--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the basic philosophical tenets of…" description: "\"One of the basic philosophical tenets of conservatism - which says that the more power devolves from the federal government to the states, the greater ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/steve-erickson-9119_1960s_one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of_1530008.png" --- # One of the basic philosophical tenets of conservatism… ![“One of the basic philosophical tenets of conservatism - which says that the more power devolves from the federal government to the states, the greater individual freedom grows - is just flatly contradicted by crucial junctures in the country's life, most conspicuously in the 1860s and 1960s, when…” quote by Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/steve-erickson-9119_1960s_one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of_1530008.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/steve-erickson-9119_1960s_one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of_1530008.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/steve-erickson-9119_1960s_one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of_1530008.png) > “One of the basic philosophical tenets of conservatism - which says that the more power devolves from the federal government to the states, the greater individual freedom grows - is just flatly contradicted by crucial junctures in the country's life, most conspicuously in the 1860s and 1960s, when it's been the federal government that's interceded against the states to secure individual freedom.” [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The claim that shifting power to states always increases liberty is disproven by historic periods where federal action protected rights. **In simple terms:** State power doesn’t always equal freedom. Key Takeaway Check when central authority safeguards rights. Themes government freedom states federalism history Mood critical reflective Type political historical When to use this quote - Civil rights movement - Reconstruction era - modern healthcare policy - environmental regulation Key Concepts Federalism civil rights political theory Questions to Reflect On - When might central power be necessary? - How do we balance state autonomy with national rights? A Different Perspective Federal intervention can be essential for protecting minorities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1960s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) [Conservatism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/) [Conservatism Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism-says-3724277/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Crucial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crucial/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Federal government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/federal-government/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-grows-3098531/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-freedom/) [Juncture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/juncture/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Secure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secure/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Tenets Conservatism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenets-conservatism-5674474/) ## Related quotes > [There is such a thing as caste, even in the West; but it is comparatively faint; it is conservatism here. It says, forsake not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-is-such-a-thing-as-caste-even-in-the-west-but-it-is/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Aristocrats need not be rich, but they must be free, and in the modern world freedom grows rarer the more we prate about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/aristocrats-need-not-be-rich-but-they-must-be-free-and-in-the-modern/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Wherever it is resisted, slaver dies away and freedom grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-charles-carey/wherever-it-is-resisted-slaver-dies-away-and-freedom-grows/) [Henry Charles Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-charles-carey/) > [All things must come to pass as one, so hope should never die. There is no height or bloody might that a freeman can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-sands/all-things-must-come-to-pass-as-one-so-hope-should-never-die-there-is/) [Bobby Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-sands/) > [It became inescapable that as conservatives were wrong about people of color, they were also wrong about women. They were wrong about gay people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/it-became-inescapable-that-as-conservatives-were-wrong-about-people/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [At the critical juncture in all human relationships, there is only one question: What would love do now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/at-the-critical-juncture-in-all-human-relationships-there-is-only-one/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [To switch right into creativity usually takes a bit of time, and this came up right at that juncture where I thought, okay, here's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/to-switch-right-into-creativity-usually-takes-a-bit-of-time-and-this/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [At every juncture, advanced tools have been the key to a new wave of applications, and each wave of applications has been key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/at-every-juncture-advanced-tools-have-been-the-key-to-a-new-wave-of/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Not all Modern Orthodox Jews, at the present juncture, identify with what the Israeli government does. In Israel many religious Zionists strongly oppose the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lamm/not-all-modern-orthodox-jews-at-the-present-juncture-identify-with/) [Norman Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lamm/) > [Mosul stands rally at a sort of juncture of sectarian and ethnic differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/mosul-stands-rally-at-a-sort-of-juncture-of-sectarian-and-ethnic/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [I am honored to be able to serve GM at this critical juncture and take part in its reinvention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-whitacre-jr/i-am-honored-to-be-able-to-serve-gm-at-this-critical-juncture-and/) [Edward Whitacre, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-whitacre-jr/) > [Senator Obama will be taking office at a critical juncture. There are many pressing challenges facing the international community, including the global financial crisis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-clark/senator-obama-will-be-taking-office-at-a-critical-juncture-there-are/) [Helen Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-clark/) > [During the first half of the present century we had an Alexander von Humboldt, who was able to scan the scientific knowledge of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-von-helmholtz/during-the-first-half-of-the-present-century-we-had-an-alexander-von/) [Hermann von Helmholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-von-helmholtz/) > [All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/all-political-lives-unless-they-are-cut-off-in-midstream-at-a-happy/) [Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/) > [If your life's at a juncture and you need to think about things, there's nowhere better than home. However old