CONSERVATISM

• Core ideas- pragmatism

  • reject ideology and dogma that the best route to solving a problem is not necessarily what one's beliefs say
  • New right- much more ideological & requires firm leadership to steer gov & country into Neo-liberalism
  • one-nation- highly pragmatic
• core ideas- Tradition

  • Believe events in the past hold knowledge for people in the present
  • closely linked with paternalism and hierarchy
  • people in history who have ruled know what's best for the people
  • rejected by the new right
• core ideas- tradition

  • organic Change: social changed shouldn't be radical or mechanistic, society evolves organically - gradual rather than revolutionary, supported by Cons who want to preserve order in society
  • Revolutionary change: disrupts order & hierarchy, is a danger to law & order & private property, society is constantly evolving - revolution does not solve society's problems, society functions better if change is gradual
• core ideas- human imperfection

  • reject ideas from enlightenment, argue human nature can't be perfected
  • opposes liberal idea of rationality
  • humans are imperfect and are therefore unable to make good/rational decisions for themselves
  • psychological imperfection
  • Moral imperfection
  • intellectual imperfection
• core ideas- human imperfection


  psychological imperfection

  • our brains make us irrational, we behave ins ays that are familiar & comforting, rather than things that may be better for us
  • humans are attracted to safety, comfort and order, rather than radical ideas & change
  • order & hierarchy should be preserved
  • institutions that protect order & hierarchy should be preserved
• core ideas- human imperfection


  moral imperfection

  • humans are flawed and can't always act rationally or perfectly
  • leads to cons view of crime as being a result of flawed moral characteristic rather than inequalities in the world
  • believe in behaviour regulation through the law (anti-permissiveness), as a result of moral imperfection
• core ideas- human imperfection

  intellectual imperfection

  • human rationality is imperfect and unreliable, humans are intellectually imperfect
  • the world around us is more complicated than our intellects are able to comprehend
  • disagrees with liberal view that humans can create a free society through rationality
  • instead, we are unable to understand society around us, & to try and completely overhaul what already exists would not be successful
• core ideas- organic society/state

  • society develops as an organism , rather than a man-made device & is therefore constantly changing
  • cons support this through gradual change, believe society will evolve to fit needs of the present
  • idea links to beliefs in authority- those in authority are there bc they are society's natural leaders
  • cohesive society suggests state unity is more important than disagreement between state's individual parts,
  • e.g., change to conserve
• core ideas- organic society/state

  • "change to conserve"
  • ideas of organic change in society
  • believe its important to adapt to changing circumstances in society, as long as these adaptations conserve basic principles of social order, hierarchy and tradition
  • for this reason, many cons favour gradual & evolutionary change rather than radical change
  • preserves status quo while ensuring cons party remains relevant to electorate
• core ideas- authority

  • crucial in preserving order
  • ideas of paternalism and hierarchy, there should be a social structure, people in charge of others & those people act in best interests of this ethey have authority over
  • links to ideas of the social contract
  • by giving up some of our freedom, we gain security through law & order
  • 3 types according Max Weber
  • Charismatic authority
  • rational-legal authority
  • traditional authority
• core ideas- authority 


  charismatic authority

  • where authority comes form personality and characteristics of the leader

  rational legal authority

  • authority comes form legal system and rationalism
• core ideas- authority 


  traditional authority

  • comes from traditions & customs and acceptance of historical state of affairs
  • more likely to preserve freedom in society and traditional hierarchies, eg, monarchy
  • eg, the fact that of the 56 PMs the uk has had, 42 have studied at Oxbridge
• Core ideas- Hierarchy

  • political systems and structures are hierarchal, a re the best political systems as they are the fairest and most beneficial to the people inside them
  • were all born with different merits and abilities
  • some are more suited to leadership and high status while others are more suited to low-status positions and jobs
  • revolutionary change and abandoning of hierarchy are ignorant of this fact
  • eg, Camerons Govs 2010-16- dominated by old Etonian, privately educated, oxbridge graduates
• core ideas- paternalism

  • belief that some members of society should lead others and it is these people who have obligations to those below them to look after their best interests
  • human perfection justifies paternalism- humans may not always make best choices for themselves, therefore is acceptable to act on behalf of other people
  • support trustee model of rep dem rather than delegate model
  • traditional paternalism
• core ideas- paternalism


  traditional paternalism

  • traditional conservatism takes forceful and authoritarian approach to paternalism
  • idea that the state knows best, therefor everyone has to do as the state says
• core ideas- paternalism


  one nation & paternalism

  • roots in the idea of noblesse oblige
  • obligation of the aristocracy and upper classes to look after the working classes and less fortunate
• core ideas- paternalism


  rejection of paternalism by the New Right

  • reject many paternalist ideas, focused instead on individualism
  • the individual had a responsibility to look after themselves and their family
  • Thatcher rejected paternalist ideas of the establishment looking after the working classes by ousting social security, eg, state pensions
• core ideas- empiricism

  • opposes idea that we can get knowledge from theoretical concepts
  • supports con belief in tradition, using the past a s a source of wisdom
  • organic society
  • supported by empiricism as institutions and practices have evolved after time to best suit needs of society
  • we can only have knowledge of things we have seen or experienced
  • thus the impact of ideas eg liberal rationality and socialism are unknowable
• core ideas- anti-permissiveness

  • not allowing people to make their own moral choices
  • opposes permissiveness, where these behaviours are allowed to take place
  • eg, Thatcher introducing section 28 of the Local Government Act 1987- prohibited the mention of homosexuality in school sex ed
• core ideas - libertarianism

