Conservatism

Question 1

edmund burke years

Answer 1

1729-97

Question 2

edmund burke book

Answer 2

reflection of the revoutions in france 1790

Question 3

key ideas of edmund burke

Answer 3

-supported the american revolution and opposed french revolution
-became enlightenment biggest critic
-both society and government were more akin to plants than machine. he therefore inisisted that change shoukld be cautious and organic
-aristocratic class had an obligation to govern in the interest of all. the failure of the aristocratic that led to revolutions.

Question 4

quotes of edmund burke

Answer 4

-organic society
-little plattons
-philsophical abstractions
-acknowledge nuture and prune… the crooked timber of society

Question 5

thomas hobbes years

Answer 5

1588-1679

Question 6

thomas hobbes book

Answer 6

leviathan 1651

Question 7

thomas hobbes quotes

Answer 7

-solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, short
-natural chaos

Question 8

micheal oakeshott years

Answer 8

1901-90

Question 9

micheal oakeshott book

Answer 9

on being conservative 1962
the politics of faith & the poitics of sceptiscm 1990

Question 10

micheal oakeshott quotes

Answer 10

-falliable but not terrible
-imperfect but not immoral
-both pleasure and improvement through the humdrum business of every day
-this world but not another

Question 11

ayn rand years

Answer 11

1905-82

Question 12

ayn rand book

Answer 12

atlas shrugged 1957
the virtue of selfishness 1964

Question 13

ayn rand quotes

Answer 13

-the small state is a strong state
-rolling back the frontiers of the state

Question 14

ayn rand ideas

Answer 14

-objectivism
-atomism

Question 15

robert nozick years

Answer 15

1938-2002

Question 16

robert nozick books

Answer 16

anarchy, state, utopia 1974

Question 17

robert nozick quotes

Answer 17

-minarchist state
-permissive society
-property could not be taken for granted

Question 18

thomas hobbes ideas

Answer 18

-state of nature wouldn’t have been a good place
-government should provide protection
-the only reason society has a right to protest is if your leader threatens to kill you

Question 19

micheal oakeshott idea

Answer 19

-use and enjoy the present
-grateful for what the past has given us
-prefer familar over foreign
-prefer tried to untried
-dismissive of normative politics

Question 20

robert nozick key ideas

Answer 20

-viewpoint of the state went further than neo-liberals, became closley identified with libertarianism
-individuals should be left alone not just in the economic sphere
-believed in a minarchist state.

Question 21

What is conservatism also known as

Answer 21

the politics of maintenance.

Question 22

Chane to conserve

Answer 22

This is the fundamental principle of conservatism and one that distinguishes
a conservative from a reactionary. It indicates a
belief that for something valuable to be preserved, it has to be continuously
updated and maintained.

Question 23

Thomas Hobbes: human nature

Answer 23

Cynical: individuals are selfish, driven by a restless and tuthless desire for supremacy and security.

Question 24

Thomas Hobbes: state

Answer 24

The state arises contracctually from individuals who seek order and security. To serve its purpose, the state must be autocratic and awesome.

Question 25

Thomas Hobbes: society

Answer 25

Ther can be no ‘society’ until the creation of a state brings order and authority to human affairs. Life until then is ‘nasty, brutish and short’.

Question 26

Thomas Hobbes: economy

Answer 26

Constructive and enduring economic activity is impossible without a state guaranteeing order and security.

Question 27

Edmund Burke: human nature

Answer 27

sceptical: the ‘crroked timber of humanity’ is marked by a gap between aspiration and achievement. We may conceive of perfection but we are unable to achieve it.

Question 28

Edmund Burke: state

Answer 28

The state arises organically and should be aristocratic, driven by a hereditary elite, reared to rule in the interests of all.

Question 29

Edmund Burke: society

Answer 29

Society is organic and multi-faceted comprising a host of small communities and organisation ‘little platoons’

Question 30

Edmund Burke: economy

Answer 30

trade should involve ‘organic’ free markets and laissez-faire capitalism.

Question 31

Micheal Oakeshott: human nature

Answer 31

Modest: humanity is at its best when free from grand designs and when focused on the routines of everyday life.

Question 32

Micheal Oakeshott: Society

Answer 32

The state should be guided by tradition and practical concerns. Pragmatism, not dogmatism, should be its watchword.

Question 33

Micheal Oakeshott: state

Answer 33

Localised communities are essential to humanity’s survival especially when guided by short term requirements rather than abstract ideas.

