Conservatism is a worldview that values tradition, belonging and place. Drawing on the writer David Goodhart, we may define it as a “somewhere” ideology. According to commentators from across the political spectrum, this ideology has a bleak future. The conservative journalist Ed West goes so far as to say that “conservatism is doomed”. I think West is wrong.
It may seem odd to talk about conservatism’s demise in today’s Britain. Arguably the most significant development our country has faced since the Second World War – Brexit – has been shaped in no small measure by conservative values. The Conservative party currently commands a large majority in parliament after more than a decade in power. And despite the challenges, errors and costs of the covid-19 pandemic, public support for the Tories has remained relatively stable, suggesting a solid social base. Meanwhile, the political left continues in its sorry state.
Yet West isn’t basing his argument on current electoral trends. He’s well aware that the Conservatives are on track for another decade in government. Rather, he thinks that conservatism will disappear because he agrees with Janan Ganesh, that politics is “downstream of culture”. Extant cultural trends, driven primarily by the universities, are leading us inexorably to a left-liberal, progressive destination, West maintains. That is why conservatism is doomed.