Tradition

Reactionary

Overview

In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a restoration of a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary society. As a descriptor term, reactionary derives from the ideological context of the left–right political spectrum. As an adjective, the word reactionary describes points of view and policies meant to restore a status quo ante. As an ideology, reactionism is a tradition in right-wing politics; the reactionary stance opposes policies for the social transformation of society, whereas conservatives seek to preserve the socio-economic structure and order that exists in the present. A conservative might turn reactionary, when prioritizing older traditions over recently accepted ones. In popular usage, reactionary refers to a strong traditionalist conservative political perspective of a person opposed to social, political, or economic change. In the 20th century, reactionary politics was associated with restoring values such as discipline, hierarchy and respect for authority and privilege.

Reactionary ideologies can be radical in the sense of political extremism in service to re-establishing past conditions. To some writers, the term reactionary carries negative connotations—Peter King observed that it is "an unsought-for label, used as a torment rather than a badge of honor." Despite this, the descriptor "political reactionary" has been adopted by writers such as the Austrian monarchist Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, the Scottish journalist Gerald Warner of Craigenmaddie, the Colombian political theologian Nicolás Gómez Dávila, and the American historian John Lukacs.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

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It was a sweet finish after the bitter pills of floggings and bullets with which these same governments, just at that time, dosed the German working-class risings. While this “True” Socialism thus served the governments as a weapon for fighting the German bourgeoisie, it, at the same time, directly represented a reactionary interest, the interest of the German Philistines. In Germany the _petty bourgeois_ class, a…
Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto
The chapter “1. REACTIONARY SOCIALISM” is titled for Reactionary; names Reactionary.
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This Assembly has hardly a year's prescription. We have their own word for it that they have made a revolution. To make a revolution is a measure which, _primâ fronte_, requires an apology. To make a revolution is to subvert the ancient state of our country; and no common reasons are called for to justify so violent a proceeding. The sense of mankind authorizes us to examine into the mode of acquiring new power, and…
Edmund Burke, The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 03
States what Reactionary is; the author is tied to Reactionary in the knowledge graph.
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An indolent and submissive disposition; a disposition to think charitably of all the actions of men in power, and to live in a mutual intercourse of favours with them; an inclination rather to countenance a strong use of authority, than to bear any sort of licentiousness on the part of the people; these are unfavourable qualities in an open election for members of parliament. The instinct which carries the people…
Edmund Burke, Selections from the Speeches and Writings of Edmund Burke
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Reactionary

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