To be conservative, then, is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the possible, the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the sufficient to the superabundant, the convenient to the perfect, present laughter to utopian bliss.
Michael Oakeshott
hmm I am ambivalent about this
ReplyDeleteWhy do you love superabundance so much!?!
ReplyDeleteThough, seriously, I would argue that at least half of those -- preferring the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the actual to the possible, and present laughter to utopian bliss -- are central to conservatism.
ReplyDeleteAs for "the familiar to the unknown, the tried to the untried," I think this isn't so much a disparagement of human ingenuity and potential, but rather skepticism about endeavors of social engineering.
Oakeshott's referring, if I remember correctly that part of the essay, to social or political enterprises. But I'll need to go back and read it again.