But it will have to be conservatives who revive and renew what is (or was) best in liberalism. It will have to be conservatives who rescue and liberate liberalism from the fatal temptation of progressivism. For it is conservatives who understand, as G. K. Chesterton remarked, that if our society “proceeds at its present rate of progress and improvement, no trace or memory of it will be left at all.”

We can also survive Donald Trump. His demagogic populism provides no basis for successful governance. But we must also acknowledge that his hostile takeover of the Republican party shows that conservatism too needs reform and renewal. This is a major task that we at The Weekly Standard look forward to contributing to, along with our friends at National Review and Commentary and National Affairs, among others. It is an endeavor that should also aim to revitalize the Republican party, if that is possible. We look forward to the task. We especially look forward to engaging the young—Americans who understand conservative principles, but who knew not Reagan; warriors not of the Cold War but of the 9/11 generation; constitutionalists who are students and law clerks rather than contemporaries of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito; entrepreneurs not of the 20th century but of the 21st.