pragmatism Flashcards
pragmatism is a key principle in shaping conservative approaches to the state , scorer , economy and human nature , it is the idea that
decisions should be made in a flexible way on the basis of what works rather than being driven by ideology or dogmatic thinking
the centrality of pragmatism to conservatism can be seen in the founding of conservatism itself. the emergence of conservatism was in large part in response to the upheaval of the French revolution which burke saw as
a dangerous departure from focusing on the teachings of tradition and what works in favour of ideology and utopian thinking
conservatism instead advocates for viewing society and state action in a cautious manner that listens to evidence , this links strongly to their belief in
tradition , which they see as the accumulated wisdom of the past that shouldn’t be discarded in favour of idealistic visions of societal change
this leads to conservatives being very wary of major reforms and advocating for
gradual change
in the essay ‘ on being conservative ‘ Oakeshott set out the conservative cause for pragmatism ;
” to be conservative then is to prefer the familiar to the unfamiliar , to prefer the tried to the untried , fact to the mystery “
Oakeshott has set out the idea that the state shouldn’t try to change the lives of its citizens through utopian ideology stating
” the office of government is not to impose other beliefs and activities upon its subjects , but to secure them in the enjoyment of what they have chosen “
this opposition to radical , idealistic changes was also linked to their belief in human perfection that
human being are fallible and limited in their capacity to understand and engineer complex social systems
it is important to recognise that conservatives don’t believe in not changing at all , however they are not reactionaries . in fact
the key principle of changing to conserve emphasises that whilst tradition should be listened to , some adaptation is necessary to maintain stability and prevent upheaval in society
conservatives recognised that if they simply tried to not change society at all this ran the risk off
leading to revolution and complete upheaval
in traditional conservatism pragmatism,atism can be seen in their
deeply rooted preference for existing institutions and proven practices over theory
trad cons are guided by the belief that accumulated wisdom of history and tradition holds more practical value than
the abstract ideas that socialism and other ideologies promote
trad cons view society as a complex and organic entity where each part has evolved to play a specific role over time , therefore their approach to change is
one of careful adjustment rather than overhaul as they consider the disruption of long standing systems and traditions as potentially harmful
pragmatism is there linked to maintaining social order and stability with changes implemented only when necessary to preserve the structure of society , this cautious approach
avoids the pitfalls of untested radical changes , favouring instead the security and predictability of tradition
one nations cons are centeral to the ideas of
pragmatism and changing to conserve
one nation cons recognised that in the face of societal changes brought about by indrustialisation and capitalism requires
some degree of state intervention and reform was necessary to prevent social unrest and maintain national cohesion
