Conservatism Trends

Conservatism Trends

Conservatism Current Trends

For most of the 1980s, conservative parties held power in both the United Kingdom and West Germany (now part of the united Federal Republic of Germany). In France a Gaullist movement combining selective state controls, economic planning, and welfare measures with political liberalism has been influential since 1958. In some other European countries, especially Spain and Portugal, conservative forces are caught between left-wing and authoritarian movements. Corporatism continues to call for the cooperation of labor, business, and consumer interests under the control and the coordination of the state. It remains in Europe and in Latin America a dominant form of conservatism.

The most notable phenomenon of the 1980s, however, was the conservative movement in the U.S. After World War II an entire generation lived under a liberal consensus, based on expanding government controls and welfare measures, that crystallized into a dogma and was taken for granted. The conservatives as a whole and their most vocal wing-called the New Right-challenged liberalism vigorously, calling for a return to basic individualistic values in the economy and society. They successfully urged more limited growth of domestic spending, a strong defense posture, and a more explicitly anti-Communist foreign policy. Although they met with less success in efforts to outlaw abortion, legalize prayer in public schools, and enact New Right positions on other social, religious, and family issues, they continued their efforts in these directions throughout the 1980s. (1)

Resources

Notes and References

  1. Encarta Online Encyclopedia

See Also


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