Conservative Thought

Saint Augustine’s concept of agape—divine, selfless, and unconditional love—occupies a central position in both his theological vision and his political philosophy. Distinguished from other forms of love, such as eros, understood as sensual or romantic desire, and philia, which denotes affectionate friendship or companionship, agape represents the purest and most selfless form of love. For Augustine, this love originates in God, is modeled by God, and is directed toward the good of others without expectation of reciprocity. It is not merely a sentiment or feeling but a deliberate, volitional expression of God’s grace. Agape manifests in concrete acts of care, service, and moral responsibility and serves as the foundation for individual ethical conduct and the structuring of communal life.

In Augustine’s reflections, particularly in The City of God, agape provides an ethical framework for political rule that contrasts sharply with classical or secular approaches. Where political authority is often measured by power, conquest, or efficiency, Augustine proposes that legitimacy should be assessed by the extent to which rulers imitate the selfless love of God. Political power, in this vision, is not a tool of self-aggrandizement or domination, but a vocation of stewardship oriented toward the common good. Leadership becomes a moral calling rather than a purely functional or instrumental endeavor. Agape thereby functions as both the ideal and the criterion of just political authority

What is the point of conservatism? Is conservatism only relevant for politics and partisanship? Is it only the neighborhood crank, the peevish uncle, or the lunatic on Facebook that has an interest in being a conservative? Or is being a conservative like being a traditionalist, resisting change for no better reason than, “we’ve always done it this way”?

In other words, can we think of any good reason to be a conservative other than politics, culture wars, or traditionalism?

Of course we can! When conservatism is only about tradition for tradition’s sake, maintaining the status quo, or fleeting partisan power mongering, it is repellent, not attractive; it is boorish, not classy; and it is misanthropic, not humanistic. In my recent book, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer, I attempt to lay out an alternative vision.

American conservatism is as old as the Republic, and that conservatism has always been far upstream of politics. Politics is important to conservatives, but cultivating the permanent things—the good, the true, and the beautiful—is of primary importance. Conservatism is a temperament, a disposition, an attitude that looks to conserve those things in humanity that make life worth living.

I also think of conservatism as aspirational. Conservatives do not value the permanent things like Aesop’s dog in the manger, or as a miser who stuffs a hoard of cash in the mattress. We seek the conservation of the permanent things for the sake of the freedom and flourishing of individuals, societies, and the nation. Aspirational conservatism aims for an ever-higher destiny for persons, guided by the best of American tradition, while always acknowledging human limitations, the inevitability of change, and the ubiquity of imperfection. In this way, conservatism was made for man, not man for conservatism.

In conversation one day with several college presidents, Nock laid down a number of stringent guidelines for running a college. One of the presidents, somewhat shocked, said, “Why Mr. Nock, if my college were to follow your advice we’d lose most of the faculty and all but about five of the students.” Nock pondered this for a moment, and then replied, “That would be just the right size for a college.” […]

Every society constructs its institutions in its own image, and thus we get the schools we deserve, the economy we deserve, and the churches we deserve. Albert Jay Nock did his graduate work in theology, and before he joined the staff of American Magazine in 1908 he had served Episcopal parishes in three states. In later life he wrote that “when Christianity became organized it immediately took on a political character radically affecting its institutional concept of religion and its institutional concept of morals; and the same tendencies observable in secular politics at once set in upon the politics of organized Christianity.” And just as schools offend against education, so churches offend against high religion.

Which is why we Baptists are disorganized.