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Value conservatism is apolitical philosophy and a variety ofconservatism that emphasises the permanence of alleged or actualvalues of asociety which it wants to preserve or restore. It stands in contrast to structural conservatism andsocial conservatism.
The German term for value conservatism, "Wertkonservatismus", was first coined in 1975 bySocial Democratic politicianErhard Eppler in his bookEnde oder Wende ("End or Turn"). He described policies that were intended to preserve nature, the human community and thedignity of the individual as value conservative.[1] He applied this description to theenvironmental andpeace movements of the 1970s.[2][3] Eppler concluded that this form of conservatism desired to uprootpower structures in order to conserve specific values.[2]
Eppler attacked theconservative camp in Germany as "structurally conservative", being more interested in preserving their own power structures. He negatively connoted the term of "structural conservative", accusing the conservatives of clinging onto established structures and being hostile to modernisation.[4] Eppler further concluded that "structural conservatives" wished to "conserve privileges, positions of power, and their rule."[1] Conservatives of other strands usually reject the accusation of "Structural conservatism".[5]
In the 1970s, the term was used by Social Democratic politicians in Germany, among others by then-chancellorHelmut Schmidt. TheGreen Party, which stood forecological preservation, also claimed the term for themselves.[6]
More recently, the Minister President ofBaden-Württemberg,Winfried Kretschmann of the Green Party, used the term of value conservatism in a 2018 book, describing it as a force that could, primarily, preserve the "natural foundations of life", especially by fightingclimate change, and that, secondarily, would preserve anopen society. He citedErinnerungskultur, theprotection of minorities andEuropean integration as cornerstones of that open society. Value conservatism, according to Kretschmann, thus stands in opposition to social conservatism and theilliberalconservative revolution.[7]
Some factions within theChristian Democratic Union also call themselves value conservative, such as theEinsteinconnection [de].[8]
