Conservatism Flashcards
Burke on society (2):
-society is “a partnership between those who are living , those who are dead and those yet to be born”
-society is organised in “little platoons”
Burke of the state (2):
-there is a “natural aristocracy”
-“a state without the means of some change is without the means of its own conservation”
Burke on human nature (2);
-“the individual is foolish…but the species is wise”
-“there is a chasm between our desire and our achievement”
Burke on the economy (2):
-humans have a “love of lucre” (i guess kinda human nature too)
-the market creates “degrading, unseemly, unmanly conditions but they are better than if “the natural course of things” was disturbed”
Hobbes on man nature (4):
-we seek “power after power”
-state of nature is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”
-“Vain glorious”
-state of nature is a “war of everyone against everyone”
Hobbes on the state (2):
-his “leviathan” argues for a strong authoritarian ruler
-“it is not wisdom but authority that makes a law”
Oakeshott on human nature (7);
-“we have an innate fear of the uncertain”
-the political world is “boundless and bottomless” (too complex for us to understand with out psychological imperfection)
-preference for “the familiar to the unknown”
-“my theme is not a creed or a doctrine, but a disposition” (pragmatic)
-conservatism is to be “disposed to make certain choices”
-conservatism is a “psychology, not an ideology”
-“humans are imperfect but not immoral” they are “benign and benevolent” when given the right moral choices
Rand on the economy (2):
-“radical for capitalism”
-“i am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism… i am not primarily and advocate of egoism but of reason”
Rand on human nature (3):
-“the best is a matter of standards, and i set my own standards. I inherit nothing” (from the fountainhead)
-“One may do things…for his own pleasure. This is not immoral, but the highest of morality”
-“man is a being of self-made soul”
Nozick on the state (2);
-endorsed the idea of monarchism (night watchman state)
-“welfare is on a par with forced labour”
Nozick on human nature (1):
-“rationality defines the distance we have come form mere animality”
Thatcher on society (3);
-return to “Victorian values”
-“consensus seems to be the process for abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies”
-“there is not such thing as society”
Thatcher on the state (1);
“Crime is a crime is a crime, not politics” (reaction to permissive society so stronger law and order)
Gilmour on human nature/conservative thinking/ pragmatism
“The use conservative travels light”
De Maistre on the state (2);
-absolutism and submission to the pope (du pape) as “the master”
-“all subordination to authority rests on the executioner. He is the horror and bond of human association”
MacMillan on the economy (2):
-privatisation is equivalent to “selling off the family silver”
-idea of a “middle way” involving “planned capitalism”
Disraeli on society
-there are “two nations…between whom there is no sympathy…the rich and the poor” when in reality there should only be “one nation” (paternalistic)
Friedman on the economy
-there is a “natural rate of unemployment” with a free market that should be respected
GK Chesterton on society/ tradition
“Tradition means giving the vote to the most obscure of classes…our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead”
Durkheim on society
-his concept of functionalism explains a need for organic society (prevention of “anomie”)
Disraeli on the state
“The aristocracy are the natural leaders of the people”
Kristol of the economy
“Families should move to new communities to find better jobs”
Also kind of credited with neoconservatism
Reagan on society/conservative ideology and new right theory
“The very heat of conservatism is libertarianism”
Examples of thatchers economic policies (3):
-privatisation of British airways (1987) and gas (1986)
-interest rates raised by 14% in 1979
-top rate of income tax reduced by 23%
Charles Murray on the state/society
“Welfare leads to a breakdown of family”
Von Hayek on the economy
Endorsement of “supply-side” economics to reduced inflation (e.g cutting public spending)