you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/if-your-life-s-at-a-juncture-and-you-need-to-think-about-things-there/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) ## More by Steve Erickson > [If you're a smart writer, you listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/if-you-re-a-smart-writer-you-listen/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [To the extent that I've ever understood postmodernism - and I'm sure there are people out there who do, but I'm not one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/to-the-extent-that-i-ve-ever-understood-postmodernism-and-i-m-sure/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [I have members of my immediate family, and my wife's immediate family, who voted for Donald Trump, and now there's this gulf that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/i-have-members-of-my-immediate-family-and-my-wife-s-immediate-family/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [Before I begin a novel I have a strong sense of at least one central character and how the story begins, and a more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/before-i-begin-a-novel-i-have-a-strong-sense-of-at-least-one-central/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [I'm my own "ideal reader" in the sense that I write novels that I would want to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/i-m-my-own-ideal-reader-in-the-sense-that-i-write-novels-that-i-would/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [The material dictates the approach. I tell the stories in the way that feels natural to tell them. Certainly the last thing I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/the-material-dictates-the-approach-i-tell-the-stories-in-the-way-that/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [“Everyone, she says, is his own age of meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/everyone-she-says-is-his-own-age-of-meaning/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [“When the thing that emerged from the collision of sex and freedom, called love, collided with the thing that emerged from the collision of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/when-the-thing-that-emerged-from-the-collision-of-sex-and-freedom/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [While I do believe I become a technically better writer over time, in others ways writing gets harder because inspiration is finite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/while-i-do-believe-i-become-a-technically-better-writer-over-time-in/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [Obviously cheap sentimentality isn't something any good novelist wants to traffic in, but I think it's a problem if you consider it to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/obviously-cheap-sentimentality-isn-t-something-any-good-novelist/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [“The human heart commits its greatest treachery by healing. It commits its greatest treachery by surviving the love that was supposed to last forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/the-human-heart-commits-its-greatest-treachery-by-healing-it-commits/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [While a particularly deft sense of irony may be one of the tools of great storytellers, I think it's also true that if irony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/while-a-particularly-deft-sense-of-irony-may-be-one-of-the-tools-of/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [I believe novels can have secrets from their author, a notion I imagine would appall Nabokov.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/i-believe-novels-can-have-secrets-from-their-author-a-notion-i/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [“The Movies have always been here. The Movies were here before God. Time is round like a reel of film. God hates the Movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/the-movies-have-always-been-here-the-movies-were-here-before-god-time/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [When L.A.’s schizophrenia between Dreamland and Utopia was becoming socially manifest, the United States, which was always a place, went to war with America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/when-l-a-s-schizophrenia-between-dreamland-and-utopia-was-becoming/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) [Explore all 74 Steve Erickson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) ## More 1960s quotes > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [ \[In the 1960s\]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you-couldn-t-wear-a-pantsuit/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“A friend once told me a story about a former Black Panther leader in a Midwest community who in the 1960s had his phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/a-friend-once-told-me-a-story-about-a-former-black-panther-leader-in/) [Luis J. Rodríguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/under-the-system-that-we-now-have-to-nominate-presidential-candidates/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/my-son-bill-who-came-to-me-in-1960-he-was-14-then-quoted-the-old/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Much of the art of the 1960s, from body art to video and direct performance, was concerned with similar issues. And then there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/much-of-the-art-of-the-1960s-from-body-art-to-video-and-direct/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-went-through-college-in-the-1960s-without-having-any-idea-that-i/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“At the beginning of a decade when everything was beginning to seem possible, nothing seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/at-the-beginning-of-a-decade-when-everything-was-beginning-to-seem/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) [Browse all 486 1960s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the basic philosophical tenets of conservatism - which says that the more power devolves from the federal government to the states, the greater individual freedom grows - is just flatly contradicted by crucial junctures in the country's life, most conspicuously in the 1860s and 1960s, when it's been the federal government that's interceded against the states to secure individual freedom.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Erickson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of-conservatism-which-says-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1960s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of-conservatism-which-says-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/steve-erickson-9119_1960s_one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of_1530008.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/steve-erickson-9119_1960s_one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of_1530008.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/steve-erickson-9119_1960s_one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of_1530008.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the basic philosophical tenets of conservatism - which says that the more power devolves from the…” — Steve Erickson", "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": "Steve Erickson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the basic philosophical tenets...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of-conservatism-which-says-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/one-of-the-basic-philosophical-tenets-of-conservatism-which-says-that/#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 } } ] } ```