Question 34

Micheal Oakeshott: economy

Answer 34

free markets are volatile and unpredicatble, and may require pragmatic moderation by the state.

Question 35

Ayn Rand: human nature

Answer 35

‘objectivist’: we are - and ought to be - guided by rational self-interests and the pursui of self-fulfillment

Question 36

Ayn Rand: state

Answer 36

the state should confine itself to law, order and national security. Any attempt to promote ‘positive liberty’, via further state intervention, should be resisted.

Question 37

Ayn Rand: society

Answer 37

In so far as it exists at all, society is atomistic: the mere sum total of its individauls. Any attempt to restrict individuals in the name of society should be challenged.

Question 38

Ayn Rand: economy

Answer 38

Free-market capitalism is a expression of ‘objectivist’ individualism and should not be hindered by the state

Question 39

Robert Nozick: human nature

Answer 39

Egotistical: individuals are driven by a quest for ‘self-ownership’, allowing them to realise their full potential

Question 40

Robert Nozick: state

Answer 40

The minarcist state should merely outsource, renew and reallocate contracts to private companies providng public services.

Question 41

Robert Nozick: society

Answer 41

Society should be geared to individual self-fulfillment. This may lead to a plethora of small, variable communities reflecting their members’ diverse tastes and philosophies.

Question 42

Robert Nozick: economy

Answer 42

The minarchist state should detach itself from a privatised and deregulated economy, merely aritrating disputes between private economic organisations.

Question 43

Origins of conservatism

Answer 43

• Although conservative politics should not be confused with reactionary politics, it is fair to say that the origin of conservatism were themselves a reaction - or, more specifically, a reaction to the politics of the Enlightenment.
• It will be recalled that at the heart of the Enlightenment was a belief in reason and remorseless progress; the notion that there was an ‘ideal’ society towards which politicians should strive, underpinned by tolerance, equality and individual rights. Indeed, by the second half of the eighteenth century, and certainly after the American Revolution of 1775-1783 (when American colonists
  successfully defied British imperial rule), it became difficult for politicians and philosophers to argue against the principles of the Enlightenment without appearing regressive
  and intolerant.

Question 44

Origins of conservatism in england

Answer 44

In England, at least, this was the period historians have termed ‘the Whig supremacy’. Early liberal politicians, such as those found in the Whig Party, were confident that the progressive principles embodied by England’s
Glorious Revolution (1689) and America’s Declaration of Independence (1776) were intellectually unquestionable and politically irresistible. By contrast, any critique of the Enlightenment seemed rooted in outdated, theocratic thinking - associated, for example, with a defence of monarchical absolutism and the ‘divine right’ of kings.

Question 45

Origins of conservatism in the french revolution

Answer 45

• At first, the French Revolution of 1789 seemed to vindicate the optimistic spirit of the Enlightenment. The rapid and dramatic overthrow of the despotic French monarchy, the rejection of the ‘irrational’ religious assumptions that went with it, and the creation of a new
  Republic founded on “liberté, égalité, fraternité’ were all greeted with enthusiasm by European intellectuals, thrilled that a huge continental power was embracing the ideas of Rousseau, Voltaire and other Enlightenment philosophers. As the English poet William Wordsworth recalled: ‘Bliss was it to be in that dawn…but to be young was very heaven.’
• By 1792, however, it was clear that revolutionary change, and the ruthless imposition of ‘reason’ and other Enlightenment ideals, could have shocking and horrific
  consequences. The public beheading of King Louis XVI was accompanied by what became known as ‘the Terror’- a period when thousands of ‘citizens’ were persecuted and executed in the name of progress, and when genocidal violence became the means of securing an ‘enlightened’, revolutionary regime.

Question 46

Origins of conservatism europe and french regime

Answer 46

The course of the French Revolution, and the threat posed to peace across Europe by the new French regime, proved a watershed in political theory. Events in France now made it possible to assail liberal-Enlightenment principles without
seeming reactionary, to criticise ‘progress’ without denying the spirit of the Enlightenment, and to accept reform while rejecting revolution. In this way, the savagery of the French Revolution paved the way for a new sort of political ideology, one that would respect the case for change while warning of its dangers. The political thinker who epitomised this new approach was Edmund Burke, the so-called
“father of conservatism’.

Question 47

Human imperfection

Answer 47

Drawing upon the Old Testament doctrine of
original sin, this refers to the timeless flaws of
humanity - flaws which make any quest for the
‘perfect’ society misguided and potentially disastrous.

