Going-Home Meeting: Is the Spirit of the Age Conservative?

Going-Home Meeting on Conservatism: Wednesday 28 October 2026, 16:00–18:00, CEPOS, Copenhagen. Tickets cost 0–50 kr.

Conservative ideas have gained renewed attention in recent years, both in Denmark and internationally. Tradition, nation, community, family, authority and institutions feature more prominently in public debate, while new political movements challenge established divisions between liberal, conservative and national-conservative positions. But what does it actually mean to be conservative? Is there a shared ideological foundation, or does the term cover widely different political and philosophical traditions - and does it even make sense to speak of the spirit of the times becoming more conservative?

This is the theme when CEPOS holds an event on Wednesday, 28 October, 16:00-18:00 with two panel discussions. The first discussion focuses on the essence and intellectual history of conservatism: which core ideas characterize the tradition, what view of humanity and society it is based on, and how conservatism has historically related to liberalism, progress, tradition and change. Participants include Bent Meier Sørensen, professor and author, and Nikolaj Bøgh, municipal council member in Frederiksberg Municipality (K).

The second part of the event addresses conservatism's relevance today and the tensions that characterize it. Which conservative currents are on the rise, where are the most important dividing lines within conservatism, and how should we understand the renewed interest in conservative ideas in Denmark, Europe and the USA? Participants include Signe Wolff Ravneberg, project consultant at the think tank Prospekt, among others.

The event examines conservatism as both an intellectual-historical tradition and a current political movement - and poses the question: is the spirit of the times conservative?