A reactionary is an individual that holds political
viewpoints which cause them to seek to return to a previous state (the status
quo ante) in a society. Reactionaries are considered to be one end of a
political spectrum whose opposite pole is radicalism, though reactionary
ideologies may be themselves radical. While it has not been generally
considered positive to be regarded as a reactionary it has been adopted as a
self-description by some such as H. L. Mencken, Gerald Warner of Craigenmaddie
and John Lukacs.
