Conservatism Flashcards
What are the core tenets of Traditional Conservatism?
- Human Imperfection
- Organic Society
- Tradition + Change
- Hierarchy and Authority
- Opposition to Ideology/Theory
- Property
What are the three different aspects of Traditional Conservative belief in Human imperfection?
- Psychological Imperfection
- Intellectual Imperfection
- Moral Imperfection
Explain the Traditional Conservative belief of Psychological Imperfection
People are naturally security seeking and fearful, and so do not like change. Justification for belief in authority and tradition
Explain the Traditional Conservative belief of Intellectual Imperfection
Humans have a limited capacity for reason. Provides reasons for opposition to ideology and support for tradition
Explain the Traditional Conservative belief of Moral Imperfection
People are not naturally good. Crime is the fault of bad individuals and so tough punishment is justfied
Explain the Organic Theory for Traditional Conservatives
- Whole > Sum of Parts. State Favoured over Individual
- Necessary Hierarchy and Inequality. Natural Structure
- Fashioned due to necessity (Imperfection)
- No Radical Change (Not like a machine, parts cannot be swapped out)
Explain the Traditional Conservative Belief in Tradition
- Humans are intellectually imperfect so the accumulated wisdom of past generations is superior to new thoughts and ideas.
- Tradition strengthens social cohesion and provides a sense of security
- If it isn’t broken dont fix it
Explain the Traditional Conservative opposition to change
- Humans are psychologically imperfect and are security seeking so change scares them and the security of tradition appeals to them
In what scenarios will Traditional Conservatives accept change?
When it has been proven that something doesn’t work, or if small change can be done to prevent larger change
What are examples of traditional conservatives accepting change to prevent even more change?-
- Accepting the welfare state to stop demands for more socialist ideas
- Accepting House of Lords reform to prevent abolition
Explain the Traditional Conservative belief in Hierarchy and Authority
- Link to Organic Society. Some aspects of an organism are naturally more important. Hierarchy is necessary.
- Noblesse Oblige/Paternalism; the upper class are responsible for the lower classes
- Order and Stability is more important than Equality and Freedom
Explain the Traditional Conservative disagreement with ‘Ideology’ and Abstract Theory
- Humans are intellectually imperfect with limited reason. Anything they come up with can’t work better than traditions
- Conservatism doesn’t see itself as an ideology because it is based on experience, not theory.
What is the traditional conservative definition of an ideology?
-A rigid abstract theory made by intellectually imperfect people.
Why might Traditional Conservatism be an ideology by its own definition?
- It does have identifiable doctrines, such as all the core tenets.
- It is an ideology by marxists too because its ideas about property reflect the views of the ruling class
What did Pre-Disraeli Conservatives think of Property?
Didn’t like private property because they fear it will be used to overthrow traditional political authority
What is the post-Disraeli Traditional Conservative view of Property?
- Accepts need for representing the rights and interests of property owners.
- Property acts as social cohesion; everyone has a ‘stake’ in the well-being of society
Why did the traditional conservative view of property change?
Opposition to the growing popularity of socialism in working class. Change in order to conserve.
What is the link between Human Imperfection and Organic Society in Traditional Conservatism?
Organic society develops due to human imperfection as people could not survive outside of a society
What is the link between human imperfection and tradition/change in Traditional Conservatism?
- Psych Imperfection means people are security seeking and tradition is safe.
- Intel Imperfection means tradition is better than ‘reason’ driving change
What is the link between human imperfection and Hierarchy/Authority in Traditional Conservatism?
-Authority is good for society because the alternative would be chaotic and people prefer to feel secure (psych imperfection)
What is the link between human imperfection and ideology/theory in Traditional Conservatism?
-Intel imperfection means any abstract theory or reasoning will be worse than tried and tested methods.
What is the link between human imperfection and Property in Traditional Conservatism?
-Psych imperfection, enjoy stability of society, had to accept property in order to stop socialism developing and changing society, making it chaotic and unfamiliar
What is the link between Organic Society and Hierarchy/Authority in Traditional Conservatism?
Different parts of an organic society have different roles with different importance, so necessarily unequal, but complementary and harmonious
What is the link between Organic Society and Property in Traditional Conservatism?
Owning property gives you a stake in society, so you have a vested interest in its well being, improving social cohesion and harmony in society
What are the two components of new right conservatism?
- Neoliberalism
- Neoconservatism
Traditional Conservatives believe in the Organic Society theory of the state. What do New Right Conservatives believe in?
- Mechanistic Theory of the State; the individual is the most important, not the state
- State should not be involved in the economy, because public sector is less efficient and leads to market failure
What do New Right Conservatives think about Human Nature/Human Imperfection?
- Adoption of belief in Rationalism from Liberalism. (Rejection of Intell Imperfection)
- Humans are naturally selfish and competitive
What do New Right Conservatives think about Tradition/Change?
- No desire to conserve tradition, apart from ‘Victorian age of free market’
- Positive desire for change due to belief in rationality
What do New Right Conservatives think about Theory/Ideology?
Positive view of ideology due to belief in rationality
What do New Right Conservatives think about Property
- Property is a central doctrine. People have the right to accrue wealth.
- Disagree with tax because 1. Govt is bad, and 2. it infringes on individual right to accrue wealth
What do New Right Conservatives think about Welfare/Paternalism?
They stress the right of individuals to succeed or fail in the free market without help or hindrance from other entities like the government. No Welfare.
What do New Right Conservatives believe about the structure of society?
- Individuals are more important than society as a whole.
- Rejects class but accepts MERITOCRATIC hierarchy with upward mobility
- Inequality of outcome due to belief in negative freedom
What is Neoliberalism?
The Economic side of New Right Conservatism that focuses on freedom and minimal state.
What is Neoconservatism?
The Social side of New Right Conservatism that focuses on social cohesion and authority
What is the justification in the New Right for no state in the economy but state in the society?
- Human imperfection, groups are more rational.
- Governments are more capable of making decisions than individuals
- But the wider free market is more capable of making decisions than government
In what ways are the New Right internally incoherent?
- Different views of Human Nature
- Radical vs. Reactionary
- Rigid Class System vs. Equality of Opportunity (Organic/Mechanistic)
- Strong state in society but no state in economy
How could it be argued that both Neoliberalism and Neoconservatism are reactionary?
Neoliberalism is reacting against increased state involvement in the economy. Neoconservatism is reacting against permissive liberal social values.
What is the link between Tradition and Neoliberal economics?
Neoliberalism is attempting to bring back a past ‘Victorian’ era of free market that worked in the past, before government intervention
