Conservatism Flashcards
Idea
One belief about how society should be run
Policy
A specific proposal which would change the law and resolve a specific problem in how society is run based on an idea
Ideology
A collection of related political ideas that come together to create a vision of an idealised society
Human nature definition
The distinguishing characteristics of a human such as how they think, feel and behave
Society definition
A group of people who live together with shared cultural values and heritage
State definition
A centralised government with defined sovereignty over clear areas
Economy definition
The production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money
Why, in the UK, is ‘conservatism’ not synonymous with the Conservative party?
The Conservative Party, does not uphold the principles of Conservatism, the party also reflects many of the liberal principles such as free market and individual aspiration
The state…
Jacob Rees Mogg on food banks
The state can’t do everything, it provides a base of welfare for those to make ends meet, but on some occasions it doesn’t work
Charitable support is good, and people know food banks are there, but Labour won’t tell them so rising numbers
Changing to conserve
The fundamental principle of conservatism and one that distinguises a conservative from a reactionary
Indicates a belief that for something valuable to be preserved, it has to be continuosly updated and maintained
Institutions conservatives want to preserve
- Monarchy
- Churches - Church of England
- Parliament
The core ideas of Conservatism - human nature
Humans are:
- psychologically imperfect - humans are dependent and seek security, has implications for tradition
- morally imperfect, with base and non-rational urges and instincts
- intellectually imperfect, living in a world beyond human understanding, preference for tradition, experience and pragmatism over fixed abstract principles
The core ideas of Conservatism - society - localism
