicanism and classical liberalism from birth. However, in the United States, the term "liberal" refers mainly to progressives and social liberals, so the term "liberal conservative" is not used in the United States.

The [[Rockefeller Republicans]] were basically culturally liberals, and economically advocates of the [[New Deal]]. Some European and Asian liberal conservatives partially embrace Keynesianism, but most support economic liberalism. Also, most European and Asian liberal conservatives are NOT socially liberal and tend to be socially "moderate". That's why Rockefeller Republicans are hard to see as liberal conservatives.

Of course, there are socially moderate and (appropriately) fiscally conservative(=economic liberal) people in the United States. These will be mainly people like [[John McCain]] and [[Mitt Romney]], who has a moderate tendency within conservatives. However, they are likely to deny that they are "liberal conservative" because they are not "liberal" in the American context. (Liberal conservatives support civil liberties based on classical liberalism.)

Some of the (outside the U.S.) liberal conservatives are very moderate and liberal politicians like [[Angela Merkel]], but others are reminiscent of soft-[[Donald Trump|Trumpism]] like [[Silvio Berlusconi]] and [[Sebastián Piñera]]. Therefore, it is not known exactly who of the conservatives in the United States is the liberal conservatives in the United States. This is because the concept of liberal conservatism itself is not actually a strict ideology, but abstract and relativistic.

Since [[democratic socialism]] has never been a mainstream political force in the United States, people who actually support [[Social democracy|social democratic]] policies call themselves "liberal". Therefore, the term "liberal" used in the United States is a concept that cannot be applied in other countries. But we don't know the future. If politicians who advocate "socialists" such as [[Bernie Sanders]] and [[AOC]] can become mainstream in the [[Democratic Party]], the day may come when moderates in the [[Republican Party]] call themselves (anti-socialist and classical-)"liberals". In fact, [[Liberal Party of Australia|it is used in this sense in Australia]].

== See also ==
*[[Social democracy]] — This is a major ideological competitor for liberal conservatism in some areas, including Western Europe and Northern Europe.
*[[Social market economy]] — Liberal conservatives in some areas, including Germany, tend to be more supportive of social capitalism (ex. Ordoliberalism) than economic liberalism.
*[[Liberalism]]
**[[Classical liberalism]]
**[[Neoliberalism]]
**[[Libertarianism]]
*[[Neoconservatism]] — In international contexts, such as [[Scott Morrison]], [[Silvio Berlusconi]], and [[Junichiro Koizumi]], the liberal conservative resembles neo-conservativism in the United States.
*[[Christian democracy]]
*[[Social conservatism]] — European liberal conservatives also show moderate social conservative tendencies. Because it's not the "liberal" that the U.S. says in the first place.

==Notes==
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==References==
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{{stub|politics}}
[[Category:Liberal conservatism| ]]
[[Category:Right-wing politics]]
[[Category:Political terms]]

Categories: Liberal conservatism, Right-wing politics, Political terms