Conservatism - economy, state Flashcards
economy
Pro-capitalist, however, support for capitalism is nuanced – free market capitalism promotes risk, innovation and iconoclasm (destruction of long-established principles/traditions/processes), yet conservatism worships order, stability and continuity.
Traditional conservatives sceptical of classical or neo liberal belief that markets are at their best when left alone by governments, therefore they support a moderated form of capitalism with state intervention and protectionism.
New Right conservatives believe a free market economy will be a prosperous one and argue that by disengaging almost completely from the economy, the state could then focus on its true Hobbesian purpose of order and security. Would also promote popular capitalism and destroy socialism. Also be able to fund greater state spending on police, armed forces, and other agencies vital to defence of a conservative society.
state
Order and authority: sees state as having a disciplinary function to provide order, security and
authority. Without order, there would be no liberty and there is no order without laws, therefore
for conservatives, the state precedes society. Individual rights are dependent on law and order.
Organic: prefer a state that emerges organically – pragmatic response to humanity’s needs –
don’t demand a codified constitution.
Ruling class: conservatives are more comfortable with a state that is overtly hierarchical,
reflecting elitist society they also endorse.
The nation-state: from mid-19th to mid-20th century tended to emphasise state based on nationhood – continental conservatives e.g. Germany and Italy have powerful sense that nation preceded the state. But for British and American conservatives the nation and the state are intertwined with great attachment to it and less enthusiasm for European political union. For New Right conservatives, belief in strengthening the nation-state by rolling back the frontiers of the state.
