In 1975, then-future President Ronald Reagan captured the essence of American conservatism by saying, ‘The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority and more individual freedom.’

His comments draw a stark contrast between the two competing ideologies in America, conservatism and progressivism, which are central in the upcoming elections.

The progressive movement is a societal and governmental reform movement started in the early 20th century and continued today. At its core, progressivism rejects the founding values of natural rights and limited government that the United States was founded on as outdated and unneeded. This was recently displayed in Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s comments that if a country were coming up with a constitution today, she wouldn’t recommend using the American Constitution as a model.

The progressive believes social progress must be driven by a government of experts wielding centralized power and rally around the idea of an ever-changing administrative government whose authority transforms over time to solve society’s woes. This is reflected in modern federal bureaucracies and evolutionary interpretations of the Constitution.

The conservative rejects the ideas of progressivism and is in many ways a response to initiatives like the New Deal. Conservatism is based on conserving the principles of individual liberty, private property, constitutionalism and natural rights that were advocated by some of history’s great thinkers.

Many argue these principles are out of date and new principles should be established as times change.

First of all, progressives offer a future that moves the country backward by returning to the days in which government was the master and individuals were the subject. Secondly, and most importantly, these principles are not exclusive to one generation but are enduring and inalienable, as is boldly stated by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.

These rights cannot be morphed or changed by a government because they come from the individual’s humanity. Following the Constitution is integral in retaining these rights and principles because it is written to protect them.

Conservatives believe the main purpose of government is to preserve, protect and respect the rights of the individual, not to infringe on them or create new ones. Individuals deserve to have government as their subject and not their master. Therefore, conservatism advocates limited government as laid out by the Constitution. This position not only has constitutional backing, but also the backing of the simple truth that with more government comes less individual freedom.

Unlike the progressives who believe the administrative state makes the United States great, conservatives realize the implementation of the principles of the American founding is the reason the nation is exceptional. This is evident today in the progressives’ resistance to decrease the size and scope of government. They argue if there is less government control over individuals and the economy that the nation will descend into some Hobbesian state of nature.

Today, conservatism intellectually and morally is the superior ideology. This is because conservatism values and respects the individual. Conservatives agree with Reagan and want to return to a society based around the individual and inalienable principles of America’s founding, not the ever-changing will of the government and its administrators.

Patrick Mocete is a senior political science and policy studies major. His column appears every Thursday. He can be reached at pdmocete@syr.edu.   

Published on April 18, 2012 at 12:00 pm