Conservatism Flashcards
5 core themes
Tradition, human imperfection, organic society, hierarchy/authority and property
6 strands of conservatism
Authoritarian, One Nation, Christian Democracy (both paternalistic), Libertarian, Liberal New Right, Conservative New Right
Why did Burke support tradition?
Our customs are God given, and so ‘the law of our creator’ and ‘natural law’ should not be changed
Burke and Chesterton on importance of ancestors
Partnership of ‘those who are living, those who are dead and those who are to be born’
‘Democracy of the dead’
Darwinism in conservatism explained
As society works as the survival of the fittest, changing institutions is removing tested things that are the best
Examples of attempts to retain rootedness and not a insecure future
Having judges wearing wigs, campaigns to keep red telephone and post boxes
Hobbes quote on human interest
‘Power after power’
Quotes of Oakenshott about human intellectual weakness
World is ‘boundless and bottomless’
Fear that ‘the cure is not worse than the disease’
Durkheim opinion of organic society
Anomie could take hold if people are given too many negative freedoms
Conservative opinion of freedom
Doing one’s duty keeps society from becoming atomistic, so your freedom is your duty
Example of duty freedom
Instructing children on how to behave
Differences of organicism to other ideologies
There are no separate parts that can be stripped down and changed, and also society is natural, no contract
What is functionalism?
The idea that institutions, merely by existing, show that they are worthwhile
How does the Liberal New Right threaten organicism?
An atomistic view of society is taken where the rights of the individual to act as they wish economically are raised
What is Burke’s view on inequality?
Like a body with each part having different functions, there is a natural aristocracy where difference members of society have different functions
Why is authority important?
It leads people to know their place and as a result they do not feel rootlessness or anomie
Why is burglary such a bad crime for conservatives?
Property is a personal thing which people use to represent them and give them a sense of belonging and rootedness
Example of generational link of property
Macmillan calling privatisation under Thatcher as ‘selling of the family silver’
French conservative philosopher: name and ideas
Joseph de Maistre who supported a return to monarchical government and supreme papal spiritual power in order to keep the bonds of society in tact
Russian Tsar Nicholas I conservative proclamation
‘Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality’
Pope Pius IX 1864 conservative proclamation
Radicalism or progressiveness are ‘false doctrines of our most unhappy age’
How have authoritarian conservatives gained power in the last 200 years?
Often through populist policies appealing to the poorest of order, national unity, economic prosperity and in the case of Perón, anti-Yankee imperialism
Quote of Burke about change
A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation
Ian Gilmour quote on conservatism
The wise Conservative travels light
What is paternalism?
Power over individuals to confer on to them benefits or to prevent harm
What are the two strands of paternalism?
Soft and hard (more authoritarian)
Why is paternalism opposed by some strands of conservatism?
Restricting liberty but more importantly, ‘infantalization’ of society (immorality of not self-reliance)
Which 2 books did Disraeli write?
Sybil and Coningsby
2 examples of Disraeli One Nation conservatism
Second Reform Act leading to more working class voters, and bettered housing and hygiene in cities
What were the 2 ideas which drove Disraeli’s One Nation conservatism?
Reform to avoid revolution, and then unequal responsibilities of individuals based on hierarchy
What was Randolph Churchill’s view of One Nation conservatism?
It is key to keep traditional institutions such as House of Lords popular, and this can only be done through reform, known as Tory democracy
4 tenets of Toryism
Hierarchy, tradition, duty and organicism
When was the high point of One Nation conservatism and who supported it with which book?
50s and 60s, finding a balance between previous failures of laissez-faire versus total socialism, with Macmillan and his book The Middle Way supporting a mixed economy
Recent incarnation of One Nation conservatism
Compassionate Conservatism
Tenets of Christian democracy
Social groups over individual, organic harmony, subsidiarity, social market which aims to help small businesses and reach social betterment
2 Christian democracy parties
German Christian Democratic Union and Italian Christian Democratic Party
Why did Burke support free markets?
The ‘love of lucre’ is natural and therefore should not be restrained, and any ‘degrading, unseemly, unmanly and often most unwholesome’ parts of the market for working classes are ‘the natural course of things’ - tradition
How is the market a useful tool when faced with weak individuals?
