The Conservatism of Lord Acton

Lord Acton’s ideas fits pretty well with Russell Kirk’s principles of conservatism:

• Liberty becomes a question of morals more than of politics. [Principle 1]
• Inequality: the Basis of society. We combined and put things in common to protect the weak against the strong. [Principle 2]
• By liberty I mean the assurance that every man shall be protected in doing what he believes is his duty against the influence of authority and majorities, custom and opinion. [Principle 3]
• Property, not conscience, is the basis of liberty. For the defence of conscience need not arise. Property is always exposed to interference. It is the constant object of policy. [Principle 4]
• Federalism is the best curb on democracy. [It] assigns limited powers to the central government. Thereby all power is limited. It excludes absolute power of the majority. [Principle 5]
• Universal History is ... not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul. [Principle 6]
• Progress, the religion of those who have none. [Principle 10]

Sources: Lord Acton Quote Archive and Notable quotations.