Conservatism Flashcards

Question

What was Burke's view of the structure of society? (aristocracy, meritocracy, roles etc.) How is this reflected in his view of the role of MPs?

Answer 1

HIERARCHY • more supportive of hierarchy and sceptical of equality of opportunity • society works according to a “fixed compact sanctioned by the inviolable oath which holds all physical and all moral natures each in their appointed place” • thought there was scope for a limited number of talented individuals like him to work their way up to positions of influence on merit - “everything ought to be open, but not indifferently to every man” NATURAL ARISTOCRACY > individuals best suited to lead country due to birth, inheritance, upbringing, and education > people are born equal (not more gifted) but also equally flawed > “the savage hath within him the seeds of… the statesman… yet, through want of culture, and exercise, must lie forever buried”> only those born into upper classes who received best available education, had leisure time to think and study and who learned the manners and duties expected of rulers were based able to overcome innate flaws and rule in national interest > just as parents have authority, provide protection and make decisions for their children, so should the elite direct the rest of society and make decisions in national interest with or without consent of those effected • society is like a living organism that depends on healthy relationships between different parts which perform different but equally important functions (HOBBES TALKED ABOUT HUMANS AS MACHINES) --> just like the heart can’t do the job of the brain, so too might those born into a working role be less suited to lead than those born into the position MPs > Trustee model of representation - experienced, educated and informed MPs should consider constituents’ views but exercise their own judgment in parliament; should vote in national interest even if it conflicts with views of constituents WEB OF OBLIGATIONS/DUTY • humans are not isolated individuals but are connected by a web of obligations and duty LITTLE PLATOONS • collection of localised communities (little platoons) which curb selfishness and give us security, inspiration etc. --> localism (local ties)

Answer 2

* being attached to the “little platoon” we belong to is the “first link” to a love for our country and mankind - freedom comes from accepting and being free to perform your specific role in the organism of society * said there’s never been a time when we were simply individuals with complete freedom

Answer 3

* thought there should be competing institutions like the Lords to restrain impulses of masses * “in a democracy, the majority of the citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon the minority” * Natural aristocracy= were more likely to create policies in national interests than a democracy where any action could be justified if backed by a majority

Answer 4

* equality of outcome was a “monstrous fiction” * “in a fair distribution among a vast multitude none can have much” * redistribution would create equality but in the form of “equal want”, leaving the poorest classes without the aristocracy organic society needed to invest, create jobs, provide leadership and protect traditions * one of the wealthy’s duties was charity - “duty on all Christians” but the “manner, mode, time, choice of objects and proportion are left to private discretion” * agreed with Smith’s economic views * state intervention to help the poor would disrupt the efficient invisible hand of the market, discourage work and threaten the health of the organic society * warned against breaking “the laws of commerce, which are the laws of nature and consequently the laws of God”

Answer 5

* natural for people to desire greater wealth and the markets that naturally resulted should be left to operate freely * free market suited Burke’s scepticism of abstract ideas - if humans are flawed and incapable of devising perfect abstract schemes, it would be impossible for the state to plan an economy (govt. and economy have a mysterious dynamism  vigorous activity/progress) * rising and falling prices sent more efficient signals than a rational individual or committee * better to have a system that turns the self-interested decisions of individuals into an efficient system of signals that make the most of our flawed, selfish nature and produces outcomes that benefit others * hierarchy is natural and state shouldn’t intervene to disrupt it * as disruptive as market forces can be, they arguably create own order by preventing wages or prices from rising or falling too much * agreed with Adam Smith's economic views

Answer 6

* property = natural, god given right * as important for stability and order as respect for tradition and prescription * the right to own property provides the necessary incentives to work, save, invest and create jobs etc. * ability to pass on and inherit property reinforced sense of long-term stability and enables existence natural aristocracy * checks our irrational impulses – we respect the property rights of others so they will do the same, creating order and peace

