Philosophers and psychologists often assert that political conservatives are risk averse. The only considerations that ever appear to be offered, in support of this assertion, are the observations that conservatives generally advocate avoiding the risks involved in significant social and political change, and that conservative policy makers tend to avoid exposing established social and political institutions to such risks, where they can. In this paper I argue that these observations cannot be an adequate basis for the conclusion that conservatives are risk averse. However, I do not conclude that we should give up on the conclusion that conservatives are risk averse. I draw on prospect theory to locate a separate source of warrant for this conclusion.