Cultural conservatism is the personal adherence to so-called traditional moral values, anthropology, aesthetics and metaphysics, all inherited from the past. It's a wisdom of life, guided by ancestral principles, be they Greco-Roman or Judeo-Christian. It is not a political philosophy.

If you're a cultural conservative, you're in favor of the traditional family, virtue ethics and belief in God. The cultural conservative believes that man, to be happy, needs elevation of the soul, spiritual values and a certain nobility of feeling.

On the other hand, political conservatism is a way of organizing society according to a fixed order. This is why conservatives are opposed to progress. They want to freeze society in the state it has reached at the moment they speak, and believe that any change would be worse.

Politically, cultural conservatives often join the ranks of political conservatism. But this is not always the case. The two conservatisms are not necessarily inseparable. You can be a cultural conservative and a libertarian.

For example, an individual may defend cultural traditions (such as family, religion or local customs) in his or her personal or community life, while advocating limited government that does not impose these values by law. This type of person might encourage conservative norms through persuasion, education or leading by example, while respecting the right of others to live differently, in line with libertarian principles.

The culturally conservative libertarian may morally disapprove of certain behaviors, but he does not advocate legal prohibition or incarceration of people who engage in consensual, non-aggressive actions. It may dislike such actions, oppose them, fight them and actively discourage people from engaging in them, but always without resorting to the coercive force of the law.

In practice, figures like Ron Paul or thinkers like Rothbard and Hoppe in the USA have tried to reconcile these two visions, defending both traditional values and maximum individual freedom.