What Did Conservatives Conserve Before 1955?

‘What have conservatives conserved?” The now-familiar taunt from right-wing populists aimed at the conservative movement should always be met with Thomas Sowell’s eternal question: “Compared to what?”

Looking back on the past 70 years of National Review and its movement, we see battles won, wars lost, no permanent victories, and few permanent defeats. For conservatives already inclined to cultural pessimism, it can be easy to grow jaded or dispirited. But compared to what? To populism untethered to permanent things? To no organized resistance at all? One possible point of comparison suggests itself: How did the 70 years preceding NR go for conservatives? How much was lost, and how much was gained, between 1885 and 1955?

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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‘What have conservatives conserved?” The now-familiar taunt from right-wing populists aimed at the conservative movement should always be met with Thomas Sowell’s eternal question: “Compared to what?”

Looking back on the past 70 years of National Review and its movement, we see battles won, wars lost, no permanent victories, and few permanent defeats. For conservatives already inclined to cultural pessimism, it can be easy to grow jaded or dispirited. But compared to what? To populism untethered to permanent things? To no organized resistance at all? One possible point of comparison suggests itself: How did the 70 years preceding NR go for conservatives? How much was lost, and how much was gained, between 1885 and 1955?