Conservatism Flashcards
what are the three types of conservatives
- traditional
- one nation
- The new right
what are the core belives of conservatives
HN
* human imperfection ( negative view on HN)
1. altruism
2. rationalism
society and state
* organic (vs mechanistic)
* ( un equal society) ( natural higherchy as a part of organic society)
* pragmatism with emprical edidence vs Rationalism
* paternalism
* tradition
* libertarianism - negative freedoms- ( extent based on view of human nature) - more interms of econ
* some form of ( capitalism) - (with it hierarchy)
who are the key thinkesr and what wing of teh ideologie do tehy come under
- Thomas hobbes - traditional but unique
- Edmund burke - traditional
- mikchael Oakshott- one nation
- ( Gladstone and Benjaman disreali and adam smith- one nation )
- Ayn rand- The new right but is a neoliberal
- Robbert Nozick - the new right but is a neo liberal
- (Thatcher and Regan- new right)
what did the some what traditional conservative Thomas hobbes belive about human nature
-
Human imperfection
1. Hobbes belived in atomistic individualism where individauls were self motivated and selfshish; individuals have a right to everything, but these rights are constantly in conflict, therefore the condition of man was a “condition of war” - however, he did belive there were rational enough to be aware of their own condition so that they woudl naturally appoint a soverign
1. “ the condition of man is a condition of war” - individualism
- mostly anti rati0nallism
Thomas hobbes quote of Human nature
- ” The condition of man is a condition of war”
what did thomas hobbes belive bout society
-
mechanistic (in organic) kinda
1. Life in the state of nature is “solitary, poor, nasty brutish an short” Hobbes argued that in the state of nature, individuals have a right to everything, but these rights are constantly in conflict, leading to a “condition of war”.
2. however one could argue tehat thsi “ state of nature he invisione meant society was organic just incredibly flawed in its natural form. -
anti liberaterianism and natural unequal society/ higherarchy.
1. He belived a state was needed to bring order in a authoriterian and higherarchical way. He viewed this as a sovereign monarch with a dive right to rule - this is outine by his idea and book The Social contract where peopel had to scrifice their liberty ( though an unspoken social contract) inorder to escape teh brutal war like state of nature. In this way a hierarchical feudal syetem emerged. - paternalim
- the soverign would act as a sort of peternal fiigure over the nation, being order to the natural sate of chaos.
Hobbes quote about society
- ” life in a state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short
what did thomas hobbes belive about the state
-
less liberaterian more human imerfetion
1. strong, authoriterian and higherarical state in the form of a soverign with a divine right to govern. In his idea of social contrcat theory he belived individals where flawed but rational enough yo reliae they had to give up their individual liberty to a degree inorder to ecape the natural state which was a condition of war bwteen men and where life was soitarry, poor nasty brutish and short. -
( organic ) inequallity/natural hierarchy
1. feudal system
1. “its not wisdom but authority that makes a law” - **less praagmatis ** - **paternalism **
1. the soverign would act as a sort of peternal fiigure over the nation
thomas hobbes quote about state
- “its not wisdom but authority that makes a law” - anti pragmatism
what did thomas hobbes belive about the ecconomy
- centralised governemnt controle as
- ” The condition of man is a condition of war of everyone agaianst eveyone” greed steelign and choas would rule otherwise
in what wya did hobbe sbeliev soiety was organic
he belived in a “state of nature” but that this was naturally “war of all against all,”
what did edmund burk belive about HN
-
Human inperfection
1. humans are flawed and imperfect beings who are “more likly to fail than succeed” but are not morally evil
1. still more pesamistic - “ all that was required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing” -
pragmatism - we are not capable of rationalism and therefore must be empirical/pragmatic and learn from history.
1. “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”
edmund Burk quotes on human nature
- human beings are “more likly to fail thna succeed” - ( ant rationalism)
- “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it” - anti rationalism
- ” all tthat was required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing” - disposition towards huamn selfishnes s
what did Edmund Burk belive about Society
-
organic vs mechanistic ( natural inequallity+ hierarchy
1. society is organic rather tahn mechanistic and eveolves/ grows over time.
3. he critisised thoes who belived a society coudl be based on “philosophical abstractions” or “utopian ideals” like after the french revolution.
4. he belived that there is natural higher archy and inequllity in socirty and this isnt a bad thing. thsi exited -
Tradition -
1. He sued the analogy of a organic organism vs a machine to describe socity. this mean it could not be subject to abrut change but had to slowly evolve/ grow over time. -
praternalism
1. lesser so but like hobbes Burk had a disposition to believ in human imperefction and take a pesamistic view towards society.
