Hungarian Conservative

‘Hungary is the tell-tale sign that legal norms and moral niceties have fallen prey to corrosive ideologies, but other would-be leaders who attended CPAC this year and were inspired by its statesmanlike example should not be fooled. If they win, they are next.’

Law professor and legal philosopher Jenő Szmodis appeared on the Glóbusz podcast hosted by Jonatán Nagy-Bato, where they discussed the changing concepts of humanity over the course of history, alternating between individualistic and community-centred ideas.

‘Before the term “liberal” became ideological, it referred to much more general, non-political characteristics: open-mindedness, generosity, and the like…Liberalism, however, marked the triumphant beginnings of modernity, which aimed to create a political morality called “the conception of rational choice as the generator of political order”.’

‘The lessons from Molnar’s book about Bernanos remain fresh today. The “fascist temptation” has not disappeared, but only appears in new forms…Bernanos’s prophecy is interesting because there are still today, and probably always will be, movements that call for a radical break with the past, and announce a return to the “pure source”, with the creation of an imagined future order or return to a past order and hierarchy that has not yet been corrupted.’

‘The question I am left with about Hazony’s rediscovered conservatism is whether it is a conservatism that is, or could be, rediscovered, or is it a conservatism that has never existed. And, even if it did exist at one time, could it ever exist in current circumstances, in which we live in a far more open type of society than Hazony envisages? If this latter is not the case, then as one who values aspects of our openness and indeed our rationality more than Hazony appears to, I have to conclude that, for all its merits and passion, Hazony’s book offers us no more than a dream.’

‘In the modern, global-technological civilization based on the parallel structures of technical rationality, the idea of ​​freedom still arises as an “abstract freedom” that is allegedly “the same for everyone”. But, regarding recent facts and conditions, this concept of freedom has lost all realistic content. Following the example of the idea of ​​philosophical atomism, the human individual is still imagined as an atom, and from this social atomism it also follows that the modern individual is no longer an organ of a transcendental reality, but rather the social “whole” is derived from this collective of individuals.’

‘The international reorganization resulting from the changed role and situation of the United States will not be without consequence for Europe. At the same time, due to political and cultural challenges, there are at least serious questions regarding the future prospects of the transatlantic model we are familiar with today…’

‘The Russia-Ukraine War clearly intimates an emerging multipolar order. States, and not just those in the Indo-Pacific, look around the world and discern that they have options…We are truly in a New World Order. Just not the one that its “end of history” architects originally envisaged.’

Peter Szijjártó emphasized during the event held at the Millenáris Park that the current leadership of the European Union, the liberals, have caused significant damage to Europe with their misguided sanction policies and by reinforcing and promoting a war psychosis, affecting the daily lives of European citizens.

‘The phenomenon of the conservative revolution was partly a consequence of the collapse of the German state (formed in the 19th century by Bismarckian ‘state-building) after the First World War, and was born out of its internal and external crisis, its defeat in the war. In the broader context of ideological and political history, however, the conservative revolution, albeit a cataclysmic one, cannot be seen as the consequence of a single political event.’

‘First, cannabis was licensed for medical use, then legalization became more widespread. It is the typical slippery slope. In fact, there are doors that, once opened, cannot be closed. Society-shaping (disruptive) philanthropists like George Soros, who have been at the forefront of making drug use easier for decades, know this all too well.’

‘Today, we are faced with the fact that in our pluralistic societies, it seems to pose an insurmountable challenge to agree on a generally accepted moral standard, with values that provide common foundations.’

‘Many Christians who hold modernity culpable for the demise of the church and dispersion of the Christian flock join forces with political conservatism, seeing in it their natural political ally and representative, while conservative politicians look upon these groups—and many of their institutional leaders, bishops, evangelists, theologians—as reliable, strong, and loyal supporters.’

Whatever the original plan or idea behind promoting, supporting, and organizing uncontrolled migration to Europe (and to the United States) was, social engineering has miserably failed again just as in the case of communism. For once again it failed to take into account nothing less than human nature.

