Conservatism Flashcards
Hierachy
Equality of status and power is undesirable, and that human affairs require leadership from a small number of individuals
Authority
Idea that people in higher positions in society are best able to make decisions in the interests of the whole society
Change to conserve
Belief that society must be continuously updated and maintained if it is to be preserved
Egotistical individualism
Idea that society is made up of self-interested and self-sufficient individuals
Noblesse oblige / paternalism
Belief that it is the duty of the wealthy and privileged to look after those less fortunate
Anti-permissiveness
Rejection of a society with few moral or legal codes of behaviour, where social norms become increasingly liberal
Human imperfection
Belief that humans are flawed and thus are incapable of making good decisions for themselves, making any quest for the ‘perfect’ society misguided - link to empiricism
Laissez-faire
Minimal government intervention in business and the state
Empiricism
The idea that knowledge comes from real experience and not from abstract theories
Pragmatism
Flexible approach to society with decisions made on the basis of what works
Tradition
Accumulated wisdom of past societies and a connection between the generation
Libertarianism
Upholds liberty, seeking to maximise personal autonomy, mainly in the economy
(New Right)
Conservative view of human nature
Flawed, so there is a need for law and order
Fixed and constant, with society having to accommodate not alter this reality
Favour strong legal frameworks to protect humans from one another
See human nature leading people to familiar patterns of life, as opposed to the new and novel
Conservative view of the state
Needed to provide law and order and defence
Acts as a unifying force to promote national cohesion and unity
Conservative view of society
A collection of localised communities, providing individuals with security and acting as a brake upon individual selfishness
Emerges gradually and organically
Societal issues dealt with in a practical and pragmatic way
Rests heavily upon tradition
Hierarchy / authority - noblesse oblige / paternalism
Judeo-Christian morality
Conservative view of the economy
Free market and individual enterprise (economic inequality) vs risk and volatility
Traditional conservatives - moderated form of government with government intervention - protectionism (tariffs)
New Right - Favour free market capitalism as it promotes individual liberty
Thomas Hobbes
Leviathan - 1651
Human nature - selfish and rational (shaped by the English Civil War) Needy and vulnerable, therefore likely to commit destructive acts
The state - Belief in a social contract. Must have absolute power (autocratic) and is crucial to preventing social breakdown, leading to prioritisation of law and order above all else
Society - Only exists if the state has delivered order and authority
The economy - Positive economic activity is impossible without a state guaranteeing order and security
In the Hobbesian state of nature, individuals were governed by ruthless self-interest, with human nature shaped by a desire for the acquisition of goods - ‘nasty, brutish and short’
Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged - 1957
Human nature - ‘Objectivist’ - humans guided by rational self-interest
The state - Should be limited, confined to policing, to provide order and security for liberty - Negative liberty
Society - Atomistic - the sum total of its individuals
The economy - Pro free market capitalism
Libertarian - Defended an individual’s right to choose - homosexuality / abortion
Michael Oakeshott
On Being Conservative - 1962
Human nature - Humanity best when focused on the routines of everyday life, and free from grand designs
Fallible, but not terrible
The state - Should be guided by tradition (pragmatism)
Society - Localised communities essential
The economy - Free markets require pragmatic moderation by the state due to volatile nature
Positive - Claimed conservatives have a greater appreciation of the pleasures that already exist in life
Tensions within Conservatism over human nature
Traditional - Take a more negative view of human nature (Hobbes) than New Right thinkers
Egotistical individualism is bad vs it is good
Tensions within Conservatism over society
Traditional -See society as a collection of small communities overseen by a hierarchal structure which paternalistic elites exercise power over
New Right - ambivalent about society’s existence, and is rather a collection of individuals seeking self-determination
Tensions within Conservatism over the state
Traditional - Defend a state where political power is wielded by a ruling class, and are prepared to enlarge it in order to preserve social stability
New Right - Wish to roll back the state, in order to advance individual freedom
Tensions within Conservatism over the economy