  • promotion of freedom, free choice and autonomy, mainly focused on applying such concepts to the economy
  • libertarians take positions similar to classical liberals, support freedom, individuality and as little gov intervention as possible
  • state functions: favour 'night watchman' state, where the only functions of the state are to protect private property and maintain law & order
  • state only has a military, police and courts
  • idea rejected by many conservatives as it is highly radical
• core ideas-libertarianism

  The economy

  • support free-market economy, indvdls should be responsible for their own economic choices & the gov shouldn't intervene
  • price of goods & services et by supply & demand, gov intervention make it inefficient
• core ideas-libertarianism


  Moral values

  • support freedom of the gov intervention in an individuals' personal life
  • tend to accept things that have been more historically controversial in people's personal lives, as long as it doesn't harm others
  • libertarians in the US, support the 2nd amendment right to own a gun
  • also have historically supported the right of gay people to marry
  • opposes anti-permissiveness
• laissez-faire economy

  • political & economic system which supports minimal gov intervention in business and state
  • associated with Neo-liberalism, and classical liberal thinkers eg Adam Smith
  • Cons party adopted stance of laissez-faireism under leadership of Robert Peel
• traditional conservatism

  • emerged as a reaction to the Enlightenment and the consequences of the French Revolution
  • Edmund Burke father of trad cons
  • defends the established order and how change will sometimes e necessary to maintain the status quo
• traditional conservatism & the state

  • for imperfect humans, the state provides the authority necessary to act as a break on individuals' worst instincts
  • the state, led by the elite has a natural authority with a disciplinary function to provide order, security and stability to society
• traditional conservatism & society

  • Hierarchal and unequal, it is organised this way as humans do not have the same abilities, talents, or energy,
  • occupations are differentiated by skill and ability, and financial rewards(wages) are decided by the supply and demand of the market
  • view society's elite as the natural leaders and believe that other social groups should accept their ability to lead in the best interests of society as a whole
• traditional conservatism and society

  • when needed, society can carefully change (not radically), guided by tradition, pragmatism, empiricism, hierarchy and judaeochristian morality
  • not contrived or created but emerges organically, development of society cannot be predicted only responded to
• traditional conservatism- human nature

  • view humans as intellectually imperfect and incapable of infallible rational thought promised by political ideas such as those of liberals .
• one nation conservatism- traditional

  • emerge late 19th century
  • updated Burke's idea that society needed to change to conserve
  • PM Disraeli felt society was threatened by social and economic consequences of the industrial revolution
  • Increasing class inequality and declining sense of community
  • embraced paternalism and social reform acting in the interests of everyone and preserving one nation
  • developed in 20th century under Macmillan and ideas still present in ideas of Cameron and May
• one nation conservatism

  • Disraeli introduced social reforms to counter the negative effects of capitalism and laissez faire gov
  • by using pragmatism to address social issues, he reduced the possibility of social unrest
  • the Second Reform Act 1867- gave working men the vote
  • the Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875
  • Post-war housing in the UK - Macmillan succeeded in building 300,000 houses a year as Churchill's housing minister
  • PM 157-63, Macmillan combined state ownership nd private enterprise
  • His adoption of a mixed economy reframed Disraeli's one nation cons for the 20th century
• One nation conservatism

  • Cameron championed communal responsibilities, attempting to rebrand one nation cons as 'compassionate conservatism' with his Big Society initiatives
  • Cameron & May maintained this ideology by 'changing to conserve' the UK by accepting devolution, but opposing Scottish & Welsh independence
  • May demonstrated one nation values by a arguing for a society that respects the 'bonds of the family, community and citizenship'
• Christian Democracy

  • European version of One- nation conservatism
  • influenced by paternalistic ideas of Friedrich List
  • stresses importance of noblesse oblige & communal duty
  • emphasises the importance of a 'social market' of capitalism
  • unlikes one nation cons, CD favour supranationalism
  • exemplified in the EU, where sovereignty is pooled with other nation states
• New Right

  • emerged in the UK & US late 1970s
  • Reaction against the ideas of one nation cons, modern liberalism, and social democracy
  • formed of 2 strands:
  • neo-liberalism
  • neo conservatism
• neo- liberalism

  • modernised version of classical liberalism
  • focuses on minimal state, atomistic society, free market economy and individual freedom
  • critique of gov intervention gained traction in 1970s when western Govs adopting Keynesian economics struggled to cope with stagflation
• Neo-conservatism

  • modernised version of traditional conservatism
  • focuses on morality, social order, and hawkish foreign policy
  • Neo-cons were critical of permissive social attitudes that became mainstream after the social revolution of the 60s
  • sought more authoritarian foreign policy, especially against communist states, eg USSR
• Neo-liberalism - Human Nature

  • rational and self-seeking
  • Ayn Rand rejected idea of human imperfection
• Neo-liberalism-society

  • Is atomistic
  • individual rights and freedom are more important than societal obligations and duties
  • argued by Rand and Nozick
• Neo-liberalism- state

  • fera duties and obligations present in the organic state
  • perceived as threat to freedom
  • Rand & Nozick argued that individual's obligations should be to themselves rather than to state & society
  • gov should 'roll back the state' to preserve individual freedom
  • rand & nozick argued that high taxation infringes individual rights and a welfare state creates a dependency culture
  • indvdls should rise and fall based on their abilities, with no help or assistance from the state
• Neo-liberalism- Economy

  • state planning and nationalised companies worsen economic performance as they distort the free market
• Neo-liberalism- Economy

  • state planning and nationalised companies worsen economic performance as they distort the free market
  • inefficient, lacking free-market dynamism & innovation, and are artificially protected from free-market competition which distorts the overall market