Core ideas of conservatism - Human nature Flashcards
How the conservative view of human nature is defined…
The conservative view of human nature is defined largely by its response - and opposition - to those of rival ideologies, notably liberalism and socialism.
Conservatives are inclined to restrain such optimism by stressing human frailty and fallibility. Indeed, conservatism’s view of human nature has led to it being described as ‘a philosophy of imperfection’.
Conservatives deny the possibility of a perfect society…
Conservatives deny any possibility of a perfect, utopian society, comprising flawless and rational individuals; their view of human nature tends to be descriptive, not prescriptive, highlighting humanity ‘as it is’ rather than as it could or should be.
In this sense, conservatism rejects the ‘plastic’ view of human nature offered by socialism, and scorns the idea that humanity can be significantly remoulded given the ‘correct’ environment or society.
For conservatives, human nature is pretty much fixed and constant, and the job of politicians is to accomodate, not alter, this reality. Yet conservatism’s stress on human imperfection is more nuanced than many imagine.
Hobbes’ view on human nature…
Thomas Hobbes’ view of life in the ‘state of nature’ was sharply different from that of liberal theorists. Regarding human nature as ruthlessly selfish, calculating and competitive, Hobbes argued that without the restraints of formal authority, relations between human beings would be marked by ‘envy, hatred and war’, leading to a life that was ‘nasty, brutish and short’.
Hobbes went on to argue that underpinning human nature was a cold rationality; this would eventually lead hitherto warning individuals to forge a contract, which would in turn lead to a formal state. By admitting the possibility of such rational calculations and the concept of mankind achieving satisfactory outcomes, Hobbes thereby placed himself closer to liberalism in terms of explaining human nature - which explains why Hobbes is usually seen as an example of Enlightenment thinking.
Oakeshott’s view on human nature…
Michael Oakeshott stated that conservatism was ‘more psychology than ideology’, claiming it articulated ‘an instinctive preference for what is known, an innate fear of the uncertain’. Unlike Hobbes, however, Oakeshott believed that life without law would be ‘not so much nasty, brutish and short… as noisy, foolish and flawed’. Human nature, Oakeshott conceded, was ‘fragile and fallible’, yet it was also ‘benign and benevolent’ when framed by routine, familiarity and religious principles.
New Right view on human nature…
Later conservative thinkers of the New Right such as Robert Nozick and Ayn Rand were keen to highlight human nature’s yearning for individual freedom, and its subsequent capacity for enterprise and innovation. However, the New Right and traditional conservatives agreed that even the most enterprising individuals were still (in Nozick’s words) ‘freedom-loving pack animals’, who need the periodic restraint of formal authority and deeply rooted communities. Indeed, this recognition provides a key link between New Right politics in the 20th century and Hobbesian philosophy in the 17th century.
Both Hobbes and the New Right took the view that human nature was driven by self-interest. Yet both also took the view that human nature must be continued in order to provide some peace and stability in human affairs.
