Thread by @Principles_1st

We’re excited to announce a new #PrinciplesFirst project: The Pillars.

We’ve outlined our principles, but we didn’t pull them from thin air. They are rooted in a rich history of ideas that dates back hundreds of years. This project will survey that history over the coming weeks.

We start with one of the earliest thinkers: Sir Edmund Burke (1729-1797). Burke is widely regarded as the father of conservatism, which he grounded in humility & respect for the past. He celebrated the wisdom of order & tradition & warned against populist demagogues.

Burke opposed state-centric views of proper governance in favor of gradualism, organic order, and age-tested institutions. The practical fruits of human experience led him to preach the value of habit, instinct, custom, and faith.

Yuval Levin recently suggested that American conservatism “has lost the more Burkean liberalism that says, ‘This kind of society is an achievement of civilization, & its perpetuation requires a conservative disposition, gradual improvement, & an appreciation of our traditions.’”

Burke’s conservatism is sometimes regarded as being in tension with the philosophical arguments of Enlightenment thinkers like Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau, which heavily influenced America’s founding. Yet, some of his ideas can still resonate today.

Respecting our past is an important step towards building our future. Without understanding why and how things came to be, we can’t begin to change them for the better.

Stay tuned for other thinkers that built on Burke, contradicted him, & made conservatism what it is today.

Part 2 | Today, we continue The Pillars project with an Enlightenment era thinker whose ideas about limited government, natural rights, and the social contract forever weakened the concept of monarchy.

The father of classical liberalism: JOHN LOCKE (1632–1704).

Inspired by the Glorious Revolution in England, Locke penned his Second Treatise on Civil Government in 1690 to attempt a coherent theory for the legitimacy of government’s power over citizens.

The logic of his argument later formed the basis of our Declaration of Independence.

His core thesis was that government was instituted among a naturally warring mankind out of necessity, but only for the discrete purposes of protecting the life, liberty, and property of its subjects. Without their consent, government lost its legitimacy & men became slaves.

The idea was truly groundbreaking for its time—a landmark intellectual development that highlighted the tectonic shift in humanity’s perspective towards democratic individualism from its complete servility to monarchy just a single century prior.

To Locke, natural rights weren’t contingent on royalty or wealth. They were assets of every man, from the prince to the peasant. His ideas gave new reason for limiting the power of government. There were some things beyond the authority of even the most powerful of earthly kings.

The classical liberalism that Locke fathered is often seen as foundational to the American experiment as a whole, and not uniquely conservative. Yet, many conservatives believe they are conserving Locke’s vision: individualism, limited government, and the natural rights of man.

After Locke, individual freedom was seen not just as a byproduct of good governance, but as a birthright from God. His ideas remind us of gov’t’s limited purpose: to protect these rights, to shield man from harming himself, & to enhance man’s freedom.

More to come. #ThePillars

Part 3 | As the Industrial Revolution transformed Europe over the latter half of the 18th century, a young Scottish philosopher attempted to explain what he was seeing.

In doing so, he revolutionized the discipline of economics. His name was ADAM SMITH (1723-1790).

Adam Smith penned The Wealth of Nations in 1776, the same year that the colonies would declare their independence from Britain.

Smith’s work developed concepts foundational to free-market capitalism: the division of labor, comparative advantage, free trade, & the invisible hand.

Smith rejected protective mercantilism—the theory that national wealth was a matter of restricting imports to maximize specie. He believed tariffs served only to line the pockets of the well-connected & protect them from competition.

Instead, Smith championed free trade.

His work also presented a firm theoretical defense of an emergent, organic order built on the individual choices that people in a society make every day—a force he famously dubbed the “invisible hand.”

His ideas remind us of the inherent wisdom of markets as a tool for social ordering and that free individuals pursuing happiness can serve the collective interest.

The concept of emergent order continues to explain modern conservatives’ faith in markets today. #ThePillars

Part 4 | As Enlightenment thinkers were articulating a new purpose for government, an English judge set about to firm up the laws that bound society together.

His name was SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE (1723-1780).

Blackstone is best known for his Commentaries on the Laws of England, which codified the English common law. This made it easier for society to understand & study law.

American law was shaped by Blackstone’s ideas, which included impartiality, fixed rules, & absolute rights.

One of Blackstone’s most well-known contributions was his own statement of the principle that “it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.”

If innocence was made to suffer unjustly, he reasoned, there would be no incentive for virtue.

Blackstone’s efforts imbued the rule of law with legitimacy & helped turn it into a practical reality. For the first time, law was an accessible tool with which people could protect property & vindicate their rights—a central pillar of a more productive, just society. #ThePillars

Part 5 | With the rise of democracy came fresh concerns about majority rule—freedom was no less at risk from a newly empowered many, than from a hereditary few. Populism threatened free discourse.

JOHN STUART MILL (1806-1873) staunchly defended freedom of speech & conscience.

Though himself an opponent of Burkean conservatism, Mill published On Liberty in 1859, rejecting the coercion of public opinion.

Mill valued truth & thought a “marketplace of ideas” free of censorship & open to even the worst opinions would bring society closest to truth.

If everyone was permitted to weigh in and zealously defend their opinions, Mill reasoned, the public would naturally elevate more convincing arguments and discard faulty ones.

Yet, this freedom came with a consequent duty of citizenship—the duty to speak up.

Mill believed firmly in civic duty. He thought that “bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”

A free marketplace, even to Mill, wasn’t enough to arrive at truth. It took healthy civic engagement.

Even though Mill was a liberal, his ideas continue to influence the anti-majoritarian principles of freedom of discourse & conscience that once animated conservatism.

From social media to campuses to church pews, Mill challenges us all to reject censorship & engage. #ThePillars

Part 6 | During the Enlightenment, many thinkers began to consider how democratic government should be designed to avoid the twin evils of monarchy & pure populism.

A French judge & scholar of letters named MONTESQUIEU (1689-1755) led the way & developed the separation of power.

Montesquieu believed in republican forms of government & opposed monarchy. His seminal work, The Spirit of the Law, explained the theory & benefits of self-government.

According to Montesquieu, human nature required that power be separated & not reposed in one person.

Montesquieu also conceived of the three branches we have today: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. If any single branch became too powerful or overstepped its boundaries, liberty would be threatened.

Montesquieu teaches that the separation of powers isn’t some trivial concept, but a tangible protection of liberty. Today, Congress delegates its power out of cowardice & the executive flouts constraints. As conservatives—& Americans—we should remember Montesquieu. #ThePillars