conservatism

• pragmatism is a way of making decisions based on what works rather than ideology and dogmatic thinking.
• change should be incremental rather than radical to preserve tradtions
• pragmatism is associated with traditional conservatives and one nation conservatives
• pragmatism is closely associated with Burke and Oakeshott.
• tradition is the accumulated wisdom of past societies
• abandoning traditions can have far reaching and damaging consquences
• the practices and institutions developed over time have shown themselves to work, therefore change should be incremental, and only if it improves on current practices.
• tradition is closely associated with traditional conservatives and one nation conservatives
• tradition is closely associated with Burke and Oakeshott
• human imperfection is the idea that humans are not perfect and have flaws and weaknesses and therefore not able to make good decisions for themselves
• humans are morally imperfect and are naturally motivated by selfish desires
• humans are intellectually imperfect, with little capacity for rational understanding, especially of abstract thought
• humans are psychologically imperfect, needing tradition and social order for comfort
• as humans are imperfect, they would seek a social contract, trading some individual freedom for law and order and protections offered by the state
• human imperfection is closely associated with traditional conservatives and one nation conservatives
• human imperfection is closely associated with Oakeshott, Burke and Hobbes
• organic society is the idea that society is not created but emerges and grows, developing like an organism whose parts are inter connected and mutually supported
• an organic state is made up of many parts, with the state and society being more important than these individual parts
• an organic state includes traditional institutions that provide authority to humans, who naturally seek structure
• an organic state includes a natural hierarchy as humans have different abilities
• an organic state sees individual rights as given as by the state as only the state can maintain them
• Organic state is closely associated with traditional conservatives, one nation conservatives and neo-conservatives
• Organic state is closely associated with Hobbes, Burke and Oakeshott
• paternalism is the duty of society's elite to look after the less fortunate, based on the assumption the elite have the authority to determine what is best for them
• noblesse oblige is the responsibility of those with the power and wealth to help the less fortunate
• paternalists believe that within the natural order of society the elite in society are the natural leaders, therefore having a responsibility to help the less fortunate
• paternalists believe the state doesn't deal with societal problems, the traditional hierarchy and organic state will be at risk
• paternalism is closely associated with traditional conservatives, one nation conservatives and neo-conservatives
• libertarianism is a belief in the primacy of individual’s right to liberty, especially negative freedoms, laissez-faire economics based on a minimal state
• libertarianism is in somewhat conflict with paternalism, seeing it as a challenge to individual freedom
• libertarianism is closely associated with traditional conservatives and neo-liberal conservatives
• libertarianism is closely associated with Burke, Rand and Nozick