Conservatism

• What is the context behind the rise of Conservatism?

  • English Civil War - Hobbes believed people were in need of guidance and could not be trusted on their own
  • French Revolution showed dangers of liberalism
  • MAIN AIM = PREVENT REVOLUTION
• What is the Conservative view on human nature?

  • flawed, imperfect and unchangeable
  • any ideology that works against this will create a dystopia
  • by recognising the flaws in human nature, we can avoid the death and destruction that comes with trying to perfect it
  • Hobbes - life in the state of nature is "nasty, brutish and short"
• What is the Conservative view on change to conserve?

  • accept the necessity of change but believe it should be incremental and evolutionary, rather than revolutionary
  • view the 'social contract' as dangerous because the govt is important and should be upheld
  • oppose radical social change
  • believe in importance of long-established institutions and practice like the monarchy & parl sov b/c they reflect the wisdom of the past and are known to work
• What is the Conservative view on tradition?

  • belief on learning from past generations and using it to give a sense of safety and identity
  • customs & habits provide security in an uncertain world
  • change & reform are inevitable but should be sloe and respectful of the past, rather than contemptuous of it
  • traditions like the monarchy, HoL & CofE are full of wisdom and cannot be abolished/replaced or it would cause instability
  • suspicious of change as it goes against tradition and created insecurity in vulnerable and weak humans
• What is the Conservative view on pragmatism?

  • flexible approach to society with decisions made based on what works
  • pragmatism = complete rejection of ideology as Lord Hailsham said "conservatism = negation of ideology"
  • pragmatic approach to social & constitutional change - 'if it ain't broke, why fix it?'
  • linked to empiricism - knowledge comes primarily from experience
  • all conservatives = empirical stance
• What are the core values/beliefs of Conservatism

  1. human nature
  2. change to conserve
  3. tradition
  4. pragmatism
  5. organic society
  6. paternalism
  7. property
• What is the Conservative view on organic society?

  • society stems from support for evolutionary change
  • cohesive society requires a degree of hierarchy and a sense of deference towards authority
  • strong emotional attachment to fellow people (Burke)
  • adopting a revolutionary stance = foolish and contrary to lessons of the past
• What is the Conservative view on paternalism?

  • approach to governance where the elite govern in the best interests of the people
  • noblesse oblige
  • Hard /Soft Paternalism
  • implies that inequality is both natural and desirable
• What is noblesse oblige?

  those with status have a responsibility to others who do not
• What is hard paternalism?

  forcing people to do things with emphasis on law and order
• What is soft paternalism?

  using persuasion and education
• What is the Conservative view on property?

  • closely tied to support for tradition and continuity - way to pass down tradition
  • inherited from one generation to another, providing a degree of stability
  • 'Inherited and bequeathed property' = tangible expression of Burke's belief that is the ideal society of a "partnership b/w the living, the dead and those yet to be born"
  • connection b/w property & paternalism = those w/ property have a 'stake' in society, so seek to protect this and discourage revolution by looking after the poor
  • provides platform for 'duty of care' towards others
• Traditional conservatives

  1. Thomas Hobbes
  2. Edmund Burke
• What is Hobbes' view on human nature?

  • self-serving, power grabbing and irrational
  • life in 'state of nature' as "nasty, brutish and short" where it is "all against all"
  • if individuals were left to themselves, they would be living in fear
  • imperfect and fixed
• What is Hobbes' view on economy?

  • state protects property
  • people have strict roles within the economy and there is little room for economic mobility
  • command economy = run strictly by the state
• What is Hobbes' view on the state?

  • state as essential - support monarchy
  • state should be a 'Leviathan' - strong, absolute, authoritarian, unlimited and undemocratic
  • govt's role = enforce law and order
  • revised social contract - people consent in exchange for protection, but they do not have the authority to overthrow the state
  • a dispersal of power in govt would replicate the 'state of nature'
  • reason for state = create order
• What is Hobbes' view on society?

  • w/o a strong govt, society would be in chaos, as seen in the 'state of nature'
  • natural chaos stems from the lack of formal authority
  • w/o a state, there would be no civil society
  • a hierarchical society maintains order
• What is Burkes' view on human nature?

  • rejects utopian view of human nature
  • human nature is weak and fallible
  • humans are not inherently individualistic and are naturally communal, gaining comfort from small communities or 'little platoons'
• What is Burkes' view on the economy?

  • permanently controlled by the upper class
  • state protects property
  • people have strict roles in the economy and there is little room for economic mobility
  • command economy
• What is Burkes' view on the state?

  • not an absolute monarchy
  • in favour of the King being constrained by a parliament run by the elected elite
  • limited state w/ limited franchise
• What is Burkes' view on society?

