Moderate conservatism

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Moderate conservatism is a politically moderate version of conservatism that is less demanding than classical conservatism, and can be divided into several subtypes, such as liberal conservatism. The term is principally used in countries where the political camp is divided into liberals (meaning social liberals) on the left and conservatives on the right, rather than in countries whose political camps include social democrats on the left and their opponents on the right. For countries belonging to the former, moderate liberalism is sometimes contrasted with moderate conservatism. [1] The latter term can be applied to several countries, such as the United States, Poland, [2] South Korea, [3] and Japan. [4]

Contents

Overview

Moderate conservative is not often used in most parts of Europe, where social democracy or socialist parties have grown into major parties since the early 20th century, because moderate conservatives in many European countries are liberal conservatives or Christian democrats. Despite this, the term has historically been widely used in Europe, particularly in the mid-19th and earlier century, when liberal-to-radical politics, or classical radicalism, formed the mainstream left in Europe and conservatives were the right opposition. The moderate conservatives of this period were contrasted with the moderate liberals. [5] It is also used as a contrast to ultra-conservatism. [6]

By country

Canada

The main factions of the Conservative Party of Canada are the Red Tory and Blue Tory. Blue Tories value free markets and are more culturally liberal.

Japan

The Kōchikai was a faction that represented moderate conservatives within the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party. Former prime minister Fumio Kishida was a member of the Kōchikai faction, and he is also a "moderate conservative". [4] Yomiuri Shimbun is a moderately conservative newspaper. [7] Yomiuri Shimbun places more emphasis on moderate pro-American diplomacy rather than hawkish Japanese nationalism. [8]

Poland

The Civic Platform has supported a moderate conservative agenda. [2] The party is described in various ways in the Polish political context as centre-right, [nb 1] or centrist. [nb 2]

South Korea

In the 20th century, liberal in South Korea had the opposite meaning of socialist or left-wing . Therefore, some historical liberals in South Korea were considered conservatives or moderate conservatives. [9] Ahn Cheol-soo was considered centrist reformist or centrist liberal (sometimes centre-left) in the early and mid 2010s but is now classified as centre-right and moderate conservative. Yoo Seung-min and Choung Byoung-gug are representative moderate conservatives. [10] [11] JoongAng Ilbo , a South Korean media outlet, is considered moderate conservative. [3]

Sweden

The major traditional right-wing party in Sweden was initially called the Conservative Party and later the Rightist Party, before adopting the Moderate Party name in 1969 to shed its ultraconservative image and espouse more classical liberal politics. [12]

United States

The Republican Main Street Partnership is a Republican Party (GOP) organization for moderate republicans including moderate conservatives. Sometimes moderate conservatives are called "Republicans in Name Only" by more traditional conservatives. [13] A prominent moderate conservative United States president is George H. W. Bush. [14]

Moderate conservative political parties and caucuses

Notes

  1. ↑ PO has often been described as centre-right:
    • Aleks Szczerbiak (2012). Poland Within the European Union: New awkward partner or new heart of Europe?. Routledge. p. 2. ISBN   9780415380737.
    • Nathaniel Copsey (2013). "Poland:An Awkward Partner Redeemed". In Simon Bulmer; Christian Lequesne (eds.). The Member States of the European Union (Second ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 191. ISBN   9780199544837.
    • Viktor, Szary (9 September 2014). "Poland's PM Tusk, heading for Brussels, submits resignation". Reuters . Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  2. ↑ PO has often been described as centrist:

Related Research Articles

Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in which it appears. In Western culture, depending on the particular nation, conservatives seek to promote and preserve a range of institutions, such as the nuclear family, organized religion, the military, the nation-state, property rights, rule of law, aristocracy, and monarchy. Conservatives tend to favor institutions and practices that enhance social order and historical continuity.

The Civic Platform is a centre-right liberal conservative political party in Poland. Since 2021, it has been led by Donald Tusk, who previously led it from 2003 to 2014 and was President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)</span> Japanese political party

The Liberal Democratic Party, frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a major conservative and nationalist political party in Japan. Since its foundation in 1955, the LDP has been in power almost continuously—a period called the 1955 System—except between 1993 and 1994, and again from 2009 to 2012.

Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institutions, such as traditional family structures, gender roles, sexual relations, national patriotism, and religious traditions. Social conservatism is usually skeptical of social change, instead tending to support the status quo concerning social issues.

A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition. It is most predominant in Canada; however, it is also found in the United Kingdom, where it is more commonly known as one nation conservatism. This philosophy tends to favour communitarian social policies, while maintaining a degree of fiscal discipline and a respect of social and political order. It is contrasted with "Blue Tory" or "High Tory". Some Red Tories view themselves as small-c conservatives.

