"To be conservative, then, is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the possible, the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the sufficient to the superabundant, the convenient to the perfect, present laughter to utopian bliss."

Oakeshott would argue that the realm of political ideas goes beyond the limits of our understanding

Rationalism and tradition:

Oakeshott argued that rationalism comes about as a result of tradition
Rationalism can be defined as an illusion that there are 'correct' answers to practical questions
Practical activity is rational, only when it rests on moral or casual laws whose truth can be illustrated
Traditional knowledge is about 'knowing how' to carry out practical activities
This acquires engaging in an activity and judgment in handling facts and rules
Therefore, the error in rationalism:
- It is too simplistic to think making choices requires skill in technique of applying rules or calculating consequences
- Further, knowledge that rationalism identifies as rational is itself the product of experience and judgment

Oakeshott outlines conservatism in his role of the state:

The state should be conceptualised as a ship that can be used to guard social harmony
He argues that the state cannot create a social utopia by reflecting on notions of social progress
People should merely seek to keep the ship afloat
Citizens should be sceptical of state intervention and social engineering
A true conservative, therefore, must be pragmatic
Moreover, he argues in 'On Human Conduct' there are two ways of comprehending social organisation:
- Enterprise association: the state is seen as imposing universal purpose on its subjects; this is based on the ability of humans to grasp a universal 'good' (i.e. the Politics of Faith)
- Civil association: a legal relationship; laws impose obligatory conditions of action (they do not require choosing one action over another though); this depends on the ability of humans to achieve this 'good' (i.e. the Politics of Scepticism)
According to Oakeshott, the Politics of Faith necessitates the prerequisite of power, because:
1. It permits people to believe they can achieve something good
2. It allows them to implement and carry out the policies required to achieve this good
The Politics of Scepticism rests mainly on the idea that governments should be primarily concerned with preventing bad things from happening