--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Conservative supporters might either have…" description: "\"Conservative supporters might either have the courage of their convictions or, if truly ashamed, revise them, but they should at least refute the propo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/lionel-shriver-744_conservative_conservative-supporters-might-either-hav_3090645.jpg" --- # Conservative supporters might either have the courage of… ![“Conservative supporters might either have the courage of their convictions or, if truly ashamed, revise them, but they should at least refute the proposition that defending your own interests is only acceptable if you're broke.” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/lionel-shriver-744_conservative_conservative-supporters-might-either-hav_3090645.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/lionel-shriver-744_conservative_conservative-supporters-might-either-hav_3090645.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/lionel-shriver-744_conservative_conservative-supporters-might-either-hav_3090645.jpg) > “Conservative supporters might either have the courage of their convictions or, if truly ashamed, revise them, but they should at least refute the proposition that defending your own interests is only acceptable if you're broke.” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates must either stand firm in beliefs or admit fault, but should reject the notion that self‑interest is only justified when impoverished. **In simple terms:** Stand firm or admit fault; reject selfishness as poverty‑only. Key Takeaway Defend values honestly. Themes politics integrity self‑interest Mood reflective critical Type argumentative ethical When to use this quote - elections - public debates - personal decisions Key Concepts courage conviction revision self‑interest poverty Questions to Reflect On - Do you equate defending yourself with selfishness? - When is self‑interest moral? A Different Perspective People may conflate self‑interest with greed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) ## Related quotes > [Of all the observations I have made on the strike, none has brought forth so much heat and emotion as the stress and emphasis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/of-all-the-observations-i-have-made-on-the-strike-none-has-brought/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“I refute a god who would do such a thing to test people who have done their best to live according to his laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/i-refute-a-god-who-would-do-such-a-thing-to-test-people-who-have-done/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [Silence is one of the hardest kind of arguments to refute. There is no good substitute for wisdom; but silence is the best that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/silence-is-one-of-the-hardest-kind-of-arguments-to-refute-there-is-no/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [“And it’s not very easy to refute him. He is our skeptic; a very important office.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/and-it-s-not-very-easy-to-refute-him-he-is-our-skeptic-a-very/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Opponents fancy they refute us when they repeat their own opinion and pay no attention to ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/opponents-fancy-they-refute-us-when-they-repeat-their-own-opinion-and/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [We can refute assertions, but who can refute silence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/we-can-refute-assertions-but-who-can-refute-silence/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I'm quite comfortable now with being misunderstood. I don't really feel the need either to pander to it or to refute it. Just go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-m-quite-comfortable-now-with-being-misunderstood-i-don-t-really/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It takes one minute to tell a lie, and an hour to refute it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-takes-one-minute-to-tell-a-lie-and-an-hour-to-refute-it/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the best possible argument for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have-to-put-forth-the-best/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [“To refute him is to become contaminated with unreality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/to-refute-him-is-to-become-contaminated-with-unreality/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [ “refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the \[true\] knowledge of God; and I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/refute-arguments-and-theories-and-reasonings-and-every-proud-and/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“One cannot refute Christianity; one cannot refute a disease of the eye.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-cannot-refute-christianity-one-cannot-refute-a-disease-of-the-eye/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“There’s a technique we use in our local rationalist cluster called “Is That Your True Rejection?”, and it works like this: Before you stake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/there-s-a-technique-we-use-in-our-local-rationalist-cluster-called-is/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [Facts per se can neither prove nor refute anything. Everything is decided by the interpretation and explanation of the facts, by the ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/facts-per-se-can-neither-prove-nor-refute-anything-everything-is/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [ \[Art\] can speak its own language only as long as the images are alive which refuse and refute the established order. