1.2 Conservatism Flashcards
1
A
- 1588-1679
- most famous work ‘Leviathan’ (1651)
- Hobbes’ ‘state of nature’ was before the emergence of the state where people are governed by self-interest and a constant fear of a violent death
- this state for Hobbes was ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’
- this natural chaos stemmed from the lack of formal authority that meant people each had their own versions of right and wrong that conflicted with each other and led to uncertainty and war
- eventually mankind would rationalise their way out of this and agree to a ‘contract’ between each other to an autocratic state governed by a Leviathan
- the state must be autocratic, if it is dispersed then the state of nature would soon be replicated
2
Q
overview of Edmund Burke?
A
- 1729-97
- supported American independence
- he was firmly against the French revolution (‘Reflections on the Revolution in France, 1790)
- in this book he outlined the main principles of conservative thought e.g. human imperfection, empiricism, organicism, tradition, aristocracy and localism
- he stressed man’s fallibility and tendency to fail more than succeed and thus denounced idealistic societies
- change was necessary to conserve and should be on the basis of empiricism and tradition over theory and idealism, society is more like a plant than a machine
3
Q
overview of Michael Oakeshott?
A
- 1901-1990
- key text, ‘on being conservative’ (1962)
- revised particularly conservatism and human nature, tried to make it more positive
4
Q
overview of Ayn Rand?
A
- 1905-1982
- most famous novel ‘Atlas Shrugged’ (1957)
- her ideas are consistent with both classical and neo-liberalism
- talented individuals rather than ambitious governments lie at the heart of any succesful society
- her philosophical system ‘objectivism’ says we should all be guided by self-interest and rational self-fulfilment
- she became associated with New Right atomism meaning a society defined by millions of autonomous individuals each seeking self-fulfilment
- she thought society did not exist in any practical form but was just a collection of independent individuals
- we must ‘roll back the frontiers of the state’ through things like tax cuts and privatisation
- she was a libertarian and defended people’s right to choose such as homosexuality and abortion
- she did firmly reject any suggestion of anarchism, a small state is still necessary for free markets and cultural laissez-faire
- she argued that liberty was impossible without order and security which only a state could provide
5
Q
overview of Robert Nozick?
A
- 1938-2002
- wrote ‘Anarchy, State and Utopia’ (1974)
- he argued the growth of the government was the gravest contemporary threat to individual freedom
- the growth of welfare states in western Europe fostered a dependency culture
- neo-liberalism argued the individual should be left alone in the economic sphere but Nozick went beyond this and argued it should be in a social and cultural sphere as well
- he can therefore be identified with liberterianism that advocates for a ‘permissive society’ that allows for things like abortion, divorce and homosexuality
- he was still against anarchy and instead believed in a minarchist state (only outsourcing public services to private companies)
- he had a mostly optimistic view of human nature but not entirely: life, liberty and property could not be taken for granted without some formal authority enforcing laws
- he still believed society predates the state which is what ties him most to conservatism
- he seemed to update Burke’s little platoons idea regarding society: in Nozick’s minarchist society there would be a multitude of self-sufficient communities that would emerge alongside individual freedom that would be free to practise their particular moral codes and values
6
Q
what is Hobbes’ view on the economy?
A
- it should come second to state security, the maintenance of erder and the necessities of power - only once they were established could the economy flourish
- he lived under mercantilism
- an agricultural economy where natural disasters were common meant the need for strong authority
- the authoritarianism still needed an understanding of the necessity to provide welfare and support
7
Q
what is Burke’s view on the economy?
A
- a fervent supporter of Adam Smith’s free trade to contribute to the organic nature of society
- he wanted such free trade with the newly emerged USA
- wrote at the crossroads of an agricultural and industrial society
8
Q
what is Oakeshott’s view on the economy?
A
- lived under a fully industrialised, urban society
- fears of free and unfettered capitalism were common
- just like all conservatives he identified the difference between wealth based on the land held by the aristocracy (good) and that achieved by merchants, companies and traders via commerce and industry (a little more nuanced)
- therefore pragmatic moderation and interference by the state would be necessary to correct imbalances which could otherwise lead to socialism and exacerbate inequality
- but Oakeshott rejected the Keynesian economic approach as too interfering and interventionist
9
Q
what did conservative economics look in the 19th century?
A
- the 19th century was a minimalist one where the government did little, taxation was low and spending was on debt reduction and the armed forces
- liberal PM Gladstone wanted to abolish income tax entirely
10
Q
what approach did Conservative economics take in the 20th century?
A
- with the new liberals of the early 20th century state income doubled when the government embarked on policies of social welfare
- Conservative leaders from the 1840s to the 1970s saw the necessity of pragmatic intervention, reaching its peak under Macmillan (1957-63)
- he aimed to mix and match traditional laissez-faire policies with the socialist collectivism of state planning brought in by the Attlee administration
- this meant eventually Keynes had replaced Adam Smith
11
Q
what was the issue with the Conservative economic approach of the 20th century?
A
- the moderate meddling in the economy caused inflation which reached nearly 30% in the UK in the 1970s
- the 1978-9 winter of discontent led to a neo-liberal economic backlash arguing the free market should decide on the allocation of resources not the government and saw the emergence of Thatcherism
- this led to the rise of the thinking of Rand and Nozick
12
Q
what is Rand’s view of the economy?
A
- she supported a more laissez-faire brand of capitalism and a renewal of negative liberty
- objectivist individualism with no hindrance from the state
- there is no social contract between the ruler and the ruled, the state is bad and the individual is good
- tradition and altruism should be replaced by a ‘virtue of selfishness’
- state sponsored welfare = bad
13
Q
what were influences on Rand and Nozick (the New Right)’s views on the economy?
A
- the Chicago school of economists associated with Hayek (‘the road to serfdom)
- Friedman
- Keith Joseph’s centre for policy studies
- free market think tanks like the Adam Smith institute
- Reagan
- Thatcher
14
Q
what was Nozick’s view of the economy?
A
- later in life he rowed back a bit and recognised the need for more traditional conservative values like communal activity and social and economic interactions
- he still wanted a privatised and deregulated economy in which the state just regulated disputes between private economic organisations
15
Q
what is a modern Conservative’s view on the economy?
A
- Roger Scruton
- reject much of the New Right’s ideas
- try to reconcile the competing forces of globalisation and global free trade (e.g. membership of the CPTPP) with the need to support the less well off at home (levelling up) and try via universal credit to move off welfare and into work
