Conservatism is about looking to history for clues: Clues as to what works and clues as to what doesn't. Conservatism is pragmatic; it doesn't have an all-encompassing theoretical framework from which it derives policy positions. What accidental framework there may be in conservative thought comes from the current (perhaps temporary) consensus about what works.
A key feature of conservatism is that there is no 'ego identification' with an idea or set of ideas. Reality is allowed to be the ultimate arbiter.
