Re-reading my recently posted links on Liberalism and Conservatism, I'm again struck by the fact that if you exclude the wing-nuts from both (say, Abbie Hoffman (look it up) and Sen. Joseph McCarthy), the two "tendencies" (for lack of a better word) do not really contradict each other but are more a difference of emphasis.
The conservative in me DOES believe in "an organic conception of society—that is, on the belief that society is not merely a loose collection of individuals but a living organism comprising closely connected, interdependent members."
However, the liberal in me believes that "the powers of government can promote as well as protect the freedom of the individual. According to modern liberalism, the chief task of government is to remove obstacles that prevent individuals from living freely or from fully realizing their potential. Such obstacles include poverty, disease, discrimination, and ignorance. "
Like the conservative, I believe in incremental change of institutions (such as markets and governments) that incarnate "the wisdom of crowds" over time over up-ending society to implement some neat idea someone read in a book.
Like the liberal, I can suspend that belief if it becomes apparent that such claims are being used as an excuse to preserve one's inherited position in society by fighting any change to the status quo whatsoever.
