One Nation Conservatism Flashcards
Thinkers
Burke
Disraeli
Harold MacMillian
Human Nature
Is negative e.g. humans are selfish, desiring of power, imperfect.
Cannot be transformed or fundamentally improved & therefore society needs to be designed around controlling humans ability to harm others e.g. Kant “from the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made”.
Believe competition is natural & so tend to prefer democracy & capitalism despite believing both inevitably have many imperfections.
People need to feel part of a society, bound together with common social bonds.
Society
Social order is held together by a consensus over societal norms and values. Cultural pluralism is a threat to this order.
Society is profoundly unequal and this is both natural and organic; inequality arises because people have different talents & because of natural human individualism.
In attempting to make an equal society, governments tend to take away liberty, which is undesirable.
People need to clearly know their role in society, but they also need to feel they have a stake in society and that society and the government care about them.
Government’s should intervene minimally and in the interest of conserving.
State
The state must always be the servant of the people; a neutral arbitrator within society, its job is to maintain social order.
A large and strong state; needs to offer a safety net. Its duty is to protect the vulnerable (paternalism)
The government’s job is to advise and protect, always acting in the interests of the citizens (which the government understands best).
Contented citizens do not risk social unity. It is the job of those ‘born to rule’ to look after the ordinary mass of humanity.
Governments of this strand after WWII tended to increase welfarism like their socialist opponents in Labour.
Welfare
Welfare is important. Those in need and distress without a state-provided safety net, may look to radical ideologies and revolution.
Economy
The market should be controlled by the government to reduce unemployment.
Keynesianism emerged as a middle way between capitalism and communism.
Encourage economic growth through government spending and consumer spending; everyone will have a job & therefore will be able to pay tax and won’t need state benefits; more even spread of wealth.
‘managed capitalism’
But a balance needs to be found between tax and spending between the rights to keep one’s own income earned, and the importance of some form of wealth redistribution.
Ideology
Pragmatism is the number one idea for this strand.
Tradition is an essential element in running society. There is a little room for change, as evidenced by the inclusion of Keynesianism.
Change
Change is inevitable, if not particularly welcome. Change must be accepted and managed. “Reform in order to conserve” i.e. pragmatic approach to change.
Order, authority and hierarchy
A firm belief in order, authority and hierarchy. Those in authority have got a responsibility to help others. This is achieved through social justice e.g. reducing poverty and narrowing inevitable inequality.
Modern followers of this strand are more prepared to accommodate a diversity of opinions and lifestyles – ‘evolving to conserve’ in part to get elected.
Crime
Crime is the fault of perpetrators. Nevertheless, as a society, we need to examine the causes of crime as well.
Individual rights
Individual rights are subordinate to the needs of the state, but rulers need to consider this issue within their governance.
Nevertheless, there is a clear tension between conservatives’ natural belief in individual rights and freedoms and their belief in the need for social order.
Immigration and multiculturalism
Multiculturalism breeds instability and therefore is of concern. Requires full integration of minorities into the majority way of life.
Nationalism and the nation-state
Disraeli strongly developed the idea of the nation-state and national pride as a social glue. Nations are therefore organic but pride in them needs to be fostered for stability and unity.
