conservatism HN Flashcards
How do they view human nature?
-Fixed & Flawed.
-Cynical.
-Sceptical.
-Forgiving.
-Communal.
In what ways is it fixed & flawed?
-Emphasise the fact that humans are imperfect.
-Rejects Marx’s idea that human nature is changeable.
-Humanity cannot be reshaped with the correct environment & society, and is instead unchangeable & constant.
-It is a “philosophy of imperfection.
Is it cynical?
-Hobbes took a cynical view of human nature, arguing that the state of nature was not what liberals had theorised, and human nature was instead egotistical & ruthless.
-In the state of nature, human beings were defined by “envy, hatred, and violent conflict.”
-Hobbes thought that the human condition would be redeemed by our capacity for reason, which would lead them to establish a formal state for security & order.
How is it sceptical?
-EB dismissed the utopianism of the French Revolution, claiming that it was based on the upbeat view of human potential.
-Burke emphasised “the timeless chasm” between human aspiration & achievement.
-The human tendency to fall short motivates his view that change should be slow & gradual, allowing us to back-track and revise change.
How is it forgiving?
-Oakeshott moved away from Hobbes & Burke, taking a more forgiving view.
-He thought humans were “fallible, not terrible.”
-Conservatives take a tolerant view of human nature, recognising its faults.
-Oakeshott thought human nature was not driven by selfish rationalism, but instead though that humans are creatures of habit, with a fondness for communal pleasures, like family.
Is it communal or individualistic? What the the New Right Perspective?
-Hobbes thought people were individualistic, but EB & MO thought that humans are communal, and social. They are drawn to local communities, and the ‘sense of belonging’ they provide.
-burke referred to such communities as ‘little plattoons’
-New Right agree with Hobbes, and think that individuals yearn for individual freedom, autonomy, & self-determination.
-Rand stated, “I recognise no obligation towards men except one: to respect their freedom.”
-New Right emphasise human nature’s egotism, what Nozick thought was a “restless quest for self-betterment.”
