If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.
I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals — if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories.
The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.
– Ronald Reagan, “Inside Ronald Reagan”, Reason magazine, July 1975
Words of the Sentient 
William Thien
June 26, 2010 at 13:52
Conservatism means small efficient government and fewer instrusive laws with the ultimate goal of improving the situation for the individual. Conservatism is primarily about the rights of the individual. Socialsm is about the rights of the “collective.” One could say the same about Democratic principles almost. Conservatism is a sort of “freedom from the tyranny of the masses” ideal and that the rights and freedoms of the individual should come before that of the masses.
http://williamthien.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/abortion-and-the-true-conservative/