Conservative liberalism

Conservative liberal parties combine liberal politics with more traditional opinions on social and ethical issues. They usually support economic liberalism and often self-identify as parties of public order (“law and order”), advocate a more active fight against crime , support more serious penalties for criminals, and pay special attention to the fight against terrorism . Conservative liberals are distinguished from social liberals by a less expressive reflection of ethical issues, conservative liberals often support more stringent control of illegal migration , they are less likely to support multiculturalism .

The basis, the core of conservative liberalism is the following position: human rights and freedoms are of the highest value, but must be respected with the support of a strong state, the rational preservation of traditions (since they are due to historical development, therefore, are necessary), often based on the church and certainly on based on family values.

Moreover, in the framework of this direction, liberalism and conservatism were not initially postulated as opposing, mutually exclusive concepts. Philosophers who hold such views consider left-wing radicalism and socialism to be the opposites of liberalism, while believing that without a reasonable degree of conservatism, ensuring human freedoms is impossible and ultimately liberalism will then turn into radicalism.

Due to the peculiarities of historical development and the specificity of the East European mentality, classical liberalism has undergone changes, adapting to the peculiarities of Russian reality. The emergence of this ideology , as well as liberal conservatism, is associated with the era of post-reform Russia, that is, with the first half of the 19th century, when the understanding of the inevitability of large-scale reforms was already indicated, however, the social characteristics of the Russian people noted by Kavelin required a revision of liberal ideology. So, in the classical sense, the completely opposite political agendas — liberalism and conservatism — in their combination appeared to be the most preferred set of ideas for a Russian person. Philosopher B.N. Chicherin was the first thinker who developed in detail the concept of conservative or "protective" liberalism. The idea of ​​this direction of political thought was Chicherin’s assertion that reforms should certainly be carried out and take place in the history of Russia, however, in order to avoid radicalization of the society or unpredictable consequences, they should be carried out relying on a strong state, strong power and taking into account the existing one experience of historical development. In addition to protective liberalism, Chicherin also identified two more of its imperfect forms. The first - the so-called "street liberalism" - is characterized by the thinker as a set of ideas about false freedom, which are guided mainly by young people who lead an antisocial lifestyle. They do not want to fight for reform, for true freedom, but only hide behind their ideas in order to organize unrest and outrage. The second form is “oppositional” liberalism. The thinker saw his imperfection in the fact that this movement unites in itself people from completely heterogeneous social layers, who, as their only common feature, are the habit of scolding the existing system. Such liberals, according to Chicherin, continued to support the system, taking advantage of its benefits, but at the same time considered it their duty to expose state power, most likely due to the fashion of liberal ideas in Russia in the first half of the 19th century. Thus, it was precisely conservative liberalism, which relied on gradual reforms with the support of a strong state that protected against anarchy, that the philosopher saw as an ideal course.

Chicherin considered the rule of law to be one of the most important conditions of freedom. He believed that it was the principle of legality that protects the rights and freedoms of citizens, their property, that gives members of society genuine freedom. He considered the rights and duties of man inseparable. Moreover, Chicherin postulated that a person has rights precisely because he has responsibilities. The philosopher believed that a person’s awareness of the existence of a higher moral law, his recognition of it and, as a result, actions within the framework of this law, awareness of his social duty, make man not only truly free, but also put him above all other animals. But since this personal freedom of a person comes not only from the fact that he has the idea of ​​a moral law in his mind, but also because of the supremacy of the written law, freedom in the state can be protected and ensured only by a strong government that ensures compliance with these very state laws. ^{[1] [2]}

After Chicherin, at the beginning of the 20th century, P. B. Struve was a prominent theorist of conservative liberalism. He believed that liberalism as a system of worldviews cannot belong to any current or social class, in particular, to the bourgeoisie (this class was just relevant at the dawn of the realization of the ideas of socialism). Struve understood this kind of political thought through the prism of Christianity , since, in his opinion, it was liberalism that translated the universal Christian principles of the state structure. At the same time, he also interpreted liberalism as the only true form of nationalism, which is based solely on the "self-affirmation of the national spirit", the bearers of which, that is, citizens of one country or another, therefore, must unconditionally be endowed with constitutional rights and freedoms. That is how, from the position of "national liberalism" Struve assessed conservative liberalism, which is based on the inherent value of a nation-state . ^[3]

In Russia, conservative liberalism is represented by opposition parties:

• Democratic choice ^[4] .

• Russia of the future .