Forces of the market can bring about ‘market order’, for example workers not striking to keep their jobs
Division between paternalist and libertarian conservatives
Organic society versus atomistic individualism
2 Liberal New Right economists
Hayek (The Road to Serfdom) and Friedman
Oakeshott quote on individual’s desires
To prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the possible
Quote of Friedman in response to Keynes
Natural rate of unemployment
Which ideas drive the anti-Welfarism of the Liberal New Right?
Avoiding a culture of dependency, and not giving to the undeserving poor
2 modern philosophers of Liberal New Right and their ideas
Charles Murray, welfare breaking down family unit, and Robert Nozick, individual rights against redistribution of welfare - ‘legalized theft’
2 examples of Conservative New Right social values supported
Thatcher’s Victorian Values and Moral Majority
Why is permissiveness dangerous for CNR?
It leads to a plurality of morals, which in turn leads to less cohesion of society and a pathless desert facing individuals
2 ideas of CNR foreign policy
Neo-Reaganism and Hard Wilsonianism, most clearly shown by the recognition of Afghanistan as bad, and then democracy building in the nation after invasion
Difference of LNR of 80s and now
‘Heroic’ new right turning to ‘managerial’ new right, or even civic conservatism
Example of tradition Britain
Conservative proposals to bring back fox hunting
Example of human imperfection Britain
New Labour support of law and order through ASBOs in 1998
Example of organic society Britain
Conservative support of House of Lords - keeping weak societal bonds in place
Example of hierarchy Britain
Capital gains tax cut in 2016 doing nothing to help the poorest - natural aristocracy
Example of property Britain
Thatcher Right to Buy
Example of One Nation Conservatism Britain
Liberal reform of National Insurance to give people healthcare - decreasing gap between rich and poor
2 examples of tough law and order of Conservative Party
Chris Grayling limiting books in prison in 2015, and increasing sentencing for drink driving
Example of supporting property for all by Major
90s decision to sell military property to private buyers, but as the prices were too low it was also seen as shortchanging defense
How one should lay out a paragraph
Explanation of theory, analysis of theory, strands supporting/giving varying views on idea, additional synoptic nature, examples, concluding sentence linking back to question
Example of paternalism of IDS
Working against ‘conveyor belt to crime’
Example of organic society of IDS
‘Neighbourly society’ supported
Example of One Nation and rejection of human imperfection of Cameron
Policy Unit in 2008 Green Paper on rehabilitation of ex-prisoners/ ‘hug a hoodie’ of 2006
Organic society in Cameron
Big Society ideas encompassing all
Example of property values in Cameron
Focus on environment and handing over green spaces to the next generation - generational link
Example of property and LNR of Cameron
Privatisation of Royal Mail from 2013
Example of rejection of tradition of Cameron/cabinet
Education changes by Gove in 2011
Example of human imperfection supported by Cameron
Values entrenched in individuals of NCS announced in 2010 as part of Big Society
Example of organic society/family values of Cameron
August 2014 speech about family outlining past success of party in supporting them - ie tax free childcare
Example of rejection of ‘family’ of Cameron
Legalisation of gay marriage
Example of rejection of stable organicism of May
3-lock on pensions in 2017 Manifesto brought down to 2-lock
Example of Conservative policy of traditional values
Major’s Back to Basic campaign
Michael Howard on prison
Prison works
Changes to police under Cameron
More accountable than under Thatcher
Burke on too much power
The greater the power the more dangerous the abuse
Lord Hailsham on mindset and ideology
A state of mind, rather than an ideology
Russel Kirk on conservatism
The negation of ideology
4 tenets of authority
Provides normative guidance, simplifies decision making process, reduced complexity and promotes cooperation and social order
Difference between authoritarian conservatism and fascism
Conservatives try to suppress politics while fascists promote a politicisation of everyday life to reach national goals
Daniel Bell on state role
When the state takes a larger role, the people increase their expectations of it leading to ungovernability
Evolution of Hague
Originally libertarian in policy, against communitarianism of Blair, he changed later to ‘common-sense conservatism’ with attacks on asylum seekers and welfare
Overall difference between Liberal New Right and other conservatives
Anti-statist v statist
Example of noblesse oblige
February 2018 voluntary council tax campaign by Tory Westminster City Council to help homeless
