Radicals wise enough to be conservative

And whatever each man believed in he hammered at steadily, without scepticism … It was because Radicals were wise enough to be constant and consistent; it was because Radicals were wise enough to be Conservative.
– G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

The antidote to a collection of inchoate experiences is radical orthodoxy. Unlike the man who puts his hands on the plow and then abandons it, radicals who make their mark in the world do so by pursuing fierce consistency.

In one respect, revolutions and innovations call for liberally-minded “conservatives” who rely on the tried-and-true sources of invention.