Conservatism

• Pragmatism


  To be pragmatic is to reject ideology and dogma - and instead accept that the best route to solving a problem is not necessarily what one's own ideological belief says.
• Pragmatism: One-nation and New Right


  One-nation conservatism is a highly pragmatic way of governing.

  New Right conservatism is much more ideological and requires a firm leadership to steer the government and the country into neo-liberalism.
• Tradition


  Conservatives believe that events in the past hold knowledge for people in the present.

  Tradition, paternalism and hierarchy are closely linked - the people in history who have ruled (who are often of a higher class/income than others) know what is best for the people they are ruling.

  New Right conservatism rejected lots of ideas of tradition, however.
• Tradition: Edmund Burke


  Edmund Burke supported ideas of tradition - he wrote after the 1789 French Revolution about the dangers of rejecting the ideas of the past. Because of human imperfection, we cannot just create a new society - we should listen to the lessons and teachings of the past and society should evolve organically to meet current needs.
• Tradition: Organic change


  Organic change is the idea that social change should not be radical, or mechanistic (a liberal idea, where the interactions of rational individuals change the way society works).

  Instead, society evolves through an organic process, and political processes and leaders emerge as a result of this organic process.

  The society itself is more important than the individual parts within it.

  Organic change is gradual rather than revolutionary and is supported by conservatives who wish to preserve order in society.
• Tradition: Revolutionary change


  Conservatives believe that revolutionary change disrupts order and hierarchy and so is dangerous to law and order and private property.

  Society is constantly evolving, and revolution does not solve society's problems.

  Society functions better and is safer if the change is gradual.
• Human imperfection


  Conservatives reject ideas from the enlightenment about trying to improve human nature, arguing that human nature cannot be perfected.

  Human imperfection goes against the liberal idea of human rationality, that humans are rational creatures that can become more fulfilled when given the freedom to make their own choices.

  Because humans are imperfect, they are unable to make good decisions for themselves.
• Human imperfection: Psychological imperfection


  Humans are psychologically imperfect - our brains mean that we are not necessarily rational.

  We behave in ways that are familiar and comforting, rather than things that may be better for us.

  Humans are attracted to safety, comfort and order, rather than radical ideas and change. So, order and hierarchy in society should be preserved. Institutions that protect order and hierarchy should be preserved.
• Human imperfection: Moral imperfection


  Humans have flawed characters and therefore cannot always act rationally or perfectly.

  This leads to a conservative view of crime as being a result of a flawed moral characteristic, rather than inequalities in the world.

  Conservatives believe in behaviour regulation through the law (anti-permissiveness) as a result of moral imperfection.
• Human imperfection: Intellectual imperfection


  Human rationality is imperfect and unreliable, and humans are intellectually imperfect.

  The world around us is more complicated than our intellects are able to comprehend.

  This disagrees with the liberal view that humans can create a free society through their rationality.

  Instead, we are unable to fully understand the society around us, and to try and completely overhaul what already exists would not be successful.
• Organic society/state


  Society develops as an organism, rather than as a man-made device, and is therefore constantly changing.

  Conservatives support gradual change, and believe that society will evolve to fit the needs of the present.

  The idea of the organic state links to the conservative beliefs in authority, because those in authority are there because they are society's natural leaders.

  The idea of the organic state links to a cohesive society because it suggests state unity is more important than disagreements between the state's individual parts.
• Change to conserve


  "Change to conserve" links to ideas of organic change in society.

  Conservatives believe that it is important to adapt to changing circumstances in society, as long as these adaptations conserve the basic principles of social order, hierarchy and tradition.

  For this reason, many conservatives favour gradual and evolutionary change rather than radical revolutionary change.

  Change to conserve preserves the status quo (how things are) whilst also ensuring the Conservative Party remains relevant to the electorate.
• Examples of change to conserve


  One-nation conservatism is an example of changing to conserve. One-nation conservatism emerged as a response to the emergence of capitalism in Britain during the industrial revolution. Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli tried to bring society together to form 'one nation', with the upper classes ruling, the middle classes making money and the working classes producing goods.
• Example of change to conserve: women's vote


  The Conservative Party were instrumental in bringing women the vote in 1918 and 1928 - another example of change to conserve. Campaigns for suffrage were disruptive to social order. The acceptance of women as voters reflected changing attitudes in society to gender.
• Example of change to conserve: succession rules


  In the 21st century, David Cameron changed succession rules to the throne, allowing female heirs to be recognised for the first time. This reflects present-day attitudes to gender but also meant that the institution of the monarchy remained important in British life.
• Authority


  Authority telling people in society what to do means that society functions better.

  Authority is linked to ideas of paternalism and hierarchy - there should be a social structure with people in charge of others, and those people act in the best interests of those they have authority over.

  Authority also has links to ideas of the social contract - by giving up some of our freedom we gain security through law and order.
• Hierarchy


  Conservatives believe that political systems and structures that are hierarchical are the best political systems and structures. These structures will be the fairest and most beneficial to the people inside them.

  We are all born with different merits and abilities, and so some people are more suited to leadership and high status, and others are more suited to low-status positions and jobs. Revolutionary change and abandoning hierarchy is ignorant of this fact, according to conservatives.
• New Right conservatism on hierarchy


  New Right conservatism accepts that there are natural inequalities in society.

  However, New Right conservatives don't necessarily want to preserve this order and hierarchy.

  Instead, inequalities lead to people to strive to work harder to improve their place in life.
• Paternalism


  Paternalism believes 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.

  Conservatives believe in human imperfection, which justifies paternalism.Humans may not always make the best choices for themselves, therefore it is acceptable to act on behalf of other people.

