Roger Scruton on Conservatism

Unfortunately, I think there has always been an element of hatred even in the best of conservatism, and what conservatism always lacked was an inability to appreciate substantive critique, especially of beloved things, and the wonder and beauty of new things when the old is surpassed.

Hatred and blind nostalgia go hand in hand.

One upshot of this particular rabbit hole was finding out Scruton has written a lot about Wagner.

"A conservative is someone who has found something to love and wants to retain it, and to protect it from all the sources of decay. It is a philosophy of love." - Roger Scruton.

"This is true conservatism. Its counterfeit is a “conservatism” that has decayed into mere hatred of and revenge against those who threaten what one loves. At that point it's hard to distinguish from the ressentiment that the conservative rightly abhors when he sees it on the left." - Edward Feser.

Works Cited:

Feser, Edward (@FeserEdward). X, https://x.com/FeserEdward/status/2105539602593529919

Knowledge Archiv (@KnowledgeArchiv). X, https://x.com/KnowledgeArchiv/status/2105282263428513858