Conservatism Flashcards
What is monetarianism?
System where the government reduces inflation by controlling money supply through cutting public spending. (supply side economics)
What was one nation conservatism a reponse to?
Laissez-faire capitalism & industrialisation
What is ‘stagflation’?
Mix of inflation, high unemployment, and low demand.
What was the neo liberal response in the mid 1970s to the western governments’ use of interventionist policies?
- Thought Keynesianism/welfarism were unable to combat ‘stagflation’
- The free market was the only way to meet consumer demand efficiently, maximise use of resources, and achieve prosperity.
What is the neo-liberal view towards inflation?
Inflation is ’greatest evil’ in market economy as it discourages economic activity/ investment.
What type of individualism do neo liberals highlight?
Atomic individualism
What is atomic individualism?
Individuals are rational, self-interested & self-sufficient.
How can individual freedom be achieved?
By rolling back the state and opposing collectivism. Humans, being rational, are then entitled to pursue their own interests.
Why do traditional conservatives believe that an organic society must be organised into a hierarchy?
- People do not have same abilities, talents, or energy.
- It is a functional necessity as different people must do different jobs & are rewarded differently depending on contributions.
Why should governments embrace welfarism/pragmatism?
- Capitalism encouraged self-interested individualism that undermined the idea of social responsibility, which widens gap between the rich & poor, causing class conflict.
- Organic society depends on paternalism; should embrace social reform or ‘welfarism’ to strengthen unity between traditional ruling class & workers, which offsets the negative effects of capitalism.
- This maintains traditional institutions.
- May: ‘Shared society.’
What are the core ideas of conservatism?
- Pragmatism
- Paternalism
- Organic Society
- Tradition
- Libertarianism
- Human imperfection
Who are the key thinkers for conservatism?
- Thomas Hobbes
- Edmund Burke
- Michael Oakeshott
- Ayn Rand
- Robert Nozick
What key points does Thomas Hobbes make?
- Obedience & absolute government.
- Government established by consent who authorise those in power to preserve order/peace. People jointly submit to an autocratic state (terms ‘leviathan’).
- Created a hypothetical situation called the ’state of nature’ where people were equal & free without obedience to higher authority. Would lead to the ‘natural conditions of mankind; a ‘restless desire’ for power creating conflict & war. Life would become ‘poor, nasty, & short’. People sacrifice rights/freedoms for order & security through a social contract.
- Humans are needy, vulnerable & easily led astray in attempts to understand world. Tend to be distorted by self-interest & the concerns of the moment.
Who talks about the ‘state of nature’ and the ‘natural conditions of mankind’?
Hobbes
What conservative thinkers are traditional conservatives?
- Thomas Hobbes
- Edmund Burke
What key points does Edmund Burke make?
- The state resembled a living organism that may be changed when necessary to preserve political stability & social harmony. Within all ‘organic’ societies, a ruling class is inevitable & desirable.
- Radical change threatens to cut off society’s ‘roots’ leading to social & political breakdown. Tradition & empiricism represent accumulated ‘tested’ wisdom residing in society’s institutions, customs & practices.
- Each generation are obliged to pass this on. It provides a historical identity offering a sense of being ‘rooted’ in society.
Who discusses the organic state/society?
Edmund Burke
What main ideas does Ayn Rand discuss?
- Roll back the frontiers of the state.’
- Rejected anarchism as free markets & cultural laissez-faire need parameters of a small state. The small state is the strong state’.
- Refers to the negative freedom as the ’non-aggression principle.’
- Calls for ’a pure, unregulated laissez-faire’ economy, as it is morally superior as it respects the individual pursuit of rational self-interest.
- Associated with atomism (a society defined by autonomous individuals each seeking self-fulfilment & realisation). Society does not exist in any practical form, just a loose collection of independent individuals. ‘Right to choose’ in social issues.
Endorses objectivism as rational pursuit of self-interest as moral. Should be guided by self-interest & ‘rational self-fulfilment.’ Condemns personal altruism as it creates ‘artificial’ sense of obligation & expectation that did not accord with rational self-interest.
What does Oakeshott discuss?
- Actions should be guided by pragmatism. Politics can only be successful if it accommodated existing traditions, practises & prejudices.
- Modern society is unpredictable and complex. ‘Rational’ attempts to make sense of society’s behaviour distorts & oversimplifies.
- State exists to ‘prevent the bad rather than create the good’. Too ‘keep the ship afloat… use experience to negotiate… & stoicism to accept necessary changes.’
- Pragmatism is flexible and maintains social stability & cohesion by emphasising moderation & cautious change. ‘Prefer the familiar to the unknown, tried to the untried’.
- Most people are ‘fallible but not terrible’ & ‘imperfect but not immoral.’ People are capable of evil, dependent, and insecure.
What does Robert Nozick discuss?
- Only morally justified state is a ‘night watchman’ state with powers necessary to protect people against violence, theft & fraud.
- Monarchist state (mainly outsourcing public services to private companies) which would allow self-sufficient communities to merge alongside the extension of individual freedom.
- Communities would be free to practise its moral codes & values. Preservation of life, liberty & property ‘could not be taken for granted’ without some formal authority enforcing laws.
- ‘Tax, for the most part, is theft.’ Individuals own their bodies, talents, abilities, & labour (self-ownership).
- Individuals should be ‘left alone’ in the social & cultural spheres. Libertarians are tolerant of a liberal ‘permissive society’ & take a relaxed view on issues like abortion, divorce, & homosexuality.
- Optimistic, egotistical view on human nature.
Who talks emphasises a night watchman, minimal state, and individual rights?
Robert Nozick
Who emphasises laissez-faire capitalism, objectivism, and atomism?
Ayn Rand
Who said the state should ‘prevent the bad rather than create the good’?
Michael Oakeshott
What is atomism in the context of society?
- A society defined by autonomous individuals each seeking self-fulfilment & realisation.
- Society does not exist in any practical form, just a loose collection of independent individuals.
What is an autocratic state?
Tyrannical, have absolute power
What is anarchism?
Skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessarily limited to, governments, nation states, and capitalism.
What does Ayn Rand mean by advocating objectivism?
- A system that advocates the virtues of rational self interest.
- We should be guided by self-interest & ‘rational self-fulfilment.’
What is altruism?
Disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.
