Future of Conservatism

Report Outline
Watergate and Status of Conservatism
Conservative Tradition in American Life
Swings in Expectations for Conservatism
Special Focus

Watergate and Status of Conservatism

The new year 1974 brings into question whether the Watergate disclosures and the Agnew resignation have done great harm to the cause of conservatism, which only a year earlier was being viewed as the wave of the future. The Republican Party is generally considered the natural “home” of the conservative tradition in American politics and, according to the findings of public-opinion polls, it has suffered a loss of support in the Watergate aftermath.

While the problems of the Nixon administration during the past year have muted its talk of a “new majority” in American politics drawn from conservative constituencies, there is little evidence that the conservative tradition has lost its footing. About all that can be said for sure at this time is that the events of the past year have demonstrated, once again, that the play between conservatism and liberalism is a continuing factor in American polity regardless of the vicissitudes of political life. The balance may tilt from time to time due to changing circumstances or the influence of particular political personalities, but the shifts usually refer to specific issues of the moment rather than to guiding principles of government.

The future of conservatism in the United States can no more be foreseen than the future of liberalism. Both concepts are likely to be around for some time and continue to influence policy in different ways, sometimes merging their interests, at other times pulling sharply apart. Actually the lines of demarcation between the two traditions are not always too clear. Changing circumstances give different colorations to conservative or liberal positions. Individual politicians or political factions often combine elements of both traditions. Those who do not are likely to be described as extremists of right or left. And those closer to the mainstream of political thought may be called liberal-conservative or conservative-liberal. Such combination terms are by no means strange in political discourse.