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Reactionary conservatism

Reactionary conservatism, also known as reactionism, opposes policies for the social transformation of society. In popular usage, reactionism refers to a staunch traditionalist conservative political perspective of a person who supports the status quo and opposes social, political, and economic change. Some adherents of conservatism, rather than opposing change, seek to return to the status quo ante and tend to view the modern world in a negative light, especially concerning mass culture and secularism, although different groups of reactionaries may choose different traditional values to revive.

Some political scientists, such as Corey Robin, treat the words reactionary and conservative as synonyms. Others, such as Mark Lilla, argue that reactionism and conservatism are distinct worldviews. Francis Wilson defines conservatism as "a philosophy of social evolution, in which certain lasting values are defended within the framework of the tension of political conflict".

Some reactionaries favour a return to the status quo ante, the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary society. An early example of a powerful reactionary movement was German Romanticism, which centred around concepts of organicism, medievalism, and traditionalism against the forces of rationalism, secularism, and individualism that were unleashed in the French Revolution.

In political discourse, being a reactionary is generally regarded as negative; Peter King observed that it is "an unsought-for label, used as a torment rather than a badge of honor". Despite this, the descriptor has been adopted by intellectuals such as the Italian esoteric traditionalist Julius Evola, the Austrian monarchist Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, the Colombian political theologian Nicolás Gómez Dávila, and the American historian John Lukacs.