Society Flashcards
Traditional conservatives
. Traditional conservatives have an organic view of society. All parts of this society, they argue, work together harmoniously to ensure a healthy ‘social body’. Any change to internal elements of the organic society may jeopardise social stability by undermining tried and tested institutions. Such a society rests on the conservative belief in hierarchy and authority to give people the security of knowing their place and role in society.
the social order, and the leaders” natural top-down control over the other social groups. For conservatives, the privileges of the elite are balanced by a strong sense of social responsibility or paternalism towards the less fortunate. PATERNALISM, NOBLESSE OBLIGE
Any change should be PRAGMATIC and to conserve. Links to HUMAN IMPERFECTION and inability to understand difficult concepts. Therefore is best to look to accumulated wisdom of past in the form of TRADITIONAL systems of authority and tradition in general.
Strong sense of natural hierarchy and fitness to rule, raised to do so. Reforms only to preserve their own positions and societal stability. Can include welfare reforms.
Imposition of strong authority from above and law and order. Linked to idea of inherent HUMAN IMPERFECTION.
long-established institutions, customs and practices give communities and nations a strong sense of identity that encourages social cohesion and security. Any attempt to remove the ‘traditional base of society will lead to insecurity and instability.
One-nation
. . One-Nation conservatives have an living organic view of society. All parts of this society, they argue, work together harmoniously to ensure a healthy ‘social body’. Any change to internal elements of the organic society may jeopardise social stability by undermining tried and tested institutions. Such a society rests on the conservative belief in hierarchy and authority to give people the security of knowing their place and role in society.
the social order, and the leaders” natural top-down control over the other social groups. For conservatives, the privileges of the elite are balanced by a strong sense of social responsibility or paternalism towards the less fortunate. PATERNALISM, NOBLESSE OBLIGE
Any change should be PRAGMATIC and to conserve. Links to HUMAN IMPERFECTION and inability to understand difficult concepts. Therefore is best to look to accumulated wisdom of past in the form of TRADITIONAL systems of authority and tradition in general.
Strong sense of natural hierarchy and fitness to rule, raised to do so. Reforms only to preserve their own positions and societal stability. Can include welfare reforms.
Imposition of strong authority from above and law and order. Linked to idea of inherent HUMAN IMPERFECTION.
long-established institutions, customs and practices give communities and nations a strong sense of identity that encourages social cohesion and security. Any attempt to remove the ‘traditional base of society will lead to insecurity and instability.
New Right
. The liberal New Right concludes that although humans may be selfish, they are rational and entitled to pursue their own interests in their own way as long as they accept others can do the same. This approach to individualism, claim neo-liberals, releases human potential and creates natural harmony through free relations between people.
Neo cons may differ here as they don’t seem to have this regard for individualism, certainly when it comes to moral standards and conduct of oneself in one’s life.
The neo-conservative stress on authority and the need to preserve society shows that the conservative New Right is influenced to some extent by traditional conservative notions of organicism. However, neo-conservatism is much more authoritarian than one-nation conservatism, because it seeks to strengthen society by reasserting authority and social discipline. rather than through social reform and welfare measures.
The development of neo-conservatism (or the conservative New Right) in the USA during the 1970s was a reaction against the reforms, ideas and permissive attitudes of the so-called ‘liberal’ 1960s. For neo-conservatives, these unwelcome changes threatened society with social fragmentation, which could only be stopped by strong political leadership and authority. Unlike the neo-liberals, the conservative New Right were driven primarily by political considerations. Neo-conservatives focus mainly on the need to uphold social order and protect public morality. The conservative New Right maintains that since the 1960s authority and respect have declined in Western nations, leading to higher crime figures and increased rates of anti-social behaviour. Neo conservatives have argued for the re-imposition of authority and discipline at every level of society, to restore the authority of traditional social structures such as the family with its ‘natural internal relationships based on hierarchy and patriarchy. In addition, the conservative New Right promotes the ‘strong state’ or state authoritarianism, with increased police powers and harsher punishments, to tackle crime and public disorder. Both Thatcher and Reagan adopted a tough stance on law and order in the 1980s, believing that prison sentences had to provide ‘hard lessons’ for those convicted of offences.
• The individual concerned may opt for an ‘immoral’ lifestyle - particularly unacceptable to religious elements within the neo-conservative ranks in the USA.
