New Right conservatism - The 'crisis' of traditional conservatism Flashcards

1
Q

Crisis engulfing states like the UK by the mid-1970s…

A

To understand New Right conservatism, it is first necessary to appreciate that it was primarily an analysis of the ‘crisis’ engulfing states like the UK by the mid-1970s. This crisis was supposedly characterised by spiralling inflation, mounting unemployment, unsustainable welfare spending, increased crime rates, moral laxity and a growing sense that society was becoming ungovernable, largely on account of trade union militancy.

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2
Q

Indictment of traditional conservatism…

A

For the New Right, however, this crisis also represented an indictment of traditional conservatism. After 1945, traditional conservatives (like Macmillan, Hogg and Butler) had clearly endorsed a post-war consensus involving Keynesian economics, state welfare and social liberalism.

According to New Right, traditional conservatives were therefore complicit in a rapidly declining economy, a bloated welfare state, a ‘permissive society’ and an increasingly feeble country - one lacking in both moral and formal authority and struggling to resist both socialism at home and communism abroad. So, as well as new government policies, a new interpretation of conservatism was urgently required.

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3
Q

Resistance in Europe…

A

In most of Europe, where conservatives remained faithful to the ideas of Christian democracy, such a reinterpretation was largely resisted. However, conservatives in the UK and USA proved much more willing to challenge traditional conservative thinking. This was eventually expressed in the UK by the Conservative PM Margaret Thatcher and in the USA by the Republican president Ronald Reagan.

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