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This article is from the Conservatism FAQ, by Jim Kalb kalb@aya.yale.edu with numerous contributions by others.

Why can't tradition be an accumulation of ignorance, error and vice as easily as of wisdom?

Since tradition is a human thing it may reflect human vices as well
as virtues. The same, of course, is true of relying on autonomous
reason. In this century, anti-traditional theories supported by
intelligent men for reasons thought noble have repeatedly led to the
murder of millions of innocents.

The issue therefore is not whether tradition is perfect but its
appropriate place in human life. To the extent our most consistent
aim is toward what is good, and we err more through ignorance,
oversight and conflicting impulse than through coherent and settled
evil, tradition will benefit us by linking our thoughts and actions
to a steady and comprehensive system in which they can correct each
other. It will secure and refine our acquisitions while hampering
antisocial impulses. To the extent we consistently aim at what is
evil, then tradition can not help us much, but neither can anything
else short of divine intervention.