„The political policies that are called conservative these days would appall any genuine conservative“

— Noam Chomsky

Quotes 1990s, 1990-1994, Interview by Adam Jones, 1990
Context: The political policies that are called conservative these days would appall any genuine conservative, if there were one around to be appalled. For example, the central policy of the Reagan Administration - which was supposed to be conservative - was to build up a powerful state. The state grew in power more under Reagan than in any peacetime period, even if you just measure it by state expenditures. The state intervention in the economy vastly increased. That's what the Pentagon system is, in fact; it's the creation of a state-guaranteed market and subsidy system for high-technology production. There was a commitment under the Reagan Administration to protect this more powerful state from the public, which is regarded as the domestic enemy. Take the resort to clandestine operations in foreign policy: that means the creation of a powerful central state immune from public inspection. Or take the increased efforts at censorship and other forms of control. All of these are called "conservatism," but they're the very opposite of conservatism. Whatever the term means, it involves a concern for Enlightenment values of individual rights and freedoms against powerful external authorities such as the state, [or] a dominant Church, and so on. That kind of conservatism no one even remembers anymore.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021.

Noam Chomsky331

american linguist, philosopher and activist 1928

Related quotes

„That, although a century out of date, would certainly be a distinctive, different policy. But it would not be a Conservative policy and it would not provide a Conservative alternative. For better or worse the central Government is already responsible, in some way or another, for nearly half the activities of Britain. It is by far the biggest spender and the biggest employer.“

— Edward Heath Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1970–1974) 1916 - 2005

Speech in Scotland (10 September 1968) criticising free market ideas, quoted in The Times (11 September 1968), p. 1.
Leader of the Opposition

Way

„But the Church cannot be, in any political sense, either conservative or liberal, or revolutionary. Conservatism is too often conservation of the wrong things: liberalism a relaxation of discipline; revolution a denial of the permanent things.“

— T.S. Eliot 20th century English author 1888 - 1965

Source: Christianity and Culture: The Idea of a Christian Society and Notes Towards the Definition of Culture

Sense

„The Reform party is much closer to what you would call conservative Republican.“

— Stephen Harper 22nd Prime Minister of Canada 1959

1990s, Speech to the Council for National Policy (1997)

„It's a wonderful feeling to be a conservative these days.“

— Barry Goldwater American politician 1909 - 1998

Address on religious factions (1981)
Context: It's a wonderful feeling to be a conservative these days. When I ran for President 17 years ago I was told I was behind the times. Now everybody tells me I was ahead of my time. All I can say is that time certainly is an elusive companion.
But those reactions illustrate how far the ideological pendulum has swung in recent years. The American people have expressed their desire for a new course in our public policy in this country, a conservative course.
Being a conservative in America traditionally has meant that one holds a deep, abiding respect for the Constitution. We conservatives believe sincerely in the integrity of the Constitution. We treasure the freedoms that document protects.
We believe, as the founding fathers did, that we "are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Feeling

„The people who call themselves conservatives“

— Noam Chomsky american linguist, philosopher and activist 1928

Interview by Ira Shorr, February 11, 1996 http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/19960211.htm.
Quotes 1990s, 1995-1999
Context: There are no conservatives in the United States. The United States does not have a conservative tradition. The people who call themselves conservatives, like the Heritage Foundation or Gingrich, are believers in -- are radical statists. They believe in a powerful state, but a welfare state for the rich.

People

„Spending Freeze? (referring to remarks by John Boehner), the brand named policy of economic fundamental misunderstanding endorsed by more conservatives than any other proven policy failure on the market today“

— Rachel Maddow American journalist 1973

The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC (6 March 2009)

Failure

„To understand the workings of American politics, you have to understand this fundamental law: Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil.“

— Charles Krauthammer American journalist 1950 - 2018

Originally column published as "No-Respect Politics" in The Washington Post (26 July 2002) https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2002/07/26/no-respect-politics/f7f00171-0731-4fd8-9c07-7fae9ecb725f/
Source: 2010s, 2013, Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics (2013), Chapter 3 : Pride and Prejudices, "The Central Axiom of Partisan Politics".

Stupidity, Law, Understanding, Thinking

„If you want a conservative country, you need a conservative populace. Immigration is changing the country, and there will be no changing it back. If you don’t understand that, you are the enemy of any conservative undertaking.“

— Ann Coulter author, political commentator 1961

2016, In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome! (2016)

Understanding, Change, Country

„I’ve been a conservative my entire life. … So you’d think that the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, would be a natural fit. It once was. But on Saturday, after speaking to this year’s gathering, I had to be escorted from the premises by several guards who seemed genuinely concerned for my safety. What happened to me at CPAC is the perfect illustration of the collective experience of a whole swath of conservatives since Donald Trump became the Republican nominee. We built and organized this party — but now we’re made to feel like interlopers.“

— Mona Charen political writer 1957

I'm Glad I Got Booed at CPAC (2018)

Nature, Perfection, Thinking, Life

„They [Republicans] say, 'You're too conservative.' Was Thomas Jefferson too conservative? I'm tired of some people calling me wacky.“

— Sharron Angle Former member of the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2007 1949

People

„The issue is not that morals be applied to public policy, it's that conservatives bring public policy to spheres of our lives where it should not enter.“

— Barney Frank American politician, former member of the House of Representatives for Massachusetts 1940

KUOW.org audio program (7 September 2005) http://www.kuow.org/defaultProgram.asp?ID=9423 (RealAudio)

„If I were asked to define Conservative policy, I should say that it was the upholding of confidence.“

— Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury British politician 1830 - 1903

Quoted in Salisbury — Victorian Titan (1999) by Andrew Roberts
1890s

Confidence

„The political horizon would be greatly clarified if the voters were offered the choice of three parties representing three strategies: A conservative party“

— Kirby Page American clergyman 1890 - 1957

Property (1935)
Context: The political horizon would be greatly clarified if the voters were offered the choice of three parties representing three strategies: A conservative party committed to the preservation of individualism, perhaps in a highly modified form; a communist party bent upon revolutionary changes through violent seizure of power, confiscation, and a proletarian dictatorship; and a radical party seeking to socialize the basic industries and to move toward an equalization of economic privilege through purchase, taxation, and drastic regulation, without resorting to confiscation or armed seizure of power.

„But the Progressive Conservative is very definitely liberal Republican. These are people who are moderately conservative on economic matters, and in the past have been moderately liberal, even sometimes quite liberal on social policy matters.“

— Stephen Harper 22nd Prime Minister of Canada 1959

1990s, Speech to the Council for National Policy (1997)

People, Past

„We've gone from a representative democracy to a monarchy, and the most appalling thing is – even conservatives just hope like the dickens the next king is a good one.“

— Ann Coulter author, political commentator 1961

Who was the 2nd choice?
2005-10-20
Townhall
http://townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/2005/10/20/who_was_the_2nd_choice/page/full/
2005

Hope, Democracy