Answer 7

* all knowledge consists of technical and practical/traditional knowledge * technical knowledge = formulated into rules, can be taught and learned e.g. recipe book * practical knowledge = cannot be formulated into rules, must be imparted and acquired e.g., judgment, style, artistry learned in an apprenticeship * while a cookbook tells you about some of the meals chefs have produced, it cannot impart the inspiration or experience and judgment that enabled those involved in the tradition to create them * there is no technical knowledge before there is practical knowledge - ideologies have been abstracted from actual traditions that have evolved as humans engage in politics, which is the act of negotiating practical terms that enable us to co-exist peacefully not the act of dreaming up abstract vision to be imposed on others * rationalists deny existence of practical knowledge that cannot be easily distilled into a book or which does not comply with their supposedly universal principles  champion reason over experience * ‘to the Rationalist, nothing is of value merely because it exists’ * ‘he always prefers the invention of a new device to making use of a current and well-tried expedient’ * ideologies/abstract principles are hard to apply or make sense of when stripped of real-world context from which they came - pursuing radical policy in the name of abstract ideas like freedom risks destroying institutions/traditions that give us our freedom in the first place

Answer 8

• ‘Freedom… is not a human right to be deduced from some speculative concept of human nature’

Answer 9

• ideology = politics of faith > use logic and reason as infallible guide > find perfect, inarguable solutions to problems > rigid – all policies much conform • politics of scepticism > pursue ‘intimations’ which are apparent in political traditions and culture > policy outcomes are unknowable > aim for policy reform should seek best outcome in current circumstances > flexible – gradual pragmatics improvements (accepts that policies might fail and willing to reform) > e.g. enfranchisement of women - the status of women in society had evolved so much that there was an incoherence in arrangements of society - it was being intimated by how we already existed

Answer 10

o in ‘little platoons’ of family, clubs etc we learn to take responsibility and appreciate duties we have to others, learn to check disruptive impulses, learn about tradition o because we voluntarily join and they are local and often include family, friends and neighbours, they can influence more than distant bureaucrats  state can coerce us to behave by enforcing the law, character, responsibility and morals can’t be declared by state; relationship with bureaucrats will always be one of coercion

Answer 11

• political activity is like being in a boat on a boundless or bottomless sea - there is no starting-place nor appointed destination – all that can be done is to keep the boat on an even keel, using traditions to manage problems that inevitably arise

Answer 12

* politics as a conversation * no correct paths to resolve issue, but a matter of judgement * rather than arguing over flawed ideologies, we should discuss pragmatic solutions intimated by tradition and practice

Answer 13

• smallest limits on personal freedom found in civil association o state makes non-instrumental, general rules (do not pursue particular aim/ideological goal) o laws simply set limits within activities chosen freely by citizens o law is authoritative because body in charge made them, not because they comply with abstract principles o citizens are related as fellow subjects of a common law o independence and freedom of individual is prioritised • enterprise association o instrumental rules o substantive commands  law commands and limits choices o laws must comply with abstract principles o citizens expected to unite behind goal chosen by govt. o individuals are instruments for advancing collective purpose • said Hobbes had argued for a kind of civil association o sovereign makes rules to keep order and make people free, aiming to settle disputes and keep peace not impose a vision • ideological dictators were enterprise associations o issues commands to pursue ideological plan for country o power isn’t absolute but ideological vision encourages them to interfere in more aspects of people’s lives • ‘it is Reason, not Authority that is destructive of individuality’ • no modern society is civil or enterprise but combines

Answer 14

• even a civil association would today need to provide some relief to poor  any substantive goals would be targeted pragmatically, pursuing intimations

Answer 15

• influenced by One-Nation’s focus on keeping unemployment low and finding a ‘Middle Way’ o Macmillan didn’t question whether govt should be planning a course at all o except in a time of war, you cannot obsess over a particular problem/principle without loss and disruption

Answer 16

* New Right cons liked civil associations BUT Oakeshott was annoyed that in trying to counter the rise in left-wing ideology they had created an ideology of their own with rigid and inflexible core values and aims, some of which were substantive (pursued at all costs) * critic of Hayek’s Road to Serfdom  ‘a plan to resist all planning may be better than its opposite, but it belongs to the same style of politics’  leaders who think they can go back to before rationalist intervention were rationalist

Answer 17

* conservatism = ‘more psychology than ideology’ * prefer familiar to unknown, tried to untried * rationalists are never content; conservatives are happy to use and enjoy what is available not what was or may be

