1. What are the origins of conservatism?

Question 1

what did Hobbes think about the power of reason

Answer 1

Hobbes (conservative):
- Argued that humans are capable of reason, but can be equally driven by emotions and less rational impulses
- Argued that there are important limits to what can be achieved with reason
- Disputed the idea that humans could discover perfect moral principles that all humans could understand and apply to settle disputes and conflicts

Question 2

what s relativism

Answer 2

Relativism – the belief that there is no absolute truth or moral standards

Question 3

What was the only right that Hobbes thought humans could universally agree on?

Answer 3

• Hobbes argued that people call the things that please them ‘good’ and the things that displease them ‘bad’
• ‘things’ and ‘actions’ re not inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – truth will vary according to the individual and the culture

Question 4

how did Hobbes view the state of nature

Answer 4

Hobbes:
- Our natural equality does not lead to mutual respect and natural rights, but to a state of war
- Equal individuals compete for scarce resources and this competition fosters distrust in others
- Actions are ‘right’ if they aid self-preservation – this might include pre-emptive violence against others

Question 5

What are ‘natural laws’?

Answer 5

Natural laws – rules obviously beneficial if we are to live in groups

Question 6

How did Hobbes explain the transition from the state of war, to a state of law?

Answer 6

State of nature  state of war

Not because people were constantly fighting, but because of the constant unease and mistrust that comes from lacking a sovereign power to enforce consistent standards of justice

Question 7

what was Hobbes’ concept of state power?

Answer 7

Hobbes: Political order –> Freedom

Hobbes:
- Because Hobbes saw the state of nature as so dangerous, he thought that people simply could not get along without a higher power to restrain them
- The sovereign needs absolute power so that they can establish and enforce standards for all people to live by, escaping the natural chaos that comes from competing visions of right and wrong

Question 8

Why did Hobbes favour an absolute monarchy? What did he believe to be the monarch’s primary responsibility?

Answer 8

• Hobbes’s Leviathan, or sovereign, was to be “God’s lieutenant; to whom in all doubtful cases, we have submitted our private judgements.”
• We need a strong state, and firm enforcement of the law, to stop people taking justice and self-preservation into their own destabilising hands
• While liberals would raise concerns about the threat to individual freedom that comes with such absolute power, Hobbes would reply that we are not free unless we are safe, and feel as though we are safe

Question 9

How did Locke and Hobbes disagree on the nature of freedom and natural rights?

Answer 9

Locke:
- Natural rights
- Natural liberties

Hobbes:
- Stability
- Security