Quote #90

Only at first foes it seem paradoxical that the anti-internationalism of conservatism is so frequently associated with imperialism. But the more a person dislikes the strange and thinks his own ways superior, the more he tends to regard it as his mission to 'civilize' other - not by the voluntary and unhampered intercourse which the liberal favors, but by bringing them the blessings of efficient government. It is significant that here again we frequently find the conservatives joining hands with the socialists against the liberals...

More from Friedrich Hayek

  1. An aversion to nationalism is fully compatible with a deep attachment to national traditions. But the fact that I prefer and feel reverence…
  2. What I have described as the liberal position shares with conservatism a distrust of reason to the extent that the liberal is very much awa…
  3. Connected with the conservative distrust if the new and the strange is its hostility to internationalism and its proneness to a strident na…
  4. What distinguishes the liberal from the conservative here is that, however profound his own spiritual beliefs, he will never regard himself…
  5. Personally, I find that the most objectionable feature of the conservative attitude is its propensity to reject well-substantiated new know…
  6. In the United States, where it has become almost impossible to use 'liberal' in the sense in which I have used it, the term 'libertarian' h…
  7. Without preferring the new merely because it is new, the liberal is aware that it is of the essence of human achievement that it produces s…
  8. The more I learn about the evolution of ideas, the more I have become aware that I am simply an unrepentant Old Whig - with the stress on t…

All Friedrich Hayek quotes