THE U.S. MOVEMENT OF CONSERVATISM IN THE EARLY POSTWAR PERIOD Zhong Wenfan(7) The trend of conservative thought prevailing in the United States today can be traced back theoretically to the movement of conservatism in the 1940s and 1950s. The movement was composed of two schools, namely classical liberalism (liberianism) and new conservatism (traditionalism). They had turned up independently at different times and had different viewpoints, but they shared one point in common: not only stressing traditional spirit and perfect social order but also demanding personal economic and political freedom. Their questioning the validity of the outlooks on democracy and equality of modern liberalism set off by contrast the theoretical dilemma of modern liberalism.