It’s always an awkward experience for modern conservatives to understand traditionalist conservatives. On one hand, traditionalists espouse a belief in faith, family, and objective virtue, and oppose the encroachments of leftist ideology. On the other hand, they are skeptical of liberalism and Enlightenment ideals, reject most modern institutions, and tend to harbor antiquated prejudices that make little sense in a diverse, pluralistic society.
However, it would be a mistake to relegate traditional conservatives to the fringes, as often happens. Although they’re devoted to the past, they represent the future of the conservative movement. Many of them are highly educated, hardworking, and most importantly, have large families.
Contrary to popular notions, many of them do just fine in the modern world. Unlike most people who are caught up in the amenities, mores, and narratives of the present, traditionalists have the capacity to choose what works for them and become more self-reliant. In many ways, they offer a model of success for people today who want to have happier, healthier, and more fruitful lives.
Perhaps sensing this deep desire among people wanting a way to face the challenges of modernism, writer and diplomat Eduard Habsburg has written The Habsburg Way: Seven Rules for Turbulent Times. A proud descendent of the Habsburg royal family that ruled over various swaths of Europe for eight centuries, Habsburg explains the secret to his family’s success and offers a practical guide for a better life.
Habsburg organizes his book into seven different rules, yet these rules are