Answer 18

o if you are solely altruistic, how can you lead a good life when you are not giving away your money? o it doesn’t seem to matter who you are giving your money to o considered altruism evil because the idea that concern for your own interests is evil means our desire to live is evil since man has to think rationally of how to survive (doesn’t just happen like with plants) o if we are free to rationally engage with the world and pursue our own survival then we can prolong and celebrate our life o a philosophy based on giving away the means of survival is anti-life o selfishness is about valuing as a good, as a purpose o ‘the basic principle of altruism is that man has no right to exist for his own sake’ o ‘an industrialist who produces a fortune and a gangster who robs a bank are regarded as equally immoral’ o it is moral for individuals to act in their own self-interest o actions that enable a rational being to thrive are objectively good and those that oppose them are evil • IT’S NOT HEDONISM - guided by pleasure and pain o doesn’t mean we can just do what we want o rational creatures should be guided by reason not whims - think carefully about what will benefit their long-term interests • altruism teaches individuals that they only stand to lose from moral actions. fostering resentment towards others • when altruistic values like charity are prioritised above all else, they are harmful to the individual • approves of helping a stranger out of ‘generalised respect and good will which one should grant to a human being in the name of the potential value he represents’ • it would be immoral to help a stranger if the risks were severe because only low self-esteem could mean you valued a stranger’s life more than yours • ‘love and friendship are profoundly personal, selfish values’

Answer 19

• in order to sustain its life, every living organism has to take several actions o plants have no choice in it, animals have to consciously choose to hunt etc. but the range of actions they can take is limited by their instincts o humans have no ‘automatic code of survival’ - consciously use rational thought to find out what they need to do to survive • human perfectibility - believes we can build a utopia; humans are rational

Answer 20

* any intervention into the individual’s ability to realise their own needs is an inhibition of that individual’s ability to pursue their life (anti-statist) * as an atheist she would disagree with Hayek’s belief that spiritual freedom is threatened by state control * only proper purpose of govt. is protect people from violence and coercion and protect their right to life, liberty, property and pursuit of happiness * state should consist of police, armed forces and law courts * taxation = theft and state should be paid voluntarily e.g., pay a fee when signing a contract to guarantee access to public courts should they need to enforce them

Answer 21

Criticised Hayek >he is against continued state intervention in the economy but does believe the state should provide a minimum healthcare and that it should interfere with monopolies > Rand believed the state should not interfere at all - monopolies can always be challenged by smaller companies > Hayek says the only way we can manage through the economy is through the market because humans are not rational > the economy will always seek balance - non-interference can only be guaranteed by a bit of interference •capitalism is the ‘only rational ethnical principle for all human relationships’ • if you give a monopoly/established business to an incompetent person they will lose all the money - she had no problem with inheritance • big on property rights - someone’s property is their ‘prime individual right’ • individuals should cast their vote in a free market, supporting causes they believe to be moral not letting other people spend their taxes on causes they may oppose • criticised conservatives for defending capitalism on economic grounds • echoed arguments that you only had to compare US and USSR to see that capitalism was the best system for growth and improving living standards • defended capitalism by saying that alleged problems e.g. entrenched inequality and cronyism were the result of state intervention • true laissez-faire capitalism had not yet existed anywhere • should defend capitalism on moral grounds o only system compatible with human nature o leaves us free to rationally pursue own self-interest o only system that is just as it ensures people get what they deserve • profits and wages not determined by greed or need by laws of supply and demand

Answer 22

• racism is bad because it’s a form of collectivism • civil rights leaders should celebrate private property and capitalism - trying to stop white people being able to exclude black people is racist o BECAUSE if we try and stop someone having the right to do what they want on their own property we are getting rid of the thing that is going to allow black people to have freedom (individual rights and property rights) o we have to protect a communist’s freedom of speech, even though his doctrines are ‘evil’, so we also have to ‘protect a racist’s right to the use and disposal of his own property’ o private racism is a moral issue so can be fought by private means • said that native Americans didn’t have a right to live in America just because they were born there, and that white people who brought ‘civilisation’ had a right to take over because native Americans wanted to live ‘like animals’

Answer 23

• Nozick agrees with Rand over his dislike of state control and mixed economy • BUT he says her arguments are based on tautology (saying the same thing twice); she jumps to easily between statements about rationality to statements about empiricism • he says her arguments don’t add up o Rand says having values is a value, therefore she argues that a necessary condition for a value is a value, life is a necessary condition for having values o Nozick says… um what that makes no sense

