Conservatism - key thinkers Flashcards

1
Q

Thomas Hobbes

A

 Key text ‘Leviathan’ 1651, inspired by English Civil War.
 Very negative view of human nature: selfish, power hungry and fearful of others.
 View on ‘original state of nature’ = ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”. A formal authority
therefore needed to resolve this natural chaos, one that would enforce a consistent code of what
was right and wrong.
 Hobbes believed humans possessed a calculating rationality that would enable them to realise
the need for this autocratic state. Therefore Hobbes = authoritarian conservative.
 The resulting contract would see individuals giving up a large amount of individual rights to an
all-powerful authority in return for peace and security and to be “saved from ourselves”.

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1
Q

Edmund Burke

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 Father of Conservatism.
 In his book, defined various tenets of conservatism e.g. human imperfection, empiricism, etc.
 Denounced the idealistic society that the French Revolution represented – utopian and
unrealistic.
 Argued that change was necessary to conserve but should proceed on basis of fact and
experience – empiricism and tradition rather than theory and idealism. Change must be cautious
and organic.
 Scathing about the French Revolution’s stress on equality – argued that within organic societies,
ruling society is inevitable and even desirable. However, this class had a paternalistic
responsibility and it was the French aristocracy failure to do this that led to the revolution.
 Condemned the new French Republic for its highly centralised structures, praising instead a
society of little platoons.

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2
Q

Micheal Oakeshott

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 Traditional conservative.
 More optimistic about human nature and imperfection. “Philosophy of imperfection” need not
be a “philosophy of pessimism.”
 Most humans were “fallible but not terrible”, “imperfect but not immoral”.
 Though incapable of perfect societies, humanity still able to secure pleasure and improvement
through the business of everyday life.
 Affirmed the merits of an empirical and pragmatic approach through experience and trial and
error. State existed to prevent the bad rather than create the good.
 Famous nautical metaphor: “keep the ship afloat at all costs… not fixating on a port that may not
exist”.

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3
Q

Ayn Rand

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 New Right conservative.
 Argued that talented individuals rather that ambitious governments lay at the heart of any
successful society.
 Objectivism: all should be guided by self-interest and rational self-fulfilment – New Right’s
atomism – justification for laissez faire capitalism, renewal of negative liberty (e.g. tax cuts and
privatisation).
 Defended individual’s right to choose, e.g. homosexuality and abortion.
 Rejected anarchism – free markets and cultural laissez faire needed parameters of a small state.
 Liberty impossible without order and security – only a state could provide this – ‘the small state
is a strong state’.

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4
Q

Robert Nozick

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 New Right.
 Argued that growth of gov. was gravest threat to individual freedom and growth of welfare state fostered dependency culture.
 Went beyond neoliberalism’s hostility to the state. Unlike Hayek, became closely identified with libertarianism – individual should be left alone in economic, social and cultural spheres.
 Libertarianism is tolerant of liberal, permissive society – relaxed view of issues e.g. abortion, homosexuality and divorce.
 He believed in a minarchist state involving privatisation.
 Believed “tax for the most part is theft” – self-ownership.
 Preservation of life, liberty and property needed formal authority enforcing laws.
 Limited state would also allow communities to emerge alongside individual freedom – free to
practice their particular moral codes and values – similar to Burke’s little platoons.

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