<i>Chunichi Shimbun</i> Japanese daily newspaper

The Chunichi Shimbun is a Japanese daily "broadsheet" newspaper published in mostly Aichi Prefecture and neighboring regions by Chunichi Shimbun Co., Ltd. Based in Nagoya, one of Japanese three major metropolitan areas, it boasts the third circulation after the group newspapers the Yomiuri Shimbun and The Asahi Shimbun. Even the Chunichi Shimbun alone exceeds the number of copies of the Sankei Shimbun. The newspaper is dominant in its region, with a market penetration approaching 60 percent of the population of Aichi Prefecture. The Chunichi Shimbun group also publishes the Tokyo Shimbun, the Chunichi Sports, and the Tokyo Chunichi Sports newspapers. While each newspaper maintains independent leadership and is considered a "separate" paper, the group's combined circulation in 2022 was 2,321,414, ranking third in Japan behind the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Asahi Shimbun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pro-Europeanism</span> Favouring European integration

Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU). The opposite of Pro-Europeanism is Euroscepticism.

Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views.

Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by liberalism.

Japanese liberalism(自由主義 or リベラリズム) formed in the nineteenth century as a reaction against traditional society. In the twentieth century 'liberal' (自由) gradually became a synonym for conservative, and today the main conservative party in the country is named Liberal Democratic Party. The defunct Democratic Party was considered in part a centrist-liberal party, as are most parties which derived from it. The liberal character of the Liberal League is disputed, as it is also considered to be conservative by some. This article is limited to liberal (リベラル) parties with substantial support, proved by having had representation in parliament.

Conservative liberalism, also referred to as right-liberalism, is a variant of liberalism combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right wing of the liberal movement. In the case of modern conservative liberalism, scholars sometimes see it as a more positive and less radical variant of classical liberalism; it is also referred to as an individual tradition that distinguishes it from classical liberalism and social liberalism. Conservative liberal parties tend to combine economically liberal policies with more traditional stances and personal beliefs on social and ethical issues. Ordoliberalism is an influential component of conservative-liberal thought, particularly in its German, British, French, Italian, and American manifestations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fumio Kishida</span> Prime Minister of Japan from 2021 to 2024

Fumio Kishida is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2021 to 2024. He has been a member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet since 1993. Kishida previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017 and as acting Minister of Defense in 2017. From 2017 to 2020, he also chaired the LDP Policy Research Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoshimasa Hayashi</span> Japanese politician

Yoshimasa Hayashi is a Japanese politician who has been serving as Chief Cabinet Secretary since December 2023. Hayashi previously held five cabinet positions: Minister of Defence, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Factions in the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)</span> Japanese political factions

Factions are an accepted part of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the ruling party of Japan, which began with eight formal factions when it was first formed by merger in 1955. A political faction may be defined as a sub-group within a larger organization. While factions characterize other political parties in Pacific Asia, Japanese factionalism is distinguished by its stability and institutionalization. Although factions reconstitute themselves from time to time, the habatsu active today can be traced back to their 1955 roots, a testament to the stability and institutionalized nature of Liberal Democratic Party factions.

Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policies and people who are not strongly aligned with left-wing or right-wing policies. Centrism is commonly associated with liberalism, radical centrism, and agrarianism. Those who identify as centrist support gradual political change, often through a welfare state with moderate redistributive policies. Though its placement is widely accepted in political science, radical groups that oppose centrist ideologies may sometimes describe them as leftist or rightist.

Progressive conservatism is a political ideology that attempts to combine conservative and progressive policies. While still supportive of a capitalist economy, it stresses the importance of government intervention in order to improve human and environmental conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kōchikai</span> Political party faction in Japan

Kōchikai was a leading faction within Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), founded by bureaucrat-turned-politician Hayato Ikeda in 1957. The faction has produced five prime ministers, two LDP presidents, and a large number of cabinet officeholders. The faction was officially dissolved on January 23, 2024 after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to dissolve the faction in the aftermath of a political funds scandal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan</span> Japanese political party

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is a liberal political party in Japan. It is the primary centre-left party in Japan, and as of 2024 is the second largest party in the National Diet behind the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai</span> Japanese political party faction

Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai, often shortened to Seiwa Kai, was a major faction within Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). It was led by Shinzo Abe from 2021 until his assassination in 2022, and hence has been nicknamed the Abe faction. Since Abe's death, it had collective leadership. The faction announced its dissolution in January 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023–2024 Japanese slush fund scandal</span> 2023–2024 corruption scandal in Japan

Beginning in November 2023, a scandal involving the misuse of campaign funds by members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan's conservative Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai and Shisuikai factions became public after it was revealed the faction had failed to report over ¥600 million in campaign funds and stored them in illegal slush funds. The scandal has led to discussions regarding the future of the LDP and its political dominance in Japan.

