theory of the moral sense shows how these sentiments, traditions, and judgments express
the evolved nature of human beings.
Third Proposition: Darwinism supports the conservative view of sexual
differences, family life, and parental care as fundamental for the social order of liberty.
A Darwinian account of the natural desires for sexual identity, sexual mating, and
parental care confirms the conservative commitment to the traditional social order of sex,
marriage, and the family. While those on the left tend to see sexual differences, family
life, and parental care as social constructions that can be changed—and perhaps even
abolished--by social engineering, Darwinian biology sustains the conservative
understanding of sexual conduct and familial bonding as innate propensities of human
nature.
Fourth Proposition: Darwinism supports the conservative view of property as
fundamental for the economic order of liberty. A Darwinian understanding of human
nature suggests that there is a natural propensity to own property and to trade property
with others. Property satisfies a natural human instinct for possessiveness. The legal
recognition of private property is an essential condition for protecting economic liberty as
a private sphere of action free from arbitrary coercion.
Fifth Proposition: Darwinism supports the conservative view of limited
government as fundamental for the political order of liberty. A Darwinian science of
evolved human nature sustains the conservative principle that limited government with a
balance of powers under the rule of law is the best form of government for political
liberty. The institutions of modern constitutional republicanism satisfy the evolved desire
of the ruling few to dominate while also satisfying the evolved desire of the subordinate
9
Convention