We live in tumultuous political times, marked by deep divisions. Both ends of the political spectrum have questioned whether liberal democracy and the Constitution still meet modern challenges. Recent horrifying flashes of political violence further the feelings of dread and fuel illiberal temptations. Yet American democracy is the only viable path forward. 

Conservatives, of all people, should know this and champion it. The values that have built this country do not belong to any party or faction; they belong to all of us, and we all suffer if we cast them aside in the hopes of some short-term political victory. Ultimately, any political victory gained at the expense of America’s liberal-democratic tradition is a Pyrrhic one, as it empowers the other side to employ the same means for different ends.

Conservatism has always cautioned against those who would tear down institutions, promising “golden ages” to come, but inviting only chaos and bloodshed. Edmund Burke, the father of modern conservatism, warned against violent rupture with the past and reminded us that society is “a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.” For Burke, the task of conservatives was to tend this inheritance, not to squander it. Our American inheritance is liberal democracy—imperfect, often frustrating, but the only political order that has delivered stability, freedom, and prosperity across generations.

Too many on the right have forgotten this. They speak contemptuously of norms and traditions. They express frustration with the rule of law and the separation of powers. Some romanticize strongmen abroad as they succumb to authoritarian temptations at home. They openly talk about the need to seize the power of the state, in response to crises, real and imagined, to destroy the left. This isn’t only not conservatism; it imperils all that we, on the political right, value.

Liberal democracy, by its nature, frustrates. It requires accepting lawful government by those we oppose and limiting our own power after electoral victories. American democracy makes further demands than parliamentary systems. Our government, with its separation of powers, bicameral Congress, staggered legislative terms, and federalism, slows the advancement of even popular, legitimate, and well-intentioned policies. After an election, the majority may have its hand on the wheel, but the minority retains access to the brakes.

Conservatives should appreciate the stability that this has provided. Contrary to the dystopian country some on the right see, the United States remains the world’s most innovative and dynamic economy, its leading military power, and its most church-going developed country. That’s due in large part to the extraordinary foresight of the Founders.

Conservatives in America have not just managed decline, but have made real advances over the decades—ones that would have been beyond the imaginations of our mid-century conservative forebears. Working through our system, American conservatives helped defeat communism abroad, deregulated and liberalized markets, transformed the judiciary, reversed and arrested appalling social trends, and changed the terms of a host of policy debates.

Granted, American democracy does not promise a conservative utopia, but that’s better than the empty promises offered by the post-liberal right, which implausibly promises to remake our diverse and vibrant democracy through the strong hand of the state. Post-liberals argue, loudly and more influentially than ever, that America’s liberal strictures have outgrown their usefulness, and that it’s time for those on the right to apply the power of the state to advance their own ends. 

Our democracy has not failed conservatives; it has allowed conservative ideas—of family, faith, markets, and community—to thrive. But that flourishing depends on certain fundamentals now at grave risk. Free enterprise cannot exist without the rule of law. Religious life cannot flourish when the state punishes disfavored expression. Tradition cannot endure when the government assaults and co-opts civil society.

Illiberal populists do not preserve traditions; they shatter them. They do not protect religious institutions; they subjugate them. They do not conserve markets; they corrupt them. Demagogues may speak in the language of conservatism, but they destroy its soul by substituting their whims for liberty and law.

The conservative task is to persuade, to build, to conserve—through free debate and limited government. This process will never deliver all our dreams, but it protects all we cherish, while the victories it does yield will more likely endure than those imposed by brute force after narrow electoral victories. 

Conservatism is not, ultimately, about any policy end; it is about preserving the conditions for ordered liberty and human flourishing. If conservatives forsake constitutional constraints, we squander a critical portion of our inheritance and expose the remainder to devastation. Empowering a leader you admire today with unchecked power leaves your children defenseless against one you fear tomorrow. 

Conservatives must reject illiberal temptations and return to our own tradition, one that honors inheritance, prudence, and the hard work of persuasion. If we wish to conserve anything worth handing to future generations, we must begin by conserving liberal democracy itself.