. People should not be free to choose different moral positions (but economic as not threading natural order?) because this prevents the
development of common moral standards, undermining social cohesion. For similar reasons, the conservative New Right is critical of multiculturalism, which, in their view, threatens social and national unity by dividing society along ethnic, racial and religious lines.
re-introducing discipline, hierarchy and respect throughout society to re-establish the authority of the family and other traditional social institutions was a goal of Neo cons. Therefore had reverence for traditional and institutions but not fixed economic dominance of traditional aristocracy .
If an individual is allowed to make their own moral or lifestyle choices, two problems arise:
• The person may adopt an ‘immoral code or lifestyle.
• If people are free to choose different moral positions, this undermines the development of common moral standards and threatens social cohesion.
Thatcher (‘Victorian values’) and the Moral Majority in the USA (traditional values) illustrate the neoconservative concern with public morality.
Agree
Trad and one nation and largely agree on the nature of society and the desirable nature and state of society. Society is organic. Reject revolution and uprooting of tradition. Believe in strong authority from above. Natural order fit to rule.
Change should be pragmatic in order to preserve order and accumulated wisdom.
To keep societal order, necessary as human nature is flawed inherently they all believe in strong law and order.
(The neo-conservative stress on authority and the need to preserve society shows that the conservative New Right is influenced to some extent by traditional conservative notions of organicism. However, neo-conservatism is much more authoritarian than one-nation conservatism, because it seeks to strengthen society by reasserting authority and social discipline. rather than through social reform and welfare measures.)
Neo cons believe people should not be free to choose different moral positions (but economic as don’t have regard for natural order?) so perhaps not contradiction
Certain types of fragmentation are dangerous to society, less economic with New Right
Believe in interconnection of society is some areas moral and economic , difference is New Right believe that economic harmony can emerge from self interest, less with morals
Disagree
.
Neo-libs especially reject assumptions underpinning the organic society such as a ‘natural’ hierarchy and paternalism. Instead, neo-liberals view society as composed of independent and rational individuals operating within a free market. From this perspective, society is based on an individualism that releases human potential and establishes harmonious free relations between people. E.g. Thatcher “there’s no such thing as society” and Ayn Rand’s belief that self interest is a virtue.
However neo-cons perhaps contradict this regard for individualism with their policing and concern over moral standards to preserve societal order.
Although all believe in strong law and order to maintain societal order, one nation and trad more noblesse oblige and paternalistic and maintain control partly though welfare reforms. New right is more authoritarian and rejects this as a valid solution. Sees it as damaging and prefers stronger authority to maintain order. (The neo-conservative stress on authority and the need to preserve society shows that the conservative New Right is influenced to some extent by traditional conservative notions of organicism. However, neo-conservatism is much more authoritarian than one-nation conservatism, because it seeks to strengthen society by reasserting authority and social discipline. rather than through social reform and welfare measures.)
Although pragmatism is common value, perhaps not relating to the economy.
All view fragmentation as a problem but with one nation and trad more in regards to defying natural hierarchy whereas with new right more to do
with maintaining common moral values and aren’t particularly concerned with the former as they believe self interest in regards to economy creates natural harmony, competition.
As New right don’t view economic fragmentation as problem, don’t look to welfare reforms as means to maintain order, actually think they are damaging
Key Thinkers
Traditional:
Hobbes, in his book Leviathan (1651), Hobbes developed two important conservative ideas:
Order: an ordered society should balance the human need to lead a free life.
Human nature: humans are needy, vulnerable and easily led astray in their attempts to understand the world around them.
Ordered society
• In a ‘state of nature’, humans are free from authority. A ‘restless desire for power’ would lead to war.
• Rational people would therefore sacrifice their freedom and natural rights for security through the establishment of political authority.
• Government is therefore established by the joint consent of the people, and authorises those in power to preserve order and peace.
Human nature
Humans demonstrate needy and vulnerable characteristics by:
• competing violently to obtain the basic necessities of life and other material gains
• fighting out of fear to ensure their personal
safety
• seeking reputation, both for its own sake and to avoid being challenged by others.
Human capacity to reason is fragile. People’s attempts to interpret the world are distorted by self-interest and the concerns of the moment.
Edmund Burke’s 1790 classic study of the French Revolution attacked the assumption that a system of government could be created on the basis of abstract principles and theories (such as liberty and equality). In his view, the French Revolution illustrated the dangers of sudden and far-reaching change. The removal of the monarchy and aristocratic privilege by popular revolution undermined the stability of French society by challenging established notions of authority, tradition, hierarchy and property. Furthermore, he feared that France’s new leaders would lack the experience, restraint and understanding to perform their role. As a result, the country would be plunged into chaos.
Tradition and empiricism
• They represent the accumulated and ‘tested° wisdom of the past residing in society’s longstanding institutions, customs and practices.