References

  1. ↑ "A Brain Scan Could Predict Political Leanings". Psychology Today . 14 July 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023. While data from most of the tasks indicated political leanings toward more moderate conservatism or moderate liberalism, the researchers found that the reward task aligned with extreme political views (very liberal or very conservative) and the empathy task most significantly correlated with moderate ideology.
  2. 1 2 "Tusk Vs Kaczyński: Explaining the Conflict". Political Critique . 4 May 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 Dal Yong Jin, Nojin Kwak, ed. (2018). Communication, Digital Media, and Popular Culture in Korea: Contemporary Research and Future Prospects. Lexington Books. p. 125-126. ISBN   9781498562041. Joongang Ilbo is considered a more moderate conservative daily and also publishes its English edition, Korea Joongang Daily, in an alliance with the International New York Times. These big three Korean newspapers have significant influences on ...
  4. 1 2 "Japan's new prime minister Fumio Kishida vows to be tough on China but 'courteous' at home". The Times . 29 September 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2023. Fumio Kishida, a moderate conservative with a stern view of China's growing military assertiveness, will be Japan's new prime minister, after easily winning the election to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
  5. ↑ Edmund Fawcett, ed. (2022). Conservatism: The Fight for a Tradition. Princeton University Press. p. 55. ISBN   9780691233994. A blurring of conservative and liberal outlooks was noticed early on. Moderate conservatives, the German political observer Friedrich Bülau wrote in 1847, were not for no change, and moderate liberals did not call for total change.
  6. ↑ Tatah Mentan, ed. (2013). Democracy for Breakfast: Unveiling Mirage Democracy in Contemporary Africa. African Books Collective. p. 167. ISBN   9789956791279. Reflecting differences within the corporate community, there are moderate-conservative and ultra-conservative wings within it.
  7. ↑ Daniel M. Kliman, ed. (2014). Fateful Transitions: How Democracies Manage Rising Powers, from the Eve of World War I to China's Ascendance. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 122. ISBN   9780812290295. ... observers in Japan identified other obstacles to China's continued economic growth. Yomiuri Shimbun, a moderately conservative newspaper and ...
  8. ↑ Linus Hagstrom, ed. (2015). Identity Change and Foreign Policy: Japan and its 'Others'. Routledge. p. 101. ISBN   9781317394860. It is particularly interesting to note that the more left-leaning Asahi Shimbun (333 articles) carried a higher number of articles and headlines than the conservative (but moderate and pro-American) Yomiuri Shimbun, and actually comes ...
  9. ↑ "신민당". Naver Knowledge Encyclopedia (in Korean). Doosan Encyclopedia . Retrieved 19 September 2021. 1967년의 제6대 대통령선거와 제7대 국회의원 총선거를 앞두고, 분열된 보수 야당세력을 통합하여 평화적 정권교체를 이룩할 목표로 1967년 2월 7일에 창당되었다.[Ahead of the sixth presidential election and the seventh general election of the National Assembly in 1967, it was founded on February 7, 1967, with the aim of achieving a peaceful regime change by integrating divided conservative opposition forces.]
  10. ↑ "South Korea's 19th Presidential Election: Lessons Learned". The Diplomat . 13 May 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2023. Interestingly, 13.2 percent from the youngest group chose moderate conservative Yoo Seung-min, the highest of any group.
  11. ↑ "Park Heong-joon, a 'moderate conservative' politician". The Korea Times . 7 April 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  12. 1 2 Nanna Kildal; Stein Kuhnle (2007). Normative Foundations of the Welfare State: The Nordic Experience. Routledge. p. 128. ISBN   978-1-134-27282-2.
  13. ↑ "Opinion: Will The Real Republicans Please Stand Up?". Yahoo!. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Anyone who didn't support the Florida Man, anyone who is a more moderate conservative, often gets tagged as a RINO — Republican in Name Only.
  14. ↑ "Straddling divide between GOP moderates and conservatives, Bush was last of a kind". NBC News. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "A Dove From Hiroshima: Is Fumio Kishida Tough Enough To Lead Japan?". Worldcrunch . 10 October 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2023. Kishida's character, coupled with the fact that he belongs to the moderate Kochikai faction within the LDP, inevitably means that he won't ...
  16. ↑ Lucien Ellington, ed. (2009). Japan. ABC-CLIO. p. 168. ISBN   9781598841626.
  17. ↑ "Liz Truss apologises for mistakes and vows to lead Tories into next election". The Irish Times . 17 October 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2023. Ms Truss was due to meet the moderate One Nation Conservatives group in Parliament on Monday evening before an informal reception with her cabinet.
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