Answer 24

* everyone has a moral code (guide to right and wrong which directs our decision making) * disliked that people acquired their morals without rational thought of their own and that moralists argued ethics were subjective (couldn’t objectively prove a particular moral code was correct)

Answer 25

OBJECTIVIST VALUES: > reason = only proper tool we have to discover true knowledge - rationality > purpose - we must decide for ourselves the life-promoting goals we want to work towards - productivity > self-esteem - we must live up to our values and maintain the conviction that we deserve to be happy - pride in what we accomplish and not be guilty when others achieve less > integrity = loyal to values, don’t abandon them under pressure > honesty = accept reality as is > justice = rationally judge character of others and treat them accordingly • objectivists would choose to be kind when it would fit their rationally chosen hierarchy of values

Answer 26

• civilised society should protect the rights of individuals - should be as free as possible to pursue own self interest • not a collectivist society where rights of some could be sacrificed for others • focus on negative rights not positive ones o positive rights unnatural and don’t exist - any alleged right that necessitates the violation of the rights of another is not and cannot be a right o property rights would have to be sacrificed to realise them (one man’s rights to a job/food/clothing requires another man to produce them) o individual rights are derived from our fundamental right to life – our right to decide how best to sustain our life o in US Declaration of Independence, it says people have the right to pursue happiness not the right to happiness o right to life implies right to property – a right to the product of man’s effort which is necessary to sustain rights – property laws are source of other negative rights • only really minority who have invented, made jobs etc that have allowed everyone the prosperity that previous generations/people in other countries don’t have • in interests of everyone to protect negative rights of this minority over the positive rights of those who depend on them • independent thinkers over second-handers and producers over takers

Answer 27

• ‘common good’ is has been moral justification of all tyrannies in history • once property rights considered violable, there was no end to coercion that could be justified as necessary in public interest • ‘there is no such entity as ‘the public’….merely a number of individuals’ • once you accept that the rights of some can be sacrificed for others you invite lobbying since rival groups will want to have wealth redistributed in their favour o vying to be considered ‘the public’

Answer 28

* separateness of persons and self-ownership * we are all distinct individuals with our own aspirations and lives * sacrificing someone’s inviolable rights for the common good fails to show proper respect for the moral worth of every individual * individuals have self-ownership over their bodies, talents, abilities, and labour

Answer 29

• we all naturally choose to undergo pain or sacrifice to avoid greater harm (e.g. we go to the dentist to avoid worse suffering later) so why not similarly hold that some people have to bear some costs in order to later improve the common good? o because while we talk about the common good, society is ultimately made up of individuals with individual lives, so asking some to make sacrifices for society is asking one individual to benefit another

Answer 30

• influenced by Immanuel Kant - humanity should be treated not just as a means but as an end • rights are side-constraints o barriers each person which cannot be crossed without permission o rights shouldn’t limit your goals or force you onto a particular path deemed good for society o once you have chosen your goals, they restrain you from the side by ruling out actions that would violate the absolute rights of others

Answer 31

• treating people as ends rather than means rules out paternalism - violates side-constraints to force someone to take an action even if you know it would be good for them

Answer 32

• also rules out redistribution o if you can seize part of someone’s earning you are effectively seizing hours from them o if everyone has a right to an equal share of society’s resources then they have a claim on the products and labour of others, which amounts to partial ownership of other people • opposes coercion not charity - wrong for a socialist govt. to forcefully create more equal society but fine for willing individuals to establish own socialist community, voluntarily redistributing to live more equal lives

Answer 33

• even if people generally respected rights in the state of nature, some would lack the power to enforce them and would want impartial judges • they would group together in mutual protection agencies, promising to uphold each others’ rights when violated by others • members would eventually begin to pay fees so people could be hired to investigate and impartially settle dispute • initially, agencies would compete in free market but one agency would eventually become dominant as smaller, rival agencies would not be able to protect rights as ably • dominant protection agency is similar to a minimal state which enforces rights of most of pop. BUT a state has complete monopoly on the use of force - anarchists would say the agency cannot become a state without violating the rights of people who do not want to give up some rights to join the agency • it doesn’t violate rights to prevent people from taking dangerous, high risk actions provided they are compensated for any disadvantage they face as a result o e.g. preventing an epileptic person from driving would mean compensating them for trains, taxis etc. • allowing independents to take justice into their own hands carries high risks as they are unlikely to meet the standards of professional agencies o may try to punish the wrong person, use biased juries or attempt to impose unfair punishments o the dominant agency has a right to defend members against such methods - use natural right to self-defence • as a result, dominant agency can effectively ban independents from using own methods provided it compensates them for not being able to promise they can protect them from anyone who threatens their rights o most obvious way to do this is to provide services for free/less to these independents • at this stage, a minimal state has been formed naturally o rights of independents have not been violated o members will have to pay more to cover compensation BUT this isn’t redistribution, merely unavoidable cost of effective, morally permissible protection