Question 48

Human nature 1

Answer 48

The conservative view of human nature is defined largely by its response - and opposition - to those of rival ideologies, notably liberalism and socialism. Whereas these ‘progressive’ ideologies take an upbeat view of human
nature, asserting that human beings have the capacity for endless achievement and improvement, conservatives are inclined to restrain such optimism by stressing human
frailty and fallibility. Indeed, conservatism’s view of human nature has led to it being described as ‘a philosophy of imperfection’.

Question 49

Human nature 2

Answer 49

Conservatives thus deny any possibility of a perfect, utopian society, comprising flawless and rational individuals; their view of human nature tends to be descriptive, not prescriptive, highlighting humanity ‘as it is’ rather than as
it could or should be. In this sense, conservatism rejects the malleable or ‘plastic’ view of human nature offered by socialism, and scorns the idea that humanity can be significantly remoulded given the ‘correct environment or society. For conservatives, human nature is pretty much fixed and constant, and the job of politicians is to accommodate, not alter, this reality. Yet conservatism’s stress on human imperfection is more nuanced than many imagine and comprises a number of interpretations from
various conservative thinkers.

Question 50

Human nature Hobbes

Answer 50

• When assessing conservatism’s view of humanity, it is certainly useful to reference Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), whose view of life in the ‘state of nature’ was sharply different from that of liberal theorists such as John Locke. Regarding human nature as ruthlessly selfish, calculating and competitive, Hobbes argued that without the restraints of formal authority,
  relations between human beings would be marked by ‘envy, hatred and war’, leading to a life that was ‘nasty, brutish and short’.
• However, we should be wary of describing Hobbes as the quintessential conservative. As explained in the, Hobbes went on to argue (in his classic work Leviathan) that underpinning human nature was a cold rationality; this would eventually lead hitherto warring individuals to forge a contract, which would in turn lead to a formal state. By admitting the possibility of such
  rational calculations and the concept of mankind achieving satisfactory outcomes, Hobbes thereby placed himself closer to liberalism in terms of explaining human nature which
  explains why Hobbes is usually seen as an example, rather than a critic, of Enlightenment thinking.

Question 51

Human Nature Burke

Answer 51

• For this reason, Burke has a much stronger claim than Hobbes to be the real ‘father of conservatism’. Burke’s historic diatribe on the French Revolution (Reflections on the Revolution in France) criticised not just recent events in
  France but the thrust of Enlightenment thinking
• including the view of human nature that inspired it. Burke duly rejected the idea that human nature was guided mainly by reason and dismissed any notion that mankind could plan
  the near-perfect society. Drawing upon the biblical principle of original sin, Burke highlighted the ‘chasm between our desire and our achievement’ and thus stressed custom, habit and experience as signposts for how we should behave.

Question 52

Burke and Hobbes human nature comparsions

Answer 52

• Both Burke and Hobbes exhibited scepticism in their view of human nature - they both ridiculed any idea that human nature was saintly or potentially flawless. Yet theirdefinitions of human imperfection were distinct. First, Burke
  did not think that human beings were as brutally selfish

Question 53

Human nature history of the christian church

Answer 53

• In history, tradition and the teachings of the Christian church - a possibility that Hobbes did not countenance. Third, Burke did not share Hobbes’s view that human nature was ruthlessly individualistic. Instead, Burke argued that
  human nature was naturally communal, with individuals gaining comfort and support from the small communities around them (what Burke termed ‘little platoons’).

Question 54

Human nature Oakeshott

Answer 54

Burke’s theory of human nature would be updated by various conservative scholars in the twentieth century, of whom argued that the conservative view of human nature was, in fact, the essence of conservatism itself. Michael
Oakeshott (1901-90) stated that conservatism was ‘more psychology than ideology’, claiming
it articulated ‘an instinctive preference for what is known, an innate fear of the uncertain’. Unlike Hobbes, however, Oakeshott believed that life without law would be ‘not so much nasty, brutish and short..as noisy, foolish and flawed’.
Human nature, Oakeshott conceded, was ‘fragile and fallible’, yet it was also “benign and benevolent’ when framed by routine, familiarity and religious principles.

