Conservatism

Question 1

What are the core values?

Answer 1

Pragmatism, paternalism, organic society/state, liberalism, tradition, human imperfection

Question 2

What are the strands?

Answer 2

Traditional, one nation, new right

Question 3

What is the state of nature? What are humans like in it?

Answer 3

A situation in which there are no laws of government, ‘nasty, brutish and short’

Question 4

What is their view on rationalism (minus neo-liberals)?

Answer 4

Promotes abstract ideas which they don’t like

Question 5

What are the three areas of human imperfection?

Answer 5

Intellectually (reality is beyond rational understanding), psychologically (socially dependent), morally (selfish and motivated by impulse)

Question 6

How do the strands views on human imperfection differ?

Answer 6

Traditional- pessimistic and fixed, One nation- more optimistic, Neo-liberal- believe in rationalism

Question 7

Who created the state of nature?

Answer 7

Thomas Hobbes

Question 8

What did Hobbes argue for when it came to government?

Answer 8

Social contract and total obedience to absolute government

Question 9

How do ideas differ over an organic state/society?

Answer 9

Traditional, ON- fixed hierarchy, NL- meritocracy

Question 10

What does organic state mean?

Answer 10

No radical change, it gradually evolves, change to conserve

Question 11

Why is paternalism used in conservatism?

Answer 11

They want to keep the poorer people happy so there aren’t any revolutions

Question 12

What is ‘noblesse oblige’?

Answer 12

The obligations of the upper class to help the lower class

Question 13

What are different views on paternalism?

Answer 13

Traditional/NR- look after people as little as possible, ON- noblesse oblige, little more than T, NL- large reduction in govt spending

Question 14

What is pragmatism?

Answer 14

Changing to conserve, being practical and doing what works

Question 15

How do NL differ when looking at pragmatism?

Answer 15

Believe in radical change

Question 16

Who are the two One nation PMs?

Answer 16

Disraeli and Macmillan

Question 17

Why did one nation conservatism emerge?

Answer 17

There was a new industrial working class emerging so increased welfare was needed

Question 18

What did Disraeli do?

Answer 18

Enacted social reforms and limited welfare. Increasingly intervened in society and economy

Question 19

What did Macmillan do?

Answer 19

Adopted a mixed economy, put private enterprise under state ownership so people couldn’t become too rich to defy hierarchy

Question 20

How did Burke view the state?

Answer 20

Like a living organism that should only be changed when necessary. Revolution threatened to cut off the roots

Question 21

What did Oakshott think about ideologies?

Answer 21

They oversimplify complex situations. The fascist and communist regimes of the 20th century were clear examples of misguided human rationalism

Question 22

What ideas did Rand create?

Answer 22

Objectivism- your happiness and success should be your sole purpose. Non-aggression principle- redistribution causes people to not work as hard

Question 23

What were Nozick’s main ideas?

Answer 23

Individuals own their own bodies, talents, abilities and labour. Taxes to fund state welfare are immoral because they treat humans as a resource. Citizens with benefits are partial owners of the individual