In Scruton’s philosophy…the social practice of legislation and jurisdiction could not be realized outside the national framework, because—regardless to their origins—the interpretation and the enforcement of the set of legal rules and moral duties, even human rights, are bound to nation states…

‘Only the West killed God, and they did it twice for good measure: once on the cross, and more recently via the Enlightenment project to transform the world through progress, secularism, and science, rendering religion either rational or irrelevant.’

Generation Z women and men are becoming increasingly different in terms of political preferences. The continuation of this global trend, in which LGBTQ and gender ideology plays a significant role, could have serious consequences.

Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes, or dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants, is a phrase first used by the twelfth-century French philosopher Bernard de Chartres. It has been chosen as the motto of the Barna Horváth Hungary Law and Liberty Circle, calling for a balance between healthy ambition and intellectual humility and respect for previous generations.

Rarely has a single year carried such profound implications for global security and the future as the one that lies ahead. With conflicts erupting across the globe, the foundations of the international order are being relentlessly tested. Compounding
these challenges, 2024 is marked by the impending presidential elections in two formidable and opposing powers, the United States and Russia. Similar gravity can be attributed to the European Parliament elections scheduled for the same year, where a realistic opportunity exists for the reinforcement of right-leaning forces.

‘The term “liberal” was undoubtedly originally associated with the aristocratic spirit of freedom and generosity (in Latin: liberalitas), which, recognizing a natural hierarchy among individual beings, finds diversity welcome and does not desire to make things equal in all circumstances. Since many of the theoreticians of liberalism did not take this principle into account, it can be derived that most liberals strongly oppose the principle of authority.’

‘It is one of history’s great ironies that Budapest, from which hundreds of thousands of European Jews were shipped to their deaths by the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators, Jews can walk the streets this dreadful autumn without fear. This is an achievement for which Hungarians can and should be proud. Don’t expect European leaders to give Orbán credit. In fact, they will probably increase their public odium directed at him.’

It takes courage to see which situations and expectations the conservative should reject. And it takes courage to say ‘no’. The dilemma of when courage is appropriate and when moderation is needed is not logically insolvable. In the words of Winston Churchill: ‘It is better to be both right and consistent. But if you have to choose—you must choose to be right.’

Count István Tisza is still blamed by liberal and left-wing historiographers for Hungary entering WWI, despite clear evidence of his anti-war stance. It is rather anachronistic to hold Tisza to democratic standards that did not exist at the time and with the wisdom of hindsight: the knowledge of how the war ended.

Hyper-democracy is already here, it will grow stronger, and we are only starting to understand its profound effects. Some of them will be detrimental, others will open up new opportunities. This might appear overwhelming and unprecedented to some, but in truth, that was the case with all great technological or political upheavals…

The lack of humility, modesty, the lack of deference to one’s superiors, the lack of discipline and respect are the main causes of most of the political and sociological problems of modernity. After all, according to the blind believers of progress, sailing never ends. However, according to conservatives, there is no such thing as an island of Utopia. Their problem in politics is not the search for an island that doesn’t exist, but: ‘[h]ow to get the disgruntled crew to help keep the ship of the state afloat, to keep it from capsizing and being shipwrecked?’

‘Liberalism demands we remain open to hearing differences of opinions and the ability to mediate them through democratic institutions. Openness, however, does not equate to acceptance, especially if the opinions are incompatible with the truths of the natural law, as John Locke had forewarned.’

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the work is that its author is brave enough to challenge completely the established thinking and vision that takes historical progress and the associated rise of liberalism for granted.

Despite the left-wing’s denunciation of Orbán as a despot because of his censorship, or for that matter that of Abdullah II, the one-sided free speech absolutism that is being promoted by the same left is nothing more than a capitulation to moral nihilism, a reason why Facebook has been removing Hungarian conservatives from its platform.

Gerő sees classical liberalism as the idea of a constitutionally limited state and individual liberties, based on natural law. According to Gerő, classical liberalism professes the principles of government being accountable to parliament, the separation of powers, and popular rule by suffrage. In that sense, Gerő sees the reform era of Hungary (1825–1848) as the beginning of the equality of civil rights.

During the last decade, an increasing academic and intellectual effort has emerged to define and redefine Hungarian conservatism. Better understanding 19th-century conservatives is crucial to this process, as these movements are where the roots of Hungarian conservatism lie.