Economic Conservatism in Theory and Practice

Abstract

This article investigates the major characteristics and principles of economic conservatism with an analysis of the ideas of medieval and later religious scholars in the Christian and the Muslim world, mercantilism as an economic currency of thought, and the advocacies and the campaigns of the conservative political movements and thinkers in the economic sphere to the early 20th century. It is argued in the article that these actors and phenomena have contributed to the formation of a conservative view to economy which cast itself in form of support for extensive state involvement in the economy, development of national economies, public welfare, social state, taxation of the wealth, favourable trade balance, distributive justice, agrarianism; and opposition to monopolization, black-marketing, speculation, interest, usury, luxury, indulgence, acquisition of wealth without moral concern. Particularly in the US example from 19th century onwards, reaction to capitalism was the most important second characteristic of economic conservatism after the support for an economically active state for capitalism was deemed to suffer from a substantial moral gap that threatened the social foundations of the country.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n3p11