Moderate conservatism is a politically moderate version of conservatism that is less demanding than classical conservatism, and can be divided into several subtypes, such as liberal conservatism. The term is principally used in countries where the political camp is divided into liberals (meaning social liberals) on the left and conservatives on the right, rather than in countries whose political camps include social democrats on the left and their opponents on the right. For countries belonging to the former, moderate liberalism is sometimes contrasted with moderate conservatism.[1] The latter term can be applied to several countries, such as the United States, Poland,[2] South Korea,[3] and Japan.[4]
Overview
Moderate conservative is not often used in most parts of Europe, where social democracy or socialist parties have grown into major parties since the early 20th century, because moderate conservatives in many European countries are liberal conservatives or Christian democrats. Despite this, the term has historically been widely used in Europe, particularly in the mid-19th and earlier century, when liberal-to-radical politics, or classical radicalism, formed the mainstream left in Europe and conservatives were the right opposition. The moderate conservatives of this period were contrasted with the moderate liberals.[5] It is also used as a contrast to ultra-conservatism.[6]
The Kōchikai was a faction that represented moderate conservatives within the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party. Former prime minister Fumio Kishida was a member of the Kōchikai faction, and he is also a "moderate conservative".[4]Yomiuri Shimbun is a moderately conservative newspaper.[7]Yomiuri Shimbun places more emphasis on moderate pro-American diplomacy rather than hawkish Japanese nationalism.[8]
In the 20th century, liberal in South Korea had the opposite meaning of socialist or left-wing. Therefore, some historical liberals in South Korea were considered conservatives or moderate conservatives.[9]Ahn Cheol-soo was considered centrist reformist or centrist liberal (sometimes centre-left) in the early and mid 2010s but is now classified as centre-right and moderate conservative. Yoo Seung-min and Choung Byoung-gug are representative moderate conservatives.[10][11]JoongAng Ilbo, a South Korean media outlet, is considered moderate conservative.[3]
Sweden
The major traditional right-wing party in Sweden was initially called the Conservative Party and later the Rightist Party, before adopting the Moderate Party name in 1969 to shed its ultraconservative image and espouse more classical liberal politics.[12]
Nathaniel Copsey (2013). "Poland:An Awkward Partner Redeemed". In Simon Bulmer; Christian Lequesne (eds.). The Member States of the European Union (Second ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 191. ISBN9780199544837.
^"A Brain Scan Could Predict Political Leanings". Psychology Today. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023. While data from most of the tasks indicated political leanings toward more moderate conservatism or moderate liberalism, the researchers found that the reward task aligned with extreme political views (very liberal or very conservative) and the empathy task most significantly correlated with moderate ideology.
^Edmund Fawcett, ed. (2022). Conservatism: The Fight for a Tradition. Princeton University Press. p. 55. ISBN9780691233994. A blurring of conservative and liberal outlooks was noticed early on. Moderate conservatives, the German political observer Friedrich Bülau wrote in 1847, were not for no change, and moderate liberals did not call for total change.
^Daniel M. Kliman, ed. (2014). Fateful Transitions: How Democracies Manage Rising Powers, from the Eve of World War I to China's Ascendance. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 122. ISBN9780812290295. ... observers in Japan identified other obstacles to China's continued economic growth. Yomiuri Shimbun, a moderately conservative newspaper and ...
^Linus Hagstrom, ed. (2015). Identity Change and Foreign Policy: Japan and its 'Others'. Routledge. p. 101. ISBN9781317394860. It is particularly interesting to note that the more left-leaning Asahi Shimbun (333 articles) carried a higher number of articles and headlines than the conservative (but moderate and pro-American) Yomiuri Shimbun, and actually comes ...
^"신민당". Naver Knowledge Encyclopedia (in Korean). Doosan Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19 September 2021. 1967년의 제6대 대통령선거와 제7대 국회의원 총선거를 앞두고, 분열된 보수 야당세력을 통합하여 평화적 정권교체를 이룩할 목표로 1967년 2월 7일에 창당되었다. [Ahead of the sixth presidential election and the seventh general election of the National Assembly in 1967, it was founded on February 7, 1967, with the aim of achieving a peaceful regime change by integrating divided conservative opposition forces.]
^"Opinion: Will The Real Republicans Please Stand Up?". Yahoo!. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Anyone who didn't support the Florida Man, anyone who is a more moderate conservative, often gets tagged as a RINO — Republican in Name Only.
