traditional conservatism Flashcards
what did hobbes think? include quotes
-Promoted the cynical view of humans, arguing that they are inherently power-seeking, and self-interested.
-Believes in absolutist governments, as they prevetn anarchy. A stateless society promotes a “war of all against all.” If people limit the power of the state, they risk a descent into a state of nature.
-Rejects the divine right of kings. He thought that a social compact involving the individuals of a society, and the monarch legitimised the sovreign’s legislation.
-Individuals cede some freedoms to the state in exchange for protection.
-Prior to the state, there was no co-operation or voluntary arrangements betwee individuals, instead, it was chaos, and did not have any ‘natural rights’ as liberals think. Humans would eventually realised that they needed order, and enter into a contract with the sovreign (the state), and eventually this would create society.
-“War of all against all”
-State of nature would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” and a “state of war.”
what did burke think? include quotes
-Political action must be rooted in tradition and experience.
-Gloomy view of government, suggesting that, while it prevents evil, it does not often promote good.
-Agreed with Adam Smith’s economy, stating that market forces were a ‘natural law.’
-Related to Hobbes’ sceptical view of human nature, emphasising human imperfection. Mankind are fallible and have a tendency to fail. This was demonstrated by the French Revolution, which abandoned what was ‘known’ in favour of ‘philosophical abstraction’.
-Societal change must be cautious and organic, not revolutionary. It must, however, change to conserve. Society should be made of ‘little platoons’, small, diverse, and autonomous communities.
-A ruling class is inevitable & desirable, but they should govern in the interests of all.
-Society is a partnership between “those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.” Reflecting ideas of tradition.
-“A state without the means of some change is without the means of conservation.”
what did oakshott think? include quotes
-Modest view of human nature. It is “imperfect, but not immoral.” He tried to make conservatism more optimistic, claiming that conservatives were reconcilled to human nature, and some have a greater appreciation of the pleasures of life.
-Echoes Burke’s importance of tradition over rationalism
-Society is unpredicatble and multi-faceted. Faith in rationalism is misplaced.
-Through experience, trial, and error, wisdom is achieved, not through abstract philosophy.
-Developed the nautical metaphor, suggesting that government should “keep the ship afloat… not fixate on a port that may not exist.”
-Nozick regarded MO’s philosophy as “lazy” & too “fatalistic.”
-Most men & women are “fallible, not terrible.”
-“Normative” politics has as “simplistic” view of “the complexity of now.”
-State “prevent the bad rather than create the good.”
-NAUTICAL METAPHOR, “we all sail a boundless sea, with no appointed destination.”
-Critical of those who acted on “authority of his own reason,” not experience.
-Change should be guided by pragmatism so that “the cure is not worse than the disease.”
-Prefers “the familiar to the unknown.”
-Governing should be through “specific and limited activity.”
How did they respond to the English Civil War?
-Individuals like Hobbes defended monarchical rule & wished to exalt reason & logic over faith & religion.
-Hobbes was anxious that there could be no freedom or progress without law & order.
-Though that the principal purpose of government was to maintain peace & security through law & order.
How did they respond to the French Revolution?
-Individuals like Burke foresaw the mayhem & violence that eventually disfigured the revolutionary movement and argued that change should be evolutionary & mindful of humanity’s imperfection.
-Emphasised the idea of changing to conserve, recognising the change, though inevitable, should be gradual.
-Reform could be sought only if there were serious threats to pre-established custom.
How did they respond to industrialisation?
-Individuals like Bismarck, and Disraeli stressed One Nation conservatism.
-They were worried about class-based inequality that had risen over the 18th & 19th century. They feared that this might result in revolution.
-Disraeli warned that “the palace is not safe when the the cottage is not happy.”
-They emphasised ideas of “One nation”, where various classes were part of one national identity, where higher classes were paternalistic.
-Greater state intervention to “elevate the condition” of poorer classes, encouraging acts like 1874 Factory Act & the widening of franchise in 1867.
How did they react to democratic socialism?
-Macmillan stressed the ‘middle way’.
-They were concerned that inequality & hierarchy persisted, and the introduction things like the 1918 Rep of People Act, which enabled an overwhelmingly working-class electorate.
-The ‘Middle Way’ addressed economic inequalities while respecting property rghts.
-1935-7, Conservative MPs, sponsored the Public Health, Housing, and Factory Acts all of which checked market forces in the name of ‘one nation.
-Post-WW2, they were forced to adopt Welfare states with mixed economies.
-This was not an abandoment of traditional conservatism, instead “a renewal of our historic concern for national unity”, as R. A. Butler suggests.