Answer 34

o debates about nature of justice are about what is the fairest way to distribute society’s wealth and goods o he says these debates about distributive justice are misleading because it suggests that society’s resources are in a pot waiting to be handed out in the fairest, most just way o this isn’t true because resources are actually received from other individuals o in a free society, distribution arises out of voluntary actions of individuals o end-result theories of justice - justice depends on how goods are distributed; distribution must conform to a particular structure • basing solely on ends risks immoral actions being taken to get there • tells us nothing about the history of the society - is everyone free? do people get what they deserve? • historical theories of justice - justice depends on how the distribution of goods came about; distribution must conform to a particular pattern e.g. based on effort • liberty upsets patterns and maintaining any pattern or end-state would require impermissible limits on freedom

Answer 35

* distribution 1 = any preferred structure or pattern * Wilt Chamberlain signs a basketball contract that says 25 cents from each ticket go to him * one million come to watch him play, giving him $250 000 * there is now a new distribution * isn’t distribution 2 also just because d1 was just and people voluntarily moved from one to the other? * free individuals will never be able to preserve an end-state or pattern alone – the state would have to infringe on freedom either by stopping people transferring resources as they want to or continually interfering to take some property to re-establish the system * ‘whatever arises from a just situation by just steps is itself just’

Answer 36

• historical but unpatterned • justice requires o justice in acquisition (did individuals acquire unowned property in legitimate ways?) o justice in transfer (were goods then transferred voluntarily, free from coercion?) o justice in rectification (have all violations of these two standards been rectified?) o yes? then current system is just o we should focus on what we are entitled to not what we feel we morally deserve

Answer 37

• ‘utopia is a framework for utopias’ - a perfect society is one which allows each individual to experiment and explore their own ideas of utopia

Answer 38

Their core view of human nature as fallible and flawed

Answer 39

* without law, life would not be so much ‘nasty, brutish and short’ as ‘noisy, foolish and flawed’ * ‘benign and benevolent’ when framed by routine, familiarity and religious principles

Answer 40

we are 'freedom-loving pack animals' --> need for communities

Answer 41

* society emerges gradually and organically | * it cannot be created or planned, nor the way it will change predicted

Answer 42

Dealing with issues in a practical, evidential way with no clear idea of how society may evolve in the future - evidence over theory and what 'is' over what 'should be' Oakeshott and his boat thing - keep on an even keel

Answer 43

Oakeshott 'just as a plant's new leaves are connected to, dependent on and explained by the plant's roots and branches, so a society's present direction stems from its past development'

Answer 44

Noblesse oblige With privilege of power and authority comes responsibility - stronger elements of society have a natural, organic responsibility to weaker elements like a father to a child Hard paternalism = elites make decisions on what is best for the rest irrespective of what the rest want Soft paternalism = elites make decisions usually based on listening to what non-elites want

Answer 45

Emphasis on marriage, self-contained families and accountability for your actions - 'dysfunctional' individuals are not the result of 'dysfunctional' societies Religious principles e.g. spiritual rewards of altruism help bind individuals and curb natural imperfections

Answer 46

* often it is inherited and thus provides a degree of stability --> 'partnership between those who are living, those who are dead and those who are yet to be born' * those with property have a 'stake' in society and should have concern for those who don't --> incentive for exercising 'duty of care' to others

Answer 47

* wish to extend it throughout society creating a 'property-owning democracy' * those who own property are best placed to resist incursions on their liberty by the state and emboldened to justify unequal society

Answer 48

• individual liberty is important BUT individualism is best pursued in a society that values hierarchy and traditions, Judaeo-Christian culture as these 'traditional' societies provide the security and discipline needed for individuals to flourish

