Conservatism

Question 1

What is Change to Conserve

Answer 1

This is the fundamental principle of conservatism and one that distinguishes a conservative from a reactionary.

It indicated a belief that for something valuable to be preserved it has to be continuously updated and maintained.

Question 2

What is Human imperfection

Answer 2

Drawing upon the Old Testament doctrine of original sin, this refers to the timeless flaws of humanity

Flaws which make any quest for the ‘perfect’ society misguided and potentially disastrous.

Question 3

What is empiricism

Answer 3

This indicates a preference for ‘evidence’ over ‘theory’ and tends to emphasise ‘what is’ over ‘what it should be’

Question 4

What is normative

Answer 4

This denotes how arrangements theoretically ‘should’ be in future

This is a term conservatives disdain, given their stress upon the uncertainty of our existence

Question 5

What is Progressive

Answer 5

This denotes a belief that problems invariably have solutions and that the future must always be superior to the past and present

(This is linked to other ideologies like socialism and liberalism.)

Question 6

What is Hierarchy

Answer 6

Equality of status and power is undesirable, that human affairs require leadership from a small number of individuals and that the majority should accept their judgements

Henchy’s apologists claim that successful structures, social and political tend to have an unequal distribution of power.

Question 7

What Paternalism / Noblesse oblige

Answer 7

These terms refer to the ‘fatherly’ obligations that a ruling class or ‘nobility’ has to society as a whole. It can take the form of hard paternalism or soft paternalism

Hard - elites deciding what is best for the rest, irrespective of what the rest want

Soft - power still rests with the elites but decisions will usually be preceded by listening carefully to what the non-elites

Question 8

What is Authority

Answer 8

Right for those in/with ‘authority’ to make decisions that others must accept

But conservatives, liberals and socialists there is serious disagreement about how authority should be acquired and for what purpose it should be exercised.

Question 9

What is Laissez-Faire

Answer 9

Where the state allows market forces to operate freely. though strongly associated with economic liberalism,

Laissez-Faire economics has been supported by traditional conservatives like Edmund Burke and Robert Nozick

Question 10

What is Thatcherism

Answer 10

Synonym for new right conservatism in the UK between 1979 and 1990, the governments of Margret Thatcher

Thatcher was a controversial mixture of Neo-Liberal policies (Such as privatisation and tax reduction)

Neo-conservative policies (e.g. strengthened police powers, curbs on immigration and tax breaks for ‘traditional’ family structure)

Question 11

What does Tory mean

Answer 11

Along side the Whigs, they were one of the two main parties in England from the 17th to the early 19th century

They were linked to themes such as: Authority, Tradition, Hierarchy and religion.

in the 1830s the Tory party evolved into the Conservative party.

Question 12

What is One-Nation Conservatism

Answer 12

Linked to British Politicians like Benjamin Disraeli in the 1870s, this denotes a belief that conservatism should prioritise national unity by attending to the condition of society’s poorer classes

Used to justify greater state intervention in society and the economy, thus higher levels of public spending and taxation

Question 13

What is Fascism

Answer 13

Due to its nationalist and nostalgic character it gained popularity during times of economic and social depression like in Germany when Hitler came to power.

A from of ‘Ultra-Conservatism’

Yet its belief in radical and immediate change, its contempt for traditional institutions and local diversity, and its glorification of dictatorship also make it abhorrent to orthodox conservatives

Question 14

What is Supranationalism

Answer 14

where a state whose authority cuts across national boundaries

e.g. Soviet Union, European Union.

Question 15

What is Anti-permissive

Answer 15

Neo-Conservative policies to seek reversal of much of the social liberalism dating from the 1960s

Neo-Conservatism takes a critical view of issues like divorce abortion and homosexuality

Question 16

What is Atomism

Answer 16

Relates to the view that human beings seek autonomy and ‘space’ which therefore leads to only vague sense of society. (New Right)

Question 17

Thomas Hobbes Book Title

Answer 17

Leviathan 1651

Question 18

Thomas Hobbes Context

Answer 18

Influenced by the English civil War
Considered one of England’s most important political thinkers

Leviathan 1651 - the ‘Leviathan’ was this big god like figure, seen as the state. The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government. (Social contract theory)

Alive during the reformation, Protestant revolution across Europe

Question 19

Thomas Hobbes view on Human Nature

Answer 19

Sceptical view of human nature. It was needy and vulnerable therefore likely to commit destructive acts.

Individuals are selfish, driven by a restless and ruthless desire for supremacy and security

Question 20

Thomas Hobbes view on the State

Answer 20

Without a state the ‘state of nature was left to form his own version of acceptable and unacceptable conduct.

The state arises ‘contractually’ from individuals who seek order and security.

The state must be autocratic and the people must accept it and not revolt under any circumstances.