  • change to conserve, empiricism and tradition
  • organic society that is cautious of change
  • all organic societies have a ruling class
  • a stable society keeps 'noblesse oblige' in order, despite human nature
  • "to love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle of public affections" "first link by which we process towards a love to our country and to mankind"
• What is the context from which One Nation Conservatism emerged?

  • Great Reform Act 1832 - change to conserve as a result to riots over franchise - still not enough to appease the lower classes
  • demands grew for greater democracy and an end to aristocratic rule
  • rise of socialism led to Conservatives like Disraeli wanting to refine 'change to conserve'
  • to ensure social cohesion, there needed to be reforms to offset the emergence of class-consciousness
• How did One Nation Conservatism evolve in the 19th century (Disraeli)?

  • society = all members of the same family
  • Burke's organic society & nation was an idea that all classes want to defend
  • philanthropy of noblesse oblige was not enough - needs state-sponsored social reform to temper effects of laissez-faire capitalism as it threatens the trad hierarchy
  • to 'elevate the conditions of the people'
  • Factory Act 1874 & Artisan Dwellings Act 1875 - improved rights for workers and imposed restrictions on landlords, regulating labour and housing market
• How did One Nation Conservatism evolve in the 20th century?

  • fears dangers caused by franchise, the Labour party and common ownership
  • attempted to manage the worst of capitalism with a society based on property ownership and inequality
  • had to be pragmatic in adopting post-WW2 consensus: big govt, welfare state, NHS & Keynesian economics (Macmillan)
• One Nation Conservatism Key Thinker

  1. Michael Oakeshott
• What was Oakeshott's view on human nature?

  • weak but not completely awful; people are still capable of doing good
  • "fallible but not terrible"
  • "imperfect but not immoral"
  • capacity for goodness within tradition
• What was Oakeshott's view on economy?

  • more as a regulator than being directly involved in it, only being interventionist in a way that aligns with tradition
  • based on empiricism - striking a balance b/w experience, tradition and reform
  • manage capitalist exploitation
  • welfare if essential only
• What was Oakeshott's view on the state?

  • "prevent the bad rather than create the good"
  • role of the state is to be pragmatic and maintain order, whilst being open to change to conserve rather than being ideological
  • govern based on experience & tradition, as well as pragmatism
  • simply arbiter of good and bad w/o fundamental principles for what the state should be
• What was Oakeshott's view on society?

  • pragmatic, constantly changing
  • governed through experience
• According to Neo-liberalism, what is the role of the govt?

  • neuter trade unions
  • end dependency culture by slashing welfare spending
  • privatise public services
  • tight control of govt spending
  • encourage production by cutting regulation and taxation - leads to a 'trickle-down' effect as wealth creators are incentivised to create more, which leads to more jobs
• According to Neo-liberalism, what is the aim of the state?

  extent individual freedom by 'rolling back the frontiers of the state'
• According to Neo-liberalism, what is its main objective?

  • return to the 'golden age' of entrepreneurism and self-help where voluntary organisations help the poor rather than the state, and society is meritocratic
  • focus more on managing inflation through monetary policies than welfare
• What is the context behind the rise of Neo-liberalism?

  • economic crisis in the mid-1970s - inflation, unemployment, unstainable welfare spending, trade union militancy
  • result of One Nation Conservatives relying on the post-war consensus of Keynesian economics
• Neo-liberal Key Thinkers

  1. Robert Nozick
  2. Ayn Rand
• What is Nozick's view on human nature?

  • optimistic view
  • individuals have self-ownership & are the sole authors of their talents and abilities so should be left alone to realise their abilities w/o government intervention
• What is Nozick's view on the economy?

  • against Keynesian economics - against taxation
  • libertarianism = the individual should be left alone in the social & cultural spheres, as well as economic
  • laissez-faire capitalism = as minimal state intervention as possible
• What is Nozick's view on the state?

  • growth of govt = gravest contemporary threat to individual freedom
  • European welfare states fostered dependency culture
  • MINARCHIST state - mainly involved with outsourcing public services to private companies
  • "tax, for the most part, is theft"
• What is Nozick's MINARCHIST state?

  1. minimalist
  2. anarchist
• What is Nozick's view on society?

  • minarchist state = society as 'self-sufficient communities' sue to individual freedoms
  • each community = free to practice its own moral codes and values
  • revision of Burke's belief in the best society as one of a variety of 'little platoons'
  • just without Hobbes' Leviathan
  • tolerant of a liberal 'permissive society'
• What is Rand's view on human nature?

  • 'objectivism' - belief that humans should be guided by self-interest and 'rational self-fulfilment'
  • capable of rationality and actualisation