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Conservatism Flashcards

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1
Q

Origins of conservatism

A

A response to the French Revolution which resulted in widespread death and chaos

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2
Q

What is ‘change to conserve’?

A

The idea that gradual changes to correct what may be flawed is better than a full revolution as tradition and history have accumulated wisdom over time

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3
Q

What is an organic society?

A

Society can be compared to a tree:
It develops and grows slowly but needs constant nurturing. It should not be uprooted and replaced.

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4
Q

Key work of Thomas Hobbes

A

Leviathan (1651)

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5
Q

What historical event was Hobbes critical of?

A

The English Civil War

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6
Q

How does Hobbes view human nature?

A
  • Cynical view
  • Humans are endlessly restless in their pursuit of power to fulfil their desires
  • Humans are fearful of others as the ‘weakest has enough strength to kill the strongest’
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7
Q

What did Hobbes argue life would be like in the state of nature?

A

‘Nasty, brutish and short’

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8
Q

How does Hobbes see humans as rational?

A

He believes that humans will end up rising above the state of nature and submitting their individual power to a sovereign in order to protect themselves

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9
Q

How does Hobbes view the state?

A
  • A sovereign with absolute power provides order and stability
  • This sovereign should not be limited by other legal bodies or a constitution
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10
Q

Why do many not see Hobbes as a conservative?

A
  • Sees humans as rational
  • Sees humans as individuals working against each other instead of a society
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11
Q

Why do many not see conservatism as an ideology?

A

Oakeshott described as ‘more psychology than ideology’. Conservatives have few long-term goals and instead focus on protecting a set of values.

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12
Q

Features of traditional conservatism

A
  • Hierarchy
  • Paternalism
  • Traditional values
  • ‘Little platoons’
  • Change to conserve
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13
Q

What are ‘little platoons’?

A

Society is a collection of little platoons (small groups) and not individuals. These communities have shared values and customs and provide stability to people.

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14
Q

What is empiricism?

A

Belief that politics should be based on what works instead of abstract ideology

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15
Q

Key work of Edmund Burke

A

Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)

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16
Q

Why did Burke support the American Revolution?

A

It had the goal of protecting ancient rights and privileges of people which had been removed by the oppressive British government who taxed them without authority

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17
Q

How did Burke view human nature?

A
  • Sceptical
  • Saw individual as foolish but the species as wise
  • Humans should not rely on rationalism but instead on culture and tradition
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18
Q

What was Burke’s ‘social contract’

A

The contract between the living and the dead to preserve and nurture traditions and customs

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19
Q

How did Burke view society?

A
  • Critical of individualism, little platoons
  • Organic society
  • Hierarchy was natural
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20
Q

Features of one-nation conservatism

A
  • Harnessing the threat of socialism
  • Focus on the nation
  • Change to conserve
  • Paternalism
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21
Q

Key work of Michael Oakeshott

A

Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays (1962)

22
Q

How did Oakeshott describe human nature?

A

Humans prefer ‘the familiar to the unknown, the actual to the impossible’

23
Q

How did Oakeshott view human nature?

A
  • Fragile and fallible
  • The world is too complex for humans to understand
24
Q

How did Oakeshott view society?

A
  • Society should reject abstract and untried ideas and instead embrace their history and customs
  • The idea of a perfect society is absurd
25
Q

How did Oakeshott view the role of the state?

A

The government’s role is not to create a perfect society but instead to preserve public order

26
Q

What do the New Right view the role of the state as?

A
  • The state should be limited to allow everyone to act in their own self-interest
  • However there should be a strong police force and army to protect property rights
27
Q

What is anti-permissiveness?

A

A rejection of the idea that people should make their own moral choices. Neo-conservatives are anti-permissive and believe the state should enforce good morals on society.

28
Q

How do neo-conservatives view society?

A

Anti-permissive, seeing the role of the state to promote traditional morals onto society

29
Q

How do neo-liberals view society?

A

Permissive; the state should roll back its power to allow people to make their own choices

30
Q

Key work of Ayn Rand

A

The Virtue of Selfishness (1964)

31
Q

What is statism?

A

A system where the state has a large degree of control over social and economic affairs

32
Q

What is objectivism?

A

Rand’s philosophy that rational individuals under capitalism will achieve happiness and progress by having maximum freedom

33
Q

What is atomism?

A

The concept that society, if it exists, is a collection of individuals pursuing their own self interests; collective identities like class are meaningless

34
Q

How did Rand view human nature?

A
  • Objectivism
  • ‘Man must exist for their own sake, not sacrificing himself to others’
35
Q

How did Rand view society?

A
  • Atomistic society
  • Society doesn’t really exist, instead just individuals pursuing their own happiness
  • Meritocratic
36
Q

How did Rand view the economy?

A
  • Free-market capitalism
  • People should keep the value of their labour
37
Q

How did Rand view the role of the state?

A

The state’s role is limited to being a ‘police officer’, protecting people from criminal activity

38
Q

Key work of Robert Nozick

A

Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974)

39
Q

How did Nozick view human nature?

A
  • Optimistic
  • Individuals have natural rights
  • Individuals are the owners of their own minds and bodies
40
Q

How did Nozick view the role of the state?

A
  • Individuals should be free from any enforced obligations, economically or socially
  • A minimalist state could be justified to protect people from threats to themselves or their propety
41
Q

How did Nozick view the economy?

A

Any attempt at wealth redistribution is an assault on liberty; “taxation of earnings is on par with forced labour”

42
Q

How did Nozick view society?

A
  • Society is made up of independent individuals
  • Voluntarily formed communities will establish with people who have shared values
43
Q

How do one-nation conservatives view the economy?

A

Due to the principle of paternalism, the wealthy have an obligation to look after the poor

44
Q

How did Burke view the state?

A
  • The state is an organic aspect of society which gradually forms to meet human needs
  • A ruling class is natural, however, they have an obligation to look after the poor
  • Opposed to a large central state; emphasis on smaller communities
45
Q

How do traditional conservatives view society?

A
  • Paternalistic view
  • Emphasis on tradition
  • Judeo-Christian values
  • Organic view
  • Hierarchy
46
Q

How do the New Right view society?

A
  • Atomistic society
  • Society should not have any limits on the individual
47
Q

Where do conservatives agree in regards to the economy?

A
  • Private property is important as it provides stability to people and society
  • Capitalism is the most effective economic system and wealth inequality is a natural reflection of differences between individuals
48
Q

How did Burke view the economy?

A
  • Importance of property rights
  • Free market with little government interference
  • Paternalistic duty of higher classes to provide for lower classes
49
Q

How have one-nation Conservatives viewed the economy?

A
  • Mixed economy and some form of a welfare state
  • This was to prevent the threat of the working classes resisting unregulated capitalism
50
Q

3 conservative views on human nature

A
  • Hobbes: cynical, humans fearful of others
  • Oakeshott: humans are ‘fragile and fallible’, humans unable to create a perfect society
  • Rand: objectivism, humans make rational choices
51
Q

3 conservative views on the state

A
  • Burke: the ruling class have a paternalistic duty towards the poor
  • Oakeshott: the state should be guided by pragmatism
  • Nozick: limited state, including that taxation for a welfare state was ‘forced labour’
52
Q

3 conservative views on society

A
  • Hobbes: order is needed to prevent society from being ‘brutish’
  • Burke: organic society
  • Rand: atomistic society

Gov & Politics (23 decks)

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