Conservatism

Question 1

Hierachy

Answer 1

Equality of status and power is undesirable, and that human affairs require leadership from a small number of individuals

Question 2

Authority

Answer 2

Idea that people in higher positions in society are best able to make decisions in the interests of the whole society

Question 3

Change to conserve

Answer 3

Belief that society must be continuously updated and maintained if it is to be preserved

Question 4

Egotistical individualism

Answer 4

Idea that society is made up of self-interested and self-sufficient individuals

Question 5

Noblesse oblige / paternalism

Answer 5

Belief that it is the duty of the wealthy and privileged to look after those less fortunate

Question 6

Anti-permissiveness

Answer 6

Rejection of a society with few moral or legal codes of behaviour, where social norms become increasingly liberal

Question 7

Human imperfection

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Laissez-faire

Answer 8

Minimal government intervention in business and the state

Question 9

Empiricism

Answer 9

The idea that knowledge comes from real experience and not from abstract theories

Question 10

Pragmatism

Answer 10

Flexible approach to society with decisions made on the basis of what works

Question 11

Tradition

Answer 11

Accumulated wisdom of past societies and a connection between the generation

Question 12

Libertarianism

Answer 12

Upholds liberty, seeking to maximise personal autonomy, mainly in the economy
(New Right)

Question 13

Conservative view of human nature

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Conservative view of the state

Answer 14

Needed to provide law and order and defence

Acts as a unifying force to promote national cohesion and unity

Question 15

Conservative view of society

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Conservative view of the economy

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Thomas Hobbes

Leviathan - 1651

Answer 17

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’

Question 18

Ayn Rand

Atlas Shrugged - 1957

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Michael Oakeshott

On Being Conservative - 1962

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Tensions within Conservatism over human nature

Answer 20

Traditional - Take a more negative view of human nature (Hobbes) than New Right thinkers
Egotistical individualism is bad vs it is good

Question 21

Tensions within Conservatism over society

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Tensions within Conservatism over the state

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Tensions within Conservatism over the economy

Answer 23

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)

Question 24

Features of a Conservative society

Answer 24

Localism 
Organicism 
Empiricism
Tradition
Hierarchy 
Judeo - Christian morality
Property

Question 25

Features of a Conservative state

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Features of a Conservative economy

Answer 26

Defends inequality and hierarchy | Capitalist, but tensions regarding risk of free markets

Question 27

New Right conservatism

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Contradictions of New Right conservatism

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Pro Brexit was a 'conservative moment'

Answer 29

EU anti nation state Restored national identity - control of immigration EU is a contrived system of government, not organic EU represented a big government

Question 30

Anti Brexit was a 'conservative moment'

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Pro conservatism as a 'ruling-class ideology'

Answer 31

``` Defend property, privilege and inequality Tradition and gradual change prevents radical change, which threatens ruling-class interests ```

Question 32

Anti conservatism as a 'ruling-class ideology'

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Pro conservatism is compatible with capitlaism

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Anti conservatism is compatible with capitalism

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Pro conservatism can be reconciled with liberalism

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Anti conservatism can be reconciled with liberalism

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Pro conservatism can be reconciled with socialism

Answer 37

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

Question 38

Anti conservatism can be reconciled with socialism

Answer 38

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