2. He belied “ all thats required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”
3. He believed a ruleing calss naturally emerged and tehy ha teh responcabillity of “nobkless obige”
pragmatismn
1. nobless obige by pragmatic jsudgements as problems arose based on empirical wisdom ( as humans lacked the abillity for true rationalism)
2. he agrued “ thoes who do not lean from history are doomed to reat it”
3. He belived that as teh state was like a living organism tehre needeed to be “ chaneg to concerve”
- (ferderalim)
1. un like hobbes burk took a slightly more collectivist almost federal oulook on scoiety, he beoved that society should be made of “small platoons”, autonomous and **diverse ** and he didnt like the idea of strong, unitary, centralised societies liek taht emerging in france.
whats the opersite to organic
- mechanistick
why is Hobbes’ view on society tecnically organic
- it is not so much organic as it is simply not mechanistic
- he belives humans would exist in a natural state of tyrany and chos if it were not for are natural rationallity and inclenition to appoint a soverign to being order.
what is noblesse oblige
Burks theory on paternalism
Burk quotes on society and state
- “small platoons”
- described it as like a palnt rather than a machine
- cant be based on “philosophical abstractions” or “utopian ideals”
- “The state without any means of some change is without means of conservation”
- “Those who dont know history are doomed to repeat it” - Pragmatic dession making and empiricism
- “the greater the power, the more dangerous teh abuse”
what did edmund burk belive about the economy
-
liberaterian outlook/capitalism
1. burke recognised teh importance of individual freedom and proppert rights
2. Burk agreeded with Adam smiths viw on laissez fair capitalism, that should eveolve without state intervention, once agin liek a plant rather than a machine to ensure the most economic proserity and ensure the freedom of individuals. -
hierarchy/ natureal in equllity organic
1. thought inequallity was natural and and elite ( ruling) class would emerge but didnt think this was a badthing as tehy woud rule over lowr classes peternally
Paternalsim
1. he thought if inequallity got to great and the ellite dispregared their role of nobless oblige then revolution was inevitabe which is what happened in france.
2. therefore the poor would beifit from voluntary charitable actions of th rich ratehr than welfaire.
what did Michael Oakeshott belive about HN
-
human imperfection
1. simmilarly to burk he had a negtive view on human nature but as a one nation conservtiev he was more possitive
2. he belived that humans are imperfect but not terrible or imoral and had secondry consrn for others
3. “Human beings are imperfect and their actions imperfect also, but there is a great deal in them that is not corruptible. -
pragmatism and irrational
1. he belived humans were irational and had to rely on pragmatism from historical emperical wismdom.
1. “evey huan being is born an heir to an inheritance to which he can succeed only in a proccess of learning” -
what did michael Oakshot belive about society and state
-
tradition
1. “a known good is not lightly surrendered for an unkown better” -
oragnic
1. under his ship at see analogy he argued that society had only been there and wasn’t going anyhwere. ( there may have been rougher conditions and smoother ones but there was no end and no final goal) - federalism + pragmatism
- simmilarly to burk he not a fan of centralised power, he belives society is a collection of loccalised comunities making dessision to solve short term issues as tehy arose. simillialy he also belived these should be diverse inorder to help tackle these issues with agregation and dialectics.
-
paternaism
1. as society was liek a ship at sea the role of the state was to “to keep it alfoat on an even keel” -
liberterianism + pragmayic intervention
“to prevent the bad” rather tan “to create teh good”
Oakshot quote on huamn nature
- evey huan being is born an heir to an inheritance to which he can succeed only in a proccess of learning - anti ratinalism
- human beings are imperfect and tehir actions imperefct also but thereis alot about a man which is not corruptable - more possitive view
Oakshot quotes on society and state
- society is like a ship at sea teh role of the ste is to simply “to keep it alfoat on an even keel”
- “a known good is not lightly surrendered for an unkown better”
- society is a collection of localised comuniteies
- the states job is “to prevent the bad” rather than “to create teh good”
what did michael Oakshot belive about the economy
- keynsian economics, with pragmatic governemnt intervention
- “to prevent the bad” rather than “to create the good”
oak shot quotes on economy
- governemnt intervention should be “to prevent the bad” rather than “to create the good”
*
what was anne rand’s phillosphy called
- objectivism
what dis anne rand belive about human nature and how did this influence the new right
- Her view of human nature is the foundation of her philosopy of objectivism
-
human perefction
1. she is belived in attomistic indervidualism, where by humans are rational, selfintersted and selfish but unlike hobbes she viewd thir selfishness as a good thing as it coensided with ratinallity. The highest moral aim is personal happiness
2. 1. “altruism is a pernicious lie”
2. in her phillosolphy of objectivism hmans were entirly rational - A new rigth thinker would follow this phillosy as far as a persons governeace over their economic persutes
what was anne rands book
the virtue of selfishness
anne rand quote about human nature
“altruism is a pernicious lie”
what dis anne rand belive about socirty and state and how did this influence the new right
objectivism
-
organic
1. “false ideology’s”such as comunism, socialism etc had stopped, society had to be centred around the atomised individual therefor laisfia rcpa and protection of natral individual rights
higherarchy
* Rand assumed, as Hobbes did, that without a centralized authority human life would erupt into a chaos of violence. “Warfare–permanent warfar- is the hallmark of tribal existence,” she wrote This, she reasoned, is “why altruism is so pervasive.”
Unitary week gov
* state that simply protected idervidual freedoms/rights and was entirly seperate from the economy, **(based on negative freedoms) **
**Liberterianism **
* she was a preponant of volitarism, by which human engagement in any sort of collecive society was done out of choise, based on rational priciapals of reciprocity or sipply getting a job done faster.
* radical deregulation to allow self actualisation and forfillmet of th atmosed individual
how do you spell disraeli
disraeli
anne rand quotes on stae and society
- “Warfare–permanent warfar- is the hallmark of tribal existence,”
- “It is only the inferior men that have collective instincts—because they need them”
- negative freedosm
- volitarism
- rolling back of teh state