--- title: "3 Conservatism Quotes By William F. Buckley, Jr" description: "3 Conservatism quotes by William F. Buckley, Jr. Plus more from William F. Buckley, Jr and more Conservatism sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/william-f-buckley-jr-3870_conservatism_conservatism-is-the-politics-of-reality_623650.png" --- > [Conservatism is the politics of reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/conservatism-is-the-politics-of-reality/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/william-f-buckley-jr-3870_conservatism_conservatism-is-the-politics-of-reality_623650.png) > [I've always believed that conservatism is the politics of reality, and that reality ultimately asserts itself in a reasonably free society, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/i-ve-always-believed-that-conservatism-is-the-politics-of-reality-and/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/william-f-buckley-jr-3870_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-conservatism-i_973358.png) > [Conservatism is the tacit acknowledgement that all that is finally important in human experience is behind us; that the crucial explorations have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/conservatism-is-the-tacit-acknowledgement-that-all-that-is-finally/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d8/william-f-buckley-jr-3870_acknowledgement_conservatism-is-the-tacit-acknowledgemen_1316631.jpg) ## Other authors on Conservatism - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-rush-limbaugh-81741.jpg) Rush Limbaugh 18 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/rush-limbaugh/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-russell-kirk-81789.jpg) Russell Kirk 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/russell-kirk/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-marco-rubio-63267.jpg) Marco Rubio 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/marco-rubio/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-barry-goldwater-16509.jpg) Barry Goldwater 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/barry-goldwater/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-thomas-frank-90337.jpg) Thomas Frank 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/thomas-frank/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-shelby-steele-84811.jpg) Shelby Steele 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/shelby-steele/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-ronald-reagan-81107.jpg) Ronald Reagan 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/ronald-reagan/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-roger-scruton-80738.jpg) Roger Scruton 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/roger-scruton/) - [Ralph Waldo Emerson 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/ralph-waldo-emerson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-rick-perlstein-79067.jpg) Rick Perlstein 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/rick-perlstein/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-friedrich-august-von-hayek-36338.jpg) Friedrich August von Hayek 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) ## More by William F. Buckley, Jr > [Louis Kelso of San Francisco, a lawyer-economist, has for years felt that he has a radical answer to the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/louis-kelso-of-san-francisco-a-lawyer-economist-has-for-years-felt/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [As a businessman, Frank Lorenzo gives capitalism a bad name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/as-a-businessman-frank-lorenzo-gives-capitalism-a-bad-name/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [The Beatles are not merely awful. I would consider it sacrilegious to say anything less than that they are godawful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/the-beatles-are-not-merely-awful-i-would-consider-it-sacrilegious-to/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [What yells out at the US public . . . is the incandescent hypocrisy of so many people who, in the name of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/what-yells-out-at-the-us-public-is-the-incandescent-hypocrisy-of-so/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Those who suffer from the abuse of drugs have themselves to blame for it. This does not mean that society is absolved from active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/those-who-suffer-from-the-abuse-of-drugs-have-themselves-to-blame-for/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Industry is the enemy of melancholy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/industry-is-the-enemy-of-melancholy/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/the-best-defense-against-usurpatory-government-is-an-assertive/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Knee-jerk liberals and all the certified saints of sanctified humanism are quick to condemn this great and much-maligned Transylvanian statesman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/knee-jerk-liberals-and-all-the-certified-saints-of-sanctified/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [We love your adherence to democratic principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/we-love-your-adherence-to-democratic-principles/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Only government can cause inflation, preserve monopoly, and punish enterprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/only-government-can-cause-inflation-preserve-monopoly-and-punish/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [The principal sponsors of the terrorists are not religious fanatics. "Palestine's Yasser Arafat, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, and Syria's Assad family have made themselves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/the-principal-sponsors-of-the-terrorists-are-not-religious-fanatics/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Marijuana is not much more difficult to obtain than beer. The reason for this is that a liquor store selling beer to a minor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/marijuana-is-not-much-more-difficult-to-obtain-than-beer-the-reason/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Not everything that is legal is reputable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/not-everything-that-is-legal-is-reputable/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed - different plans have to be made. And the kernel here is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/one-can-t-doubt-that-the-american-objective-in-iraq-has-failed/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [If you had a European prime minister who experienced what we've experienced it would be expected that he would retire or resign,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/if-you-had-a-european-prime-minister-who-experienced-what-we-ve/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/william-f-buckley-jr/#itemlist", "name": "3 Conservatism Quotes By William F. Buckley, Jr", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Conservatism is the politics of reality", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William F. 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