Conservatism: An Invitation to the Great Tradition

Scruton argues that conservatism is not fundamentally about free markets, small government, or economic liberty. It is instead an inheritance—a 'great tradition' of laws, institutions, customs, and high culture passed down through generations, which conservatives seek to conserve and transmit. He explicitly rejects the reduction of conservatism to a program of economic freedom, insisting that the conservative agenda concerns 'our whole way of being, as heirs to a great civilisation.' The book also rejects the liberal view that freedom is a set of abstract axioms rather than an evolving, shared culture rooted in tacit conventions.

The Meaning of Conservatism (1980) was a systematic, confrontational philosophical treatise that explicitly attacked social justice and equality of station. Conservatism: An Invitation to the Great Tradition (2017) is a brief, accessible survey and invitation rather than a polemic—a 'vade mecum' that traces the historical development of conservative thought from Aristotle and Hume through Burke to Reagan and Thatcher. While the earlier book defined conservatism against its philosophical rivals, this later work presents it as a welcoming tradition, 'part historical survey, part conjuring with the major social-political challenges of our time.'

Scruton presents Burke as the figure in whom conservatism received its first full articulation. Burke's distinctive contributions, in Scruton's reading, include the priority of the 'we' over the 'I,' the salience of custom and tradition as forms of knowledge that reason cannot convey, the importance of 'little platoons'—private organizations that bind individuals to society—and the argument that abstract reason and individualism lead to despotism and violence, as evidenced by the French Revolution. Scruton traces modern conservatism's philosophical roots to Burke while also acknowledging earlier sources like Hobbes, Locke, and Hume.

Reviews at the time praised it as 'one of the most eloquent and even moving evocations of the conservative tradition' and 'a masterpiece of concision.' Publishers Weekly noted one notable absence: the book barely mentions Donald Trump, a striking omission for a 2017 survey of conservatism. This gap has become more significant in hindsight, as the populist turn in Western politics raised questions Scruton's framework of a 'great tradition' was not designed to answer. The book remains valuable as a statement of traditionalist conservatism, but its silence on populism is now a recognized limitation.

The misconception Scruton most directly challenges is that conservatism is essentially an economic doctrine—a defense of free markets, low taxes, and limited government. He argues that while economic freedom matters, it is not the core. The conservative's primary loyalty is to a particular social order, its inherited institutions, and the shared way of life that binds a community together. Scruton also corrects the view that conservatism is inherently religious or reactionary, positioning it instead as a skeptical, empirical disposition that conserves what works while remaining open to gradual change.

Scruton traces a historical evolution in conservatism's self-definition through opposition. Modern conservatism began as a defense of tradition against calls for popular sovereignty, then became an appeal on behalf of religion and high culture against materialist progress, before joining forces with classical liberals in the fight against socialism. In its most recent phase, Scruton argues, conservatism has become the champion of Western civilization against political correctness and religious extremism. He notes that twentieth-century totalitarian regimes brought conservatism and liberalism closer together, since both defended freedom of speech and expression.