Question 55

Human Nature Nocick and Rand

Answer 55

Later conservative thinkers, notably those associated with the New Right, offered modifications to this view. Robert Nozick (1938-2002) and Ayn Rand (1905-82), for example, were keen to highlight human nature’s yearning for individual freedom, and its subsequent capacity for enterprise and innovation. However, the New Right and traditional conservatives agreed that even the most enterprising individuals were still (in Nozick’s words) ‘freedom-loving pack animals’, who need the periodic restraint of formal
authority and deeply rooted communities. Indeed, this recognition provides a key link between New Right politics in the twentieth century and Hobbesian philosophy in the
seventeenth century. Both Hobbes and the New Right took the view that human nature was driven by self-interest. Yet both also took the view that human nature must be contained in order to provide some peace and stability in
human affairs.

Question 56

Society

Answer 56

Conservatism’s view of society is defined by a variety of themes, all of which are thought conducive to stability, security and orderly (as opposed to revolutionary) change.

Question 57

Localism

Answer 57

When assessing conservatism’s view of society, it is important to say at the outset that conservatives would certainly acknowledge its existence. Unlike some liberals, who see
society as little more than a collection of atomistic individuals. conservatives see it as a collection of localised communities what Burke described as little platoons. These communities
provide their individuals with security, status and inspiration, while acting as a brake upon the sort of selfish individualism extolled by classical liberals. Indeed, one of Burke’s objections to
the French Revolution was that it seemed to inaugurate a single, monolithic French society that would override local loyalties a view reinforced by the new French Republic’s development of a highly centralised state.

Question 58

Organiscism

Answer 58

For conservatives, society is not something that can be contrived or created but rather something that emerges gradually, organically, and therefore somewhat mysteriously. Here we see another illustration of conservative scepticism this time in respect of liberal-style rationalism. For whereas liberals believe in the infinite possibility of planning and arrangement, based on a belief that mankind can determine
its own fate, conservatives see the ‘reality’ of an unplanned organic society, proof that human life is subject to complex forces beyond the scope of reason. Consequently, conservatives view society as less like a machine, responsive
to whichever levers are pulled by human hands, and more like a plant, growing in a way that can never be wholly predicted.

Question 59

Empiricism

Answer 59

Because of its organic character, conservatives also look upon society in empirical terms. This means that conservatives will deal with society’s issues in a practical, evidential, ‘this is how it is’ fashion, with no clear view of how society might evolve in the years and decades ahead. This empirical take on society is in sharp contrast to the normative view taken by progressive
ideologies like liberalism and socialism, which have principled views of how society ‘ought’ to be and ‘plans’ for how to create it. As Oakeshott observed, the conservative society is one that
merely aims to ‘stay afloat’ in uncertain waters, rather than sail steadily towards some specific destination (such as a fairer or more equal society) which may ultimately prove illusory.

Question 60

Empiricism definition

Answer 60

This indicates a preference for ‘evidence’
over ‘theory’ and tends to emphasise ‘what is’ over “what should be!.

Question 61

Normative

Answer 61

This denotes how arrangements theoretically ‘should’ be in future - a term conservatives disdain given their stress upon the uncertainty of our existence.

Question 62

Progressive

Answer 62

Linked to the other ideologies (socialism and liberalism), this denotes a belief that problems
invariably have solutions and that the future must always be superior to the past and present - an assumption about which conservatives are sceptical.

Question 63

Hierachy definition

Answer 63

This concept holds that equality of status and power is undesirable, that human affairs require
leadership from a small number of individuals, and that the majority should accept their judgements. Hierarchy’s apologists claim
that successful structures, social and political, tend to have an unequal distribution of power.

Question 64

Paternalism/noblesse obligse

Answer 64

These terms refer to the ‘fatherly’ obligations
that a ruling class - or ‘nobility’ - has to society
as a whole. It can take the form of hard paternalism or soft paternalism. In the case of hard paternalism, it involves elites deciding what is best for the rest, irrespective of what the rest want. In the case of soft paternalism, power still
rests with the elites but elite decisions will usually
be preceded by listening carefully to what the non-elites want, with perhaps a degree of consultation involved.

Question 65

Tradition

Answer 65

The effectiveness of an empirical, conservative society rest, heavily upon the store it sets by tradition. Customs and habits are thus used to provide security in an uncertain world, with history and experience shaping whatever
changes become necessary. It is here that tradition dovetal, with organicism. As Oakeshott observed:
- ‘Just as a plant’s new leaves are connected to,
dependent on and explained by the plant’s roots and branches, so a society’s present direction stems from its past development.’
As a result, conservatives argue that change and reform though inevitable - must be slow not drastic; respectful not contemptuous of the past.

