Fighting the Culture War

Abstract

Within conservative writings since the Cold War’s end, the most prominent discussions have been those relating to the spheres of culture and morality, with anxieties about social decline encompassing issues from abortion to multiculturalism and from gay rights to political correctness. This salience arose in the 1990s as a result of the idea that some form of ‘culture war’ was raging within Western societies, a conflict fought between defenders of traditional standards and values and an array of critics. The rhetoric of war and conflict was embraced especially by American conservatives. Although these debates often possess a lower profile in Britain, many of the same issues are a prime focus of British conservatives’ attentions.