  Conservatives tend to support the 'trustee' model of representation in parliament, rather than the 'delegate'.
• Traditional paternalism


  Traditional conservatism takes a forceful and authoritarian approach to paternalism.

  Traditional paternalism is the idea that the state knows best and therefore everyone has to do as the state says.
• One nation conservatism on paternalism


  Benjamin Disraeli's one nation conservatism had strong paternalist ideas.This conservative ideology argued that there should be social classes, and the upper classes should look after the working classes.

  The paternalism of one-nation conservatism has roots in the idea of noblesse oblige - the obligation of the aristocracy and upper classes to look after the working classes and less fortunate.
• Neo-feudalism on paternalism


  Disraeli and Edmund Burke introduced the concept of 'neo-feudalism' which argued for class structures. The working classes produced goods. The middle classes earned money and so if they were in power could have conflicts of interest. The upper classes should rule because they had the time and money to already, their ancestors had been in power so they had historical knowledge and were able to rule 'dispassionately' (without self-interest).
• Empiricism


  Empiricism opposes the idea that we can get knowledge from theoretical concepts.

  Empiricism supports the conservative belief in tradition, as it uses the past as a source of wisdom.
• Organic society on empiricism


  Empiricism supports the concept of organic society as institutions and practices have evolved over time to best suit the needs of society. We can only have knowledge of things we have seen or experienced - therefore the impact of ideas like liberal rationality and socialism are unknowable.
• Anti-permissiveness


  Anti-permissiveness is not allowing people to make their own moral choices.

  This opposes permissiveness, which is when these behaviours are allowed to take place.

  In comparison, liberals accept that individuals have the right to determine their own private moral conduct, so long as they are not causing harm to others.
• Examples of anti-permissiveness


  For example, Thatcher introduced Section 28 of the Local Government Act in 1987 which prohibited the mention of homosexuality in school sex education.

  Some people may disagree with gay marriage as it is not traditional and challenges gender norms. Not allowing gay marriage is an example of anti-permissiveness, and allowing it is an example of permissiveness.
• Libertarianism


  Libertarianism is the promotion of freedom, free choice and autonomy, mainly focused on applying these concepts to the economy.
• Libertarianism: Libertarians


  Libertarians take positions similar to classical liberals - supporting freedom, individuality and as little government interference in the economy as possible.
• Libertarianism: State functions


  Libertarians favour a 'night-watchman state' - where the only functions of the state are to protect private property and maintain law and order. The state only has a military, police and courts. This is an extreme and radical idea which many conservatives would reject.
• Libertarianism: Economy


  Libertarians support a free market economy, believing that individuals should be responsible for their own economic choices and that the government should not intervene.

  In a free market, the price of goods and services are set by the forces of supply and demand.

  Libertarians believe that government intervention makes a market inefficient.
• Libertarianism: Moral values


  Libertarians support freedom from government intervention in an individual's personal life.

  Libertarians tend to accept things that have been historically more controversial in people's personal lives, just as long as it does not harm others. For example, libertarians in the US support the right to own a gun. Libertarians have historically supported the right of gay people to marry.

  This goes against conservative ideas of anti-permissiveness.
• Laissez-faire


  Laissez-faire is a political and economic system which supports as little government intervention as possible in business and the state.

  This is also associated with neo-liberalism and with classical liberal thinkers like Adam Smith.
• Conservative Party on Laissez-faire


  The Conservative Party adopted the economic stance of laissez-faireism under the leadership of Robert Peel.

  However, laissez-faire is a policy that tends to be supported by liberals and neoliberals. For much of the 19th century, the Conservative Party did not support free trade, an important part of laissez-faire economics.
• Radical


  Radical ideas in politics often challenge the existing political, economic and social systems.

  Traditional and one-nation conservatives reject radical ideas, supporting gradual change and conservation of the structures of society. Thatcher supported radical ideas, such as free market capitalism and deregulation of business.
• Egoistical individualism


  Atomism is also known as egoistical individualism.

  This links to Ayn Rand's idea of selfishness as a positive trait. Rand believed that we should actively seek to look after own interests, instead of relying on the state. Crucially, this type of selfishness should not be at the expense of others.
• Traditional Conservatism: Hierarchy and paternalism


  The main ideas of traditional conservatism are hierarchy and paternalism.

  The paternalism of traditional conservatism is more authoritarian.

  Paternalistic and hierarchical ideas of traditional conservatism evolved into one-nation ideas of the noblesse oblige.

  Traditional conservatism believes society is naturally hierarchical and based on inequalities.
• Traditional Conservatism: Society


  For traditional conservatives, society is a living entity with complex relationships. Changes to one part of society will affect the rest of society and so gradual change is preferred over radical change

  For traditional conservatives, reform to society must be pragmatic and learn from past lessons to ensure practical solutions are established.
• One-Nation Conservatism


  One-nation conservatism is the idea of government in the interests of all.

  The Conservative Party changed to make sure that they remained in power by appealing to working-class voters across the UK, rather than only appealing to and taking care of the interests of the landed, wealthy elite.

  One-nation conservatism is centred around the ideas of noblesse oblige (privilege entails responsibility), change to conserve, and supporting the working classes.
• One-Nation Conservatism: Noblesse oblige


  Noblesse oblige is a French term which is taken to mean the obligation the rich, well-off and high-status people in society have to help those less fortunate than themselves.

  Noblesse oblige is closely associated with one nation conservatism and in the present day with 'compassionate conservatism'.

  It is the idea that people of these high social positions should use the power that they have from these positions to help others.
• One-Nation Conservatism: Noblesse oblige and conservatives


  Conservatives believe in hierarchy and natural inequalities - and so there will always be people of a higher status and people of a lower status.

  People of a high status have an obligation to help others.

  Noblesse oblige reinforces the idea that there should be a ruling elite.