Answer 49

* disciplinary function - provide order, security and authority which allows for liberty * the state precedes society * state is hierarchical, reflecting elitist society * state acknowledges the notion of a ruling class whose power will often be aristocratic and hereditary rather than democratic * state would legislate wherever there was evidence that new laws were needed and governing to ensure order and social cohesion - avoid social upheaval and revolution but maintain traditional patterns of wealth and power (pragmatism and empiricism)

Answer 50

* Hobbes believed in government by consent and the state being rationally created (enlightenment) * other conservatives argue that a state arising momentously from rational discussion is likely to be normative (based on ideas of how it should be) not empirical * conservatives prefer a state that emerges gradually and unpredictably - a pragmatic response to humanity's needs * conservatives are more tolerant of an uncodified constitution

Answer 51

* nation = large community that contained all classes and provided a natural basis for the state * the state serves to define a nation - diminution of national-state = diminution of nation itself

Answer 52

TRADITIONAL • Qualified support for capitalism • It produces great wealth but disrupts hierarchy (feudal order disturbed by emerging middle class) and tradition • Feudal approach to property – holders have duties to descendants and less fortunate • Hobbes – monarch making economic interventions in interest of promoting peace and stability • Including redistributing land and ensuring jobs are plentiful so working poor not left at mercy of charity • Wealthy who relied more on state’s protection could be asked to pay more in tax • Free markets are preferable to rationalist attempts to innovate and centrally plan • Property rights should not be undermined • Burke - Inequality and hierarchy are natural, and state intervention to redistribute would disrupt the efficient hand of the market (Adam Smith - laissez-faire economics) and leave organic society without natural aristocracy it needed to invest, create jobs and provide leadership • Oakeshott similarly criticised proposals that radically innovated, centrally planned or challenged traditional property rights • free market capitalism promotes risk, innovation and iconoclasm (rejecting accepted beliefs) - sceptical of new-lib view that markets are most effective when left alone due to pessimistic view • assault on capitalism is an assault on property, hierarchy and the status quo • Also sceptical of New Right’s more ideological commitment to laissez-faire capitalism ONE-NATION • Disraeli didn’t share Burke’s commitment to laissez-faire economics and disagreed with classical liberals that any intervention in the economy would be harmful • Limited regulation (reduced, hours, improved working/living conditions) can help the poor without harming economy • Macmillan accepted Keynesian economics and welfare to lower unemployment and provide basic support to those unable to support themselves • Macmillan didn’t believe the free market was best at ensuring decisions were made in national interest or even long-term interests of business owners and workers • Planned capitalism – state could help industries to coordinate, plan and overcome barriers to economic growth • protectionism (markets tempered by state intervention) protects the economy against vagaries (unexpected changes) of markets through state-impose tariffs and duties --> offsetting globalising effects of free market capitalism by emphasising national identity and protecting national producers and consumers • Use loans and tax reforms to help businesses become more competitive NEW RIGHT • Wanted return to classical liberal policies of low taxes, free markets and minimal regulation • Tackle inflation and slow growth with tax and spending cuts, free markets, monetarism, deregulation and privatisation • Hayek argued that state intervention disrupted efficient signals sent by changing prices and that financial crises were caused by too much state planning • Hayek - Excessive redistribution undermined cultural rules that promoted self-reliance and hard work; intervention to maintain full employment drove up inflation, discouraging people from saving while giving trade unions too much disruptive power • Rand and Nozick provided moral arguments • Capitalism is efficient and moral • Rand said free market was only system compatible with human nature – rejected altruism and collectivism, leaving individual free to rationally pursue own self-interest • Entitlement theory of justice focused on entitlement not moral desert - If people acquired unowned property in legitimate ways, if goods were transferred voluntarily and if any violations of these standards were rectified then we cannot challenge the end distribution • Redistribution essentially ‘state-sanctioned theft’ and that it undermined self-ownership – no-one could have claim on products and labour of others • Common good undermines self-ownership • by disengaging from the economy, the state could focus on providing order and security • a free market economy will be prosperous and fund greater state spending on police, army etc.

Answer 53

* Importance of property rights * Redistribution should primarily take form of charity * Generally prefer capitalism to alternatives, viewing resulting inequality as inevitable by-product of our natural differences and choices