The Three-Dimensional Framework to Understand the Conservative Attitude Toward Change

Arguably, the key to understand conservatism is an understanding of the conservative attitude toward change. Although it is mostly acknowledged that the conservative appears to vacillate between accepting and rejecting change, further research is needed to have a better understanding of the conservative attitude toward change. To this end, I propose three-dimensional framework. The first dimension, the nature of change enables us to understand roughly outlined picture of what sorts of changes are acceptable for conservatives. The second dimension, the nature of challenge focuses on historical context and intellectual environment within which the conservative accepts/rejects change. These two dimensions are incorporated into the literature on conservatism, but the third dimension, the nature of current constraints is hardly mentioned. The nature of current constraints refers to limitations and/or requirements of time, and the way in which and by whom current institutions, ideas and conditions come into existence. Considering those three dimensions simultaneously would enable us to (a) study the conservative attitude toward change in a more systematic way and (b) shed light on seemingly contradictory aspects of conservatism, which would help to understand the complexities of conservative thought and political actions in the modern world.