Question 21

Tomas Hobbes view on Society

Answer 21

There can be no ‘society’ until the creation of a state which brings order and authority

Life is ‘Nasty, Brutish and short’ without a state

Question 22

Hobbes theories on ‘State of Nature’

Answer 22

The state of nature was a place of scarce resources where individuals would be governed by a ruthless self-interest. Human nature was thus shaped by a restless desire for the acquisition of goods, an immovable distrust of others and a constant fear of death

There was never a real state of nature however this is what Hobbes though would happen if there is not state to promote order and security

Question 23

Thomas Hobbes view on the Economy

Answer 23

There could not be a prosperous, constructive and enduring economy without a state ensuring order.

Question 24

Edmund Burke Books (1729-97)

Answer 24

Reflections on the revolutions in France 1790

Question 25

Edmund Bruke context

Answer 25

A Whig MP - Known as the Father of conservatism
Influenced heavily by the French Revolution 1789
A firm supporter of the American revolution 1776

Thinker coming out of the enlightenment period

Change to conserve - Empiricism and tradition rather than theory and idealism.

Question 26

Edmund Burke’s view on human nature

Answer 26

Took a sceptical view of human nature, Humans were capable of doing good things however have a tendency to fail more then they succeed. We may conceive of perfection but are unable to achieve it

This is why he denounced the French Revolution as it was based of a perfect society and irrational Utopian thought and theory

Praised the 1776 American Revolutionary War as the idea of a rational constitution, and the idea of taxation without representation did not sit well with him

Question 27

Edmund Burke’s view on the state

Answer 27

(Organicism) The state arises organically and should be aristocratic.

A ruling class was inevitable and desirable, however this class had a clear obligation to govern in the interest of all (Utilitarianism)

The French’s Aristocracy’s inability to do this was the reason for the revolution.

Question 28

Edmund Burke’s view on Society

Answer 28

Society is organic, A ruling class is inevitable.

A society of ‘little platoons’ - loads of small, diverse and largely autonomous communities which would
‘Acknowledge, Nurture and prune… the crooked timber of humanity’

Question 29

Edmund Burke’s view on the economy

Answer 29

A massive advocate of Adam smith’s call for free trade.

Trade should involve ‘organic’ free markets and Laissez-Faire capitalism

Question 30

Micheal Oakeshott Books (1901-90)

Answer 30

On Being Conservative 1962

The politics of faith and the politics of scepticism

Question 31

Michael Oakeshott view on Human nature

Answer 31

Men and women were ‘fallible but not terrible’ and ‘imperfect but not immoral’, though incapable of ‘perfect’ societies

At best when free from grand designs and when focused on the routines of everyday life.

Question 32

Micheal Oakeshott view on The state

Answer 32

The state should be guided by tradition and practical concerns .

Pragmatism not dogmatism

Dogmatism - giving opinions and thought without consideration of evidence or the option of others.

During our lives ‘we all sail a boundless sea, with no appointed destination; and that the job of government is to reflect this by ‘keeping the ship afloat at all costs… using experience to negotiate every storm, stoicism to accept necessary changes of direction… and not fitting on a port that may not exist.’

Question 33

Micheal Oakeshott view on society

Answer 33

Localised communities are essential to humanities survival especially when guided by short-term requirements rather than abstract ideas.

Question 34

Micheal Oakeshott view on the Economy

Answer 34

Free markets are volatile and unpredictable and may require pragmatic moderation by the state.

The state is there to ‘prevent the bad rather than create the good’

Question 35

Ayn Rand Book titles (1905-82)

Answer 35

Atlas Shrugged 1957

The virtue of Selfishness 1964

Question 36

Ayn Rand Context

Answer 36

Born in Russia was young during the Russian revolution. Moved to America.

one of Americas most influential Libertarian

Question 37

Ayn Rand’s view on Human nature

Answer 37

‘Objectivist’ we are to be guided by rational self-interest and the pursuit of self fulfilment

like her book ‘The virtue of Selfishness’

Question 38

Ayn Rand’s view on The state

Answer 38

‘rolling back the frontiers of the state’.

rand called herself a libertarian - defended an individuals ‘right to chose’ in areas like homosexuality or abortion.

rejected Anarchism claiming cultural laissez-faire needed the parameters of a small state

liberty was impossible without order and security, which only a state could provide

Question 39

Ayn Rand’s view on society

Answer 39

Society was just a loose collection of independent individualism.

Society is Atomistic - Human beings seek autonomy and space, which therefore leads to only a vague sense of society

millions of autonomous individuals, each independently seeking self-fulfilment and self realisation.

Question 40

Ayn Rand’s view on the economy.

Answer 40

laissez-faire brand of capitalism and its renewal of negative liberty

free market capitalism is an expression of ‘objectivist individualism and should not be hindered by the state.

Question 41

Robert Nozick Book Titles (1923-2002)

Answer 41

Anarchy State and Utopia 1974

The road To Serfdom 1944

Question 42

Robert Nozick context

Answer 42

Writings in the 1970s emerged as one of the key thinkers for new right conservatism

Taxation is theft

Question 43

Nozick’s view on Human nature

Answer 43

Humans are driven by a quest for ‘self ownership’, so they can retaliate their full potential

The growth of welfare states in western rope fostered a dependency culture

Question 44

Nozicks view on the state

Answer 44

The minarchist state should outsource, renew and reallocate contracts to private companies providing public services