Conservatism isn't a position. It's a dogma. And fortunately it can never expand as all you're doing is playing defence. You can never retake lost ground. It's a good dogma because what worked previously will probably work in the future. Things that are new and work better do exist, but most "new" ideas are failures.

You need some liberalism to invent new ideas and improve, but I don't think there is a "thing" that will work. All you can hope for is that the costs don't outweigh the benefits, and the unforeseen consequences are dealt with.

I think the best "thing" is that whoever holds the power uses it well and understands it. I'd wager that to do that you'd need this non exhaustive list:

• Respect for education (read books)

• Knowledge of history

• Understanding of power and human folly

• Religion because it's always worked

• Respect for what's come beforehand

• Humility

• Realism

• Defined principles that are used as a metric for "Is X a good idea"

The last two are constantly in flux. But you need intelligent debate between the two. And for that to occour you need a blend of liberalism and conservatism.