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/art-can-speak-its-own-language-only-as-long-as-the-images-are-alive/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. Younger and younger, kids are pressed to decide what they want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-idea-is-that-you-don-t-only-have-one-destiny-younger-and-younger/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Oddly, for a book to do well merely because people like it is surprisingly rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/oddly-for-a-book-to-do-well-merely-because-people-like-it-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [We speak often of 'destroying the planet' when what we mean is destroying its habitability for humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/we-speak-often-of-destroying-the-planet-when-what-we-mean-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [My agent had warned that, while a fine film would do my profile a world of good, a bad one wouldn't help me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/my-agent-had-warned-that-while-a-fine-film-would-do-my-profile-a/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I think that's the biggest favor you can grant anyone, don't you? Permission to be dull. I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) [Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## More Conservative quotes > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Progressive Conservative candidates from Quebec want to exert real power in Ottawa, not simply be content with playing a secondary role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/progressive-conservative-candidates-from-quebec-want-to-exert-real/) [Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/) > [Play small ball. Get back to basics. I would say that you need to be a conservative, but you need to maintain your independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-tantaros/play-small-ball-get-back-to-basics-i-would-say-that-you-need-to-be-a/) [Andrea Tantaros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-tantaros/) > [I am a conservative type of person, so sometimes when I'm chilling with myself, people always come ask me, 'What's wrong with you? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-wonder/i-am-a-conservative-type-of-person-so-sometimes-when-i-m-chilling/) [Wayne Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-wonder/) > [In the Tea Party era, it is the restless conservative Republican who has become passion's plaything, the toy of impetuous romance, an erotomania only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/in-the-tea-party-era-it-is-the-restless-conservative-republican-who/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I'm a principle liberty, rule-of-law Conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-toole/i-m-a-principle-liberty-rule-of-law-conservative/) [Erin O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-toole/) > [I would say I'm a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, if that contradiction can make sense, because in Bolivia, we have a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/i-would-say-i-m-a-fiscal-conservative-and-a-social-liberal-if-that/) [Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/) > [My dad's quite a conservative person, and he brought me up to be very questioning of the commercial world. He looked down on pop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-and-the-diamonds/my-dad-s-quite-a-conservative-person-and-he-brought-me-up-to-be-very/) [Marina and the Diamonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-and-the-diamonds/) > [To all conservative women out there: If you are so sure the embryo needed for stem cell research are precious human life that can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/to-all-conservative-women-out-there-if-you-are-so-sure-the-embryo/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [There are a lot of conservative people, a lot of moderate people, Republicans, Democrats, in Hollywood. It is just that the conservative people by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/there-are-a-lot-of-conservative-people-a-lot-of-moderate-people/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [“Those who consider themselves ‘Conservative’ frequently identify with family values, so they should consider carefully the fact that in 1960, only 18% of women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-befumo/those-who-consider-themselves-conservative-frequently-identify-with/) [Joseph Befumo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-befumo/) > [A faithfully kept program of savings and conservative investments can give you more money and a better life than that of your neighbors who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/a-faithfully-kept-program-of-savings-and-conservative-investments-can/) [Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [Conservative feminism is such an artificial term that doesn't mean much to me. For me conservatism means accepting reality. I acknowledge that there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-schroder/conservative-feminism-is-such-an-artificial-term-that-doesn-t-mean/) [Kristina Schroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristina-schroder/) [Browse all 2,995 Conservative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Conservative supporters might either have the courage of their convictions or, if truly ashamed, revise them, but they should at least refute the proposition that defending your own interests is only acceptable if you're broke.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lionel Shriver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/conservative-supporters-might-either-have-the-courage-of-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conservative" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/conservative-supporters-might-either-have-the-courage-of-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/lionel-shriver-744_conservative_conservative-supporters-might-either-hav_3090645.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/lionel-shriver-744_conservative_conservative-supporters-might-either-hav_3090645.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/lionel-shriver-744_conservative_conservative-supporters-might-either-hav_3090645.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Conservative supporters might either have the courage of their convictions or, if truly ashamed, revise…” — Lionel Shriver", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lionel Shriver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Conservative supporters might either have the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/conservative-supporters-might-either-have-the-courage-of-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/conservative-supporters-might-either-have-the-courage-of-their/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```