conservatism
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con·ser·va·tism
(kən-sûr′və-tĭz′əm)conservatism
(kənˈsɜːvəˌtɪzəm)Conservatism
(kənˈsɜːvəˌtɪzəm)con•serv•a•tism
(kənˈsɜr vəˌtɪz əm)n.
conservatism
2. the principles and practices of political conservatives, especially of the British Conservative party. — conservative, n., adj.
Conservatism
blimp See POMPOSITY.
Dame Partington and her mop Stubborn and futile opposition to the inevitable, particularly to economic, political, or social reform. This infrequently used expression is derived from English newspaper stories of November 1824 which tell of a woman who used only a mop in attempting to rid her nearly inundated seaside home of water during a raging storm. The woman eventually gave up her struggle and sought safety elsewhere. In October 1831, Rev. Sydney Smith compared the rejection of a reform bill by the House of Lords to the plight of Dame Partington.
die-hard See PERSEVERANCE.
hard-hat A working-class conservative, so called from the protective metal or plastic helmet worn by construction workers. The Sunday Mail (Brisbane, June, 1970) offers the following explanation of the term:
A “Hard Hat” is a construction worker, but his helmet symbolises all those beefy blue-collar workers who have suddenly become the knuckleduster on the strong right arm of President Nixon’s silent majority.
redneck An ultraconservative. This disparaging term usually refers to the poor white farmers of the Southern backwoods who are notorious for their purported intolerance of liberals, intellectuals, Blacks, and hippies. Redneck, originating as an allusion to a farmer’s perennially sunburned neck, is now an epithet for any person who shares similar prejudices.
right-wing Reactionary, conservative; averse to change, die-hard. The term reputedly arose from the seating arrangement of the French National Assembly of 1789, in which conservatives sat on the right side, or wing, of the chamber. As used today, right-wing, like left-wing, has pejorative connotations of extremism—in this case, of bigotry, prejudice, moneyed interests, anti-humanitarianism, etc. Both terms are used primarily to denigrate and stigmatize one’s opponents; a political conservative would not call himself a right-winger, just as a liberal would not call himself a left-winger; yet each might well label the other with the appropriate epithet.
| Noun | 1. | conservatism - a political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes ideology, political orientation, political theory - an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation neoconservatism - an approach to politics or theology that represents a return to a traditional point of view (in contrast to more liberal or radical schools of thought of the 1960s) reaction - extreme conservatism in political or social matters; "the forces of reaction carried the election" |