Conservative Principles

A list of centrist principles ought to look like a list of conservative or liberal principles - or so I thought as I Googled today. It appears that conservatives have their framework much more clearly thought out than liberals.

Russell Kirk wins the prize for conciseness and clarity here:

http://www.kirkcenter.org/kirk/ten-principles.html

I've summarized them below, but the thinking is pretty clear - not that I agree with all of the points, nor do I find the principles addressing everything they should.

First, the conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order.

Second, the conservative adheres to custom, convention, and continuity.

Third, conservatives believe in what may be called the principle of prescription.

Fourth, conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence.

Fifth, conservatives pay attention to the principle of variety.

Sixth, conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability.

Seventh, conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked.

Eighth, conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism.

Ninth, the conservative perceives the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions.

Tenth, the thinking conservative understands that permanence and change must be recognized and reconciled in a vigorous society.

Other principles of equal importance might have been discussed here: the conservative understanding of justice, for one, or the conservative view of education.

So far I haven't found a liberal equivalent coming from a thinker of Russell Kirk's stature.