| Is it possible to be Liberal-Conservative? The Editor's Debate

Liberalism and conservatism seem to be philosophically opposed, but meet with certain marriages in politics. So, are they compatible or incompatible? Two members of our editorial team cross swords in our feature on current cleavages.

No. Conservatism and liberalism are irreducibly contradictory. For conservatism, a certain order (natural, moral or other) exists, superior to individual wills. Liberalism, on the other hand, proclaims the sovereignty of the individual will, so long as it does no harm to others. The association of free human wills in the form of a contract is of cardinal importance. Thus, when it comes to establishing a legal order, the liberal will tend to regard laws as just insofar as they are an expression of the general will. For the c