Conservatism Flashcards
Freedom
Conservatives believe in a homogenous society with shared values. Moral values should be used as a control on society. They do not believe in giving away too much freedom. They believe by limiting freedom they are ensuring life is not “brutish and short” as Hobbes said, in return for this, people must accept restrictions on freedom.
Human nature
Traditional view of nature is pessimistic, they believe humans are imperfect and corrupt, and this should limit are views on politics. However, they do not believe humans should be controlled in all aspects of their lives as they are intelligent.
Society
Conservatives believe that society should be viewed as a living organism, which changes over time. Society should reflect common shared values. Society is best when it evolves slowly and respects the traditions of society, especially the family, church and authority.
Equality
Conservatives believe that society is inherently unequal. They defend a class based society as people have different abilities and people naturally form groups with people of similar education, wealth, employment etc. eg they believe in private property as people have individual talents and it allows them independence from the state.
