Items filtered by date: Friday, 04 February 2011

For grins, I went to Webster's 1828 dictionary to look up the words liberalism and conservatism after writing recent Word For Thought articles about them.  His 1828 dictionary is much more reflective of Webster's Christian character than modern dictionaries that carry his name.  I found these insights (the emphasis is mine):

Liberal (Liberalism was not present)

Previously in the Words For Thought series we examined the word "liberalism".  Now let's take a look at conservatism.  Here is what Merriam-Webster has to say about it:

Conservatism

1 capitalized a : the principles and policies of a Conservative party    b : the Conservative party 2 a : disposition in politics to preserve what is established    b : a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change; specifically : such a philosophy calling for lower taxes, limited government regulation of business and investing, a strong national defense, and individual financial responsibility for personal needs (as retirement income or health-care coverage) 3 : the tendency to prefer an existing or traditional situation to change