Traditional - Sceptical about free-market capitalism, fearful that it exacerbates inequality and erodes national culture
New Right - Advocate free-market economics, including privatisation, deregulation, and low levels of taxation and state spending (link to NR desire for small government)
Features of a Conservative society
Localism Organicism Empiricism Tradition Hierarchy Judeo - Christian morality Property
Features of a Conservative state
Authority - Main goal of the state is to provide order and security, which it does through its authority
Organicism - link to pro uncodified constitution
Ruling class - Averts social upheaval and revolution
Features of a Conservative economy
Defends inequality and hierarchy
Capitalist, but tensions regarding risk of free markets
New Right conservatism
Mixture of neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism
Want to extend individual liberty by ‘rolling back the frontiers of the state’ in order to create a free market economy, promoting freedom, economic growth and a prosperous society
Want to restore authority, national identity and a society informed by Judeo-Christian morality
Contradictions of New Right conservatism
Negative v Positive liberty - Thatcher privatisation and income tax cuts vs restrictions on trade unions and extension of police powers
Immigration - Rand v Thatcher
Size of the state - Nozick v Thatcher
Pro Brexit was a ‘conservative moment’
EU anti nation state
Restored national identity - control of immigration
EU is a contrived system of government, not organic
EU represented a big government
Anti Brexit was a ‘conservative moment’
Leaving the EU was a risk
Rejecting Cameron’s deal was a rejection on gradual, incremental change
Tied to a faith in global, laissez-faire capitalism
Pro conservatism as a ‘ruling-class ideology’
Defend property, privilege and inequality Tradition and gradual change prevents radical change, which threatens ruling-class interests
Anti conservatism as a ‘ruling-class ideology’
Prime purpose of the conservative state (maintenance of order) appeals to all sections of society
Traditional conservatism promotes the interests of the poor
Conservatism’s wish to avoid revolution is altruistic - society’s most vulnerable suffer most during periods of revolution
New Right conservatism is meritocratic not aristocratic
Pro conservatism is compatible with capitlaism
Capitalism based on private property, which conservatives support
Capitalism generates inequality, which conservatives defend as ‘natural’ and ‘organic’
Capitalism has been at the heart of economic activity for centuries, and therefore squares with conservatism’s support for tradition
Capitalism provides the ruling class with wealth that can then be used for paternalistic support
Anti conservatism is compatible with capitalism
Capitalism is described as economic liberalism, focussing on individuals rather than the communities that conservatism champions
Capitalism is dynamic and volatile, threatening the stability and continuity that conservatives crave
Capitalism tends towards globalisation, undermining the national identity that conservatives value
Capitalism promotes a meritocracy that challenges hereditary ruling classes
Pro conservatism can be reconciled with liberalism
Both support private property and capitalism
Both see inequality of outcome as a sign of liberty
Both deny the inevitability of class conflict
Neo-liberals and New Right conservatives support a laissez-faire economy
Anti conservatism can be reconciled with liberalism
Liberals have an optimistic view of human nature, whereas conservatives are sceptical of it
Liberals see rationalism as central to human behaviour, whereas conservatives stress habit, emotion and expression
Liberals prioritise individual liberation, whereas conservatives stress order and restraint
Liberals see individuals as potentially autonomous, whereas conservatives see individuals as communal
Liberals extol free-market capitalism, whereas traditional conservatives are more sceptical and protectionist
Pro conservatism can be reconciled with socialism
Traditional conservatives and socialists play down the importance of individualism
Traditional conservatives and socialists stress the importance of communities and the importance of unity within them
Traditional conservatives and socialists see capitalism as potentially problematic
Anti conservatism can be reconciled with socialism
Conservatives see inequality as natural, whereas socialists see it as unacceptable
Conservatives are sceptical of progress, whereas socialists see it as essential
Conservatives defend private property, whereas fundamentalist socialists favour common ownership
Conservatives reject revolution, whereas some fundamentalist socialists see it as desirable and inevitable
Traditional conservatives advocate noblesse oblige / paternalism, whereas socialists think paternalism is patronising
