conservativism: thinkers Flashcards
1
Q
Thomas Hobbes
A
- humans are driven by the pursuit of power but are also vulnerable and are not very rational
- absolute government is the best way to avoid disorder in society
- there must be a balance between order and freedom
- people have obligations to their state
- can apply to tradition, human imperfection, organic society, paternalism
- traditional conservativism
2
Q
Hobbes and order
A
- Hobbes wrote extensively on the limitations of human nature in his book ‘Leviathan’ (1651)
- in ‘Leviathan’, Hobbes argued that the state of nature made life “nasty, brutish and short” and so, a ‘leviathan’ (dominant state) is needed to keep order in society
- the Leviathan is imposed on people from above - which follows conservative ideas of hierarchy and authority.
- but Hobbes also agreed with liberal ideas that authority is supported by consent from the people
- Hobbes argued that sacrificing liberty for social order is desirable
3
Q
Hobbes and human nature
A
- Hobbes had a pessimistic view of human nature
- he believed that if humans were left in the state of nature (without structures and institutions of society), they would be violent towards one another and not respect private property
- without law and order, there would be ‘a war of all against all’
- instead, Hobbes believed that order must be imposed on a society to stop the dangers of human imperfection
4
Q
Edmund Burke
A
- an action should be based on the practical experiences drawn from the past (empiricism)
- order and security in society are paramount, and so change must be done very carefully
- tradition should be respected as it represents the culmination of the wisdom of past generations
- can be applied to pragmatism, tradition, organic society
- traditional conservative
5
Q
counter enlightenment thought (Burke)
A
- Burke rejected enlightenment liberalism and disagreed with the view that humans are rational creatures. He believed in human imperfection
- as a result, he disagreed with building society around human rationality, as enlightenment liberalism believed
- his rejection of liberal rationality was influenced by witnessing the French Revolution
- he disagreed with the idea that people could destroy society and create a brand new, fairer system
- systems in society should be preserved instead
6
Q
Burke and change
A
- Edmund Burke is associated with the traditional conservative view of ‘change to conserve’
- Burke urged British Tories to accept change in order to conserve society after seeing the French Revolution
- he saw threats to conservatism from Enlightenment Liberalism (despite being a Liberal himself originally) and Socialism
- Burke also believed in gradual change, rather than revolutionary change
- changes should consider the impact on the present and future, but also listen to the mistakes and lessons of the past
7
Q
tradition and Burke
A
- Burke believed that we should follow traditions and practices that have been passed down for generations
- his idea of the social contract involves paying attention to “the dead” - learning lessons from history rather than choosing radical untested ideas
- he believed that people in the present shouldn’t just trust themselves to know what’s best - to do so would be arrogant
- instead, we should listen to tradition and history. He believed that we should have a social contract between ‘those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born’
8
Q
Michael Oakshott
A
- politics should not have a particular fixed goal or a rigid sense of direction
- pragmatism should be followed not ideology in people’s actions
- reality is complex and the theories posited by ideologies oversimplify reality
- governments should govern to what is the best for the people and not what politicians think is best for the people
- people are imperfect in that they are not capable of understanding the complex world around them
- Oakeshott believed that humans are intellectually imperfect - political ideas are so broad and complex that we as humans are unable to grasp them (human imperfection)
- applies to pragmatism, tradition, human imperfection
- both traditional and one nation
9
Q
Oakshott and tradition
A
- Oakeshott wrote that to be conservative is to ‘prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried’ and to prefer ‘the actual to the possible’
- conservative tradition is to prefer the familiar to the unknown and to trust customs and historical structures rather than to try and make radical change
10
Q
Oakshott and pragmatism
A
- Oakeshott believed that conservatism should be pragmatic
- instead of being highly ideological, conservatives should make practical decisions
- Oakeshott believed that the state should be maintained, but not overhauled or changed in a revolutionary way - as this would not be in the conservative tradition
- he believed that increased state intervention was a bad thing, and that changing society through social engineering was not in the conservative spirit
11
Q
Ayn Rand
A
- people should be aiming to achieve purpose and productivity through hard work
- people’s highest moral aim should be the pursuit of their own happiness
- objectivism: the central basis of human life is reason, which we can use to gain objective knowledge
- people should be left free to involve themselves as they see fit in economic terms
- Rand supported a laissez-faire economic system and believed this was the only way for individuals to be truly free
- applies to human imperfection, libertarianism
- new right/libertarian conservative
12
Q
objectivism and Rand
A
- Rand supported the philosophical idea of objectivism, which argues that we can gain objective knowledge through the use of logic and reason
- objectivists believe that knowledge exists outside of consciousness, and so can be discovered and perceived
- objectivism also argues that pursuing individual happiness is the purpose of life
- she supported ideas of human rationality, and that we should trust individuals to make decisions for themselves
- Rand opposed conservative paternalism
13
Q
rationalism and Rand
A
- Rand believed that because humans are rational and self-interested beings, we have a duty to put our interests before other people’s and that altruism (putting others before one’s self) is immoral
- Rand was a rational egoist, because she believed that acting in one’s own interest was rational
- Rand was also an ethical egoist, because she believed that we are morally obliged to act in our own interest
14
Q
Robert Nozick
A
- argued for a very minimal state, meaning no taxation, no welfare and virtually no laws on human behaviour; the state should just focus on defence
- argued for a rights based libertarian system
- people own their labour, abilities and selves and should not be treated or used as objects (self-ownership)
- applies to libertarianism
- new right conservative
15
Q
libertarianism and Nozick
A
- Nozick opposed taxes, calling them “legalised theft” - and therefore economic redistribution and social justice is theft of individual private property
- as a result, Nozick objected to the welfare state. Nozick supported free-market capitalism and believed that the way goods are distributed in the free market is just
- Nozick disagreed with any policy that meant individuals in societies were used as a means to an end, rather than an end in themselves
