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UK Politics - final > Conservatism - Core ideas - final > Flashcards

Conservatism - Core ideas - final Flashcards

1
Q

What do conservatives stress about human nature?

A

Stress their frailty and fallibility - they reject the optimistic view that humans have the capacity for endless achievement and improvement.

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2
Q

What has conservatisms view of human nature led it to be called?

A

‘a philosophy of imperfection’

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3
Q

What does the conservative view of human nature tend to be?

A

Descriptive rather than prescriptive, highlighting humanity as it is rather than as it could be.

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4
Q

Where does conservatism’s view of human nature come from?

A

It draws on the Old Testament doctrine of original sin.

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5
Q

How did Hobbes view human nature?

A

Ruthlessly selfish, calculating, and competitive.

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6
Q

What would life in Hobbes’ State of Nature be like?

A

‘nasty, brutish and short’

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7
Q

What was Edmund Burke’s seminal work?

A

Reflections on the Revolution in France, 1790

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8
Q

What did Burke suggest we look to to guide our behaviour?

A

Custom, habit, and experience.

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9
Q

Did Burke think humans were ruthlessly individualistic?

A

No, he saw them as naturally communal, gaining comfort and support from the communities - their ‘little platoons’

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10
Q

How did Michael Oakeshott view conservatism?

A

‘more psychology than ideology’

‘an instinctive preference for what is known, an innate fear of the uncertain’

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11
Q

What did Oakeshott believe life in the state of nature would be like?

A

‘noisy, foolish and flawed’.

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12
Q

If human nature was guided by routine, familiarity and religion, what could it be like?

A

‘benign and benevolent’ in the words of Michael Oakeshott.

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13
Q

How did the New Right thinker, Robert Nozick, describe humans?

A

‘freedom-loving pack animals’

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14
Q

What must human nature be in order to provide some peace and stability?

A

It must be restrained by a formal authority and deeply rooted communities.

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15
Q

What do conservatives want to achieve in society?

A

Stability, security, and order.

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16
Q

How do conservatives see society being made of?

A

A collection of localised communities - what Burke described as ‘little platoons’.

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17
Q

What do Burke’s ‘little platoons’ provide individuals with?

A

Security, status, and inspiration, while acting as a brake upon the sort of selfish individualism extolled by classical liberals.

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18
Q

How does society emerge for conservatives?

A

Gradually and organically - it grows like a plant and can never wholly be predicted.

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19
Q

What is the conservative approach of empiricism?

A

A preference for ‘evidence’ over ‘theory’ and tends to emphasise ‘what is’ over ‘what should be’.

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20
Q

How did Oakeshott describe the aim of a conservative society?

A

As merely aiming to say afloat in uncertain waters rather than sailing steadily towards some specific destination.

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21
Q

What sort of change and reform do conservatives argue for?

A

Slow and respectful of the past.

22
Q

How did Oakeshott describe conservatism’s view of tradition?

A

‘Just as a plant’s new leaves are connected to…the plant’s roots and branches, so a society’s present direction stems from its past development.’

23
Q

What is foundational equality?

A

The belief that all are born equal and are of equal worth.

24
Q

How do conservatives view equality?

A

They believe that the imperfections in human nature lead to an unequal society.

25
Q

How do hierarchies come about?

A

Naturally. The inequalities inherent to every individual will lead to a minority exercising some authority over the majority.

26
Q

What do conservatives believe comes with the privilege of power and authority?

A

Responsibility, likening the relationship between the stronger and weaker parts of society to that of the relationship between a father and his children.

27
Q

What is noblesse oblige?

A

The responsibilities of care of the natural ruling class towards the whole of society and those below them.

28
Q

What is hard paternalism?

A

When the elites decide what is best for the rest of society, regardless of what they want.

29
Q

What is soft paternalism?

A

When the elites still hold the power but they take into account the wishes of the rest of society.

30
Q

What does conservatism’s strong links to Judeo-Christian morality lead it to emphasise?

A
  • Marriage
  • Self-contained families
  • Accountability for your actions
31
Q

What socialist interpretation of accountability do conservatives refute?

A

They refute the socialist contention that dysfunctional individuals are the products of a dysfunctional society.

32
Q

What is the conservative support for property tied to?

A

Their support for tradition and continuity, as property is often something inherited by one generation from another and provides a degree of stability.

33
Q

What did Burke consider the ideal society to be?

A

A ‘partnership between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are yet to be born’.

34
Q

What does property give to those who own it?

A

A stake in society, helping to discourage revolution.

35
Q

What sort of society do New Right conservatives wish to create?

A

A ‘property-owning democracy’, enabling people to better resist state-led incursions on their liberty.

36
Q

What do conservatives believe we all need in order to flourish?

A

Security and discipline; without order there can be no liberty and individual rights.

37
Q

What do conservatives see as the primary function of the state?

A

To provide order, security, and authority.

38
Q

What is the fundamental conservative belief about the state?

A

The state precedes society; liberals see it as the other way round.

39
Q

Why are conservatives in favour of the UK’s uncodified constitution?

A

It allows society and the state to evolve naturally and pragmatically in response to humanity’s needs, rather than being based on any normative ideals that will inevitably fail.

40
Q

Who would direct the conservative state?

A

An aristocratic, ruling class that was born to rule, but mindful of their paternalistic duties, legislating whenever there was a need.

41
Q

What is closely intertwined for American and British conservatives?

A

The nation and the state, with the state serving to define much of the nation itself.

42
Q

What do conservatives see any diminution of the nation-state as?

A

A diminution of the nation itself.

43
Q

What happens if the nation-state has to run nationalised industries and welfare states?

A

It makes it harder for it to perform its ‘true’ function of order and security.

44
Q

What did Rand say about an over-large state?

A

‘When the state becomes flabby, it also becomes feeble’.

45
Q

What is meant by laissez-faire economics?

A

The state allowing market forces to operate freely with limited interference.

46
Q

Why have conservatives been dubbed capitalism’s ‘reluctant supporters’?

A

Because the risky and unpredictable nature of capitalism coupled with their sceptical view of humanity threatens negative outcomes in a capitalist society.

47
Q

How have conservatives tried to reconcile their pessimistic views of humanity with capitalism’s economic liberalism?

A

By supporting a moderated form of capitalism, with free markets tempered by state intervention.

48
Q

What is conservatisms moderated form of capitalism referred to as?

A

Protectionism

49
Q

What is protectionism?

A

When the state insures against the vagaries of the free market by imposing tariffs.

50
Q

Which economist’s ideas were traditional conservatives drawn to?

A

Keynes and his desire for state management aimed towards full employment.

51
Q

What approach to capitalism does the New Right take?

A

They are much more optimistic, advocating very minimal state intervention in markets.

52
Q

What would the New Right approach to the free market lead to?

A

It would lead to much prosperity which would fund greater state spending on order and security - the true purpose of the state.

UK Politics - final (62 decks)

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