"All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change"

This quote by Gilbert K. Chesterton is a review of conservatism. He is saying that conservatism is based upon the idea that if you do not interfere with something, it will stay the same. Nevertheless, Chesterton argues that this is not the case. He states that if you leave something alone, it will undergo a "torrent of modification". This implies that change is inevitable which no matter what, things will not stay the same. He is suggesting that conservatism is misguided in its belief that if you do not interfere with something, it will stay the very same. He is stating that modification is inescapable and that it is difficult to stop it.