• Continuing respect for tradition and empiricism promotes social continuity and stability and provides the essential reference points for
‘necessary’ change.
• They encourage social cohesion and security because they offer people a sense of being
‘rooted’ in, and tied to, their particular society.
One-nation:
Oakeshott, ‘To be a Conservative is to prefer the tried to the untried.’
In Rationalism in Politics (1962) and On Human Conduct (1975), Oakeshott stressed two concepts:
Human imperfection: society is unpredictable and humans are imperfect. They lack the mental faculties to make sense of a complex modern world.
2 Pragmatism: conservatism is about being pragmatic.
Uses
Society
A ‘rationalist’ political leader is inclined to make decisions based on the ‘authority of his own reason (rather than practical experience). This encourages the dangerous idea that the leader fully understands society and how it should be changed, as was the case, for example, in fascism and communism.
The state
Political thinking and action should be guided by pragmatism and practical experience to ensure public acceptance, maintain social stability and cohesion and respond flexibly to shifting circumstances; the British parliamentary system is a good example of what can result from this thinking.
Disraeli was determined to protect traditional British institutions (e.g. the monarchy,
Church of England) because they had proved themselves over time, provided stability and created a sense of national loyalty and identity across the classes.
New Right:
Thatcher, Reagan,
Ayn Rand: Rand’s novels The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957) advocated:
Objectivism: rational self-interest is a virtue. The pursuit of rational self-interest is morally right, based on ‘the virtue of selfishness’
2
Freedom: support for a completely unregulated, laissez-faire economy, compatible with the free expression of human rationality.
Core traditional conservative príncipes
Living organism: society is an organic or ‘living body with complex interconnections and relationships between its component parts.
Tradition institutions: tried and tested traditional institutions (e.g. the Church, the monarchy and the family) represent the accumulated experience and wisdom of the past. These bind society together through ties of duty, loyalty and affection.
Hierarchy: an organic society has to be organised as a hierarchy because people are not equal (e.g. in terms of their ability and work rate). Different jobs are rewarded differently depending on the contribution they make (see page 36).
Pragmatism: any attempt to create a perfect society using abstract theories and principles will fail since such an approach is not based on previous human experience and pragmatism (see page 37).
Gradual reform: change or reform has to be introduced gradually over time and be based on past experience in order to preserve the balance or ‘fabric’ of the organic society; sudden or radical change is likely to be harmful.
What was the French Revolution?
A major upheaval in France between 1789 and 1799 that violently removed the monarchy and the privileged position of the aristocracy and the Church. Traditional conservatism was a reaction to the French Revolution by the British ruling elite to justify their own privileged position and thereby avoid the same fate as their French counterparts.
What’s was The Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment was an 18th-century European intellectual movement that stressed the importance of human reason and the need to examine critically existing ideas, institutions and traditions. Traditional conservatives rejected much Enlightenment thinking on the grounds that it would encourage rapid, indiscriminate and destabilising change.
Traditional conservative defence of aristocratic rule (2)
-Rule by the aristocracy was natural since, for generations, the upper class had been raised and educated to govern at all levels in society. As large property holders, they also had a significant stake in society.
-The longstanding practice of aristocratic rule was based on paternalism (see page 38) and the concept of noblesse oblige. This meant that those in authority were best placed, and had a duty, to make decisions on behalf of society as a whole.
Features of an organic society
-Authority: top-down authority shapes relations between the different social groups and permeates all social institutions, such as schools and families. Authority provides humans with direction and security, promotes social cohesion by showing people where they ‘fit in’ and offers leadership roles to be admired and respected
-Living organism: society functions like a living organism with all its carefully balanced parts working together in harmony to ensure that the ‘body remains healthy, social cohesion is preserved and atomism avoided.
-Traditional institutions: long-ständing institutions play a key role in preserving the ‘health’ of society and the state and meet the human need for security.
They should not be radically changed or abolished.
-Paternalism: the most advantaged (in terms of financial rewards or status) have the greatest social responsibilities.
For example, managers are paid more than their workers because their role is more demanding but they are obliged to protect the jobs and economic well-being of their workforces. In this way, economic inequality is justified.
-Hierarchy: a hierarchy based on fixed ranks and inequalities, partly because humans vary in terms of their intellect, skills, etc., and partly because different groups or classes have to perform different roles in society such as political leadership,
Why do traditional conservatives believe abstract ideas are dangerous?
abstract ideas and principles such as
‘equality and rights’ are dangerous because they can lead to radical change (often through revolution) that produces worse rather than better conditions.