Question 66

Hierachy

Answer 66

While any liberal society would stress ‘foundational’ equality, or the notion that all individuals are born equal and are of equal worth, conservatives see society in a much
less egalitarian way. For conservatives, the imperfections of humanity lead seamlessly to inequalities within human nature. This, in turn, leads to an unequal society, where (to quote Burke) ‘the wiser, stronger and more opulent’ establish a hierarchy of power and privilege. According to Burke, such hierarchies are so natural that even the smallest of ‘little platoon’ communities is likely to have a top-down structure, with a minority exercising some authority over the majority. Conservatives are keen to stress, however, that with the
privilege of power and authority comes responsibility. This compromise, known as paternalism or noblesse oblige, derives from the conservative principle that the relationship
between society’s stronger elements and its weaker elements is akin to the relationship between a father and his children, with the former having a natural - indeed organic responsibility for the latter.

Question 67

Judaeo-Christian morality

Answer 67

Unlike liberalism, which stresses rationality and humanity’s capacity to control its own fate, conservatism has a much stronger attachment to religion, particularly Old Testament Christianity, with its belief in original sin. As a result, the
conservative society often has an important role for the ethical guidance offered by Judaeo-Christian morality, which includes a strong emphasis upon marriage, self-contained fan individuals being held accountable for their own actions (insert refute the socialist contention that ‘dysfunctional’ individuals and merely the products of ‘dysfunctional’). Consequently, in a typical conservative society religious - such as this awards of altruism and compassion - will help find individuals together in curbed imperfections that both conservatism and christianaity she sees inherent to human Nature

Question 68

Crucial view of property

Answer 68

Crucial to the conservative views of society, and the basis of the ‘little platoons’ or mini-societies lauded by Burke, is a respect for property. A stress upon property is not exclusive to conservatism: it is one of the main ‘natural rights’ espoused by liberalism and the root of liberalism and the root of liberalism’s support for capitalism. For conservatives, however, property has different attributes.

Question 69

Property in relation to tradition

Answer 69

First, the conservative view of property is closely tied to its support for tradition and continuity. Rather than being something acquired by autonomous individuals, property is often something inherited by one generation from another, thus providing a degree of stability in a shaky, imperfect world. Indeed, inherited and bequeathed property is seen as a tangible expression of Burke’s belief that the ideal society is a ‘partnership between those who are living, those who are dead and those who are yet to be born’.

Question 70

Maintenance of property

Answer 70

The ongoing, practical maintenance of property could be seen as a metaphor for conservatism’s belief in the ongoing maintenance of society - an illustration of its core belief that we must change to conserve. But there is also a connection between property and the paternalistic society conservatism supports. This is because those with property have a ‘stake’ in existing society and, if only to discourage revolution, should have some concern for those who are less fortunate (that is, those without property). Property ownership thus provides a platform and an incentive for property owners to exercise ‘duty of care towards others - and thereby maintain existing society.

Question 71

New right conservative - property

Answer 71

New Right conservatives are even more zealous about property, wishing not just to preserve but to extend property ownership throughout society, thus creating a ‘property-owning democracy’. For New Right thinkers like Rand and Nozick, those who own property are generally better placed to resist state-led incursions upon their liberty
and will be emboldened to justify the sort of unequal society conservatives defend.

Question 72

New right overall analysis of property

Answer 72

The New Right’s overall analysis of society is somewhat distinctive, in that it places particular emphasis upon individual liberty. However, in line with traditional conservative thinking, it concedes that individualism is best pursued in a society that still values hierarchy and a traditional, judaeo-Christian culture. In the New Right’s view,
such ‘traditional’ societies provide the security and discipline that individuals need to flourish.

Question 73

Authority

Answer 73

This denotes a recognised right for those in/with ‘authority’ to make decisions that others must
accept. However, among conservatives, liberals
and socialists, there is serious disagreement
about how authority should be acquired and for
what purpose it should be exercised.

Question 74

States purpose

Answer 74

The conservative view of the state’s purpose immediately provides a sharp distinction from liberalism and socialism For whereas the two latter ideologies see the state as serving
“progressive’ goals (such as the advancement of individualism or the creation of greater equality), conservatism sees the state as having more of a disciplinary function. Put simply, the main goal of the conservative state is to provide order, security and authority.

Question 75

Order and authority

Answer 75

Like Hobbes, conservatives believe that without order there could be no liberty, and there could be no order until the emergence of clear, undisputed laws backed by firm authority.
All this connects to the fundamental conservative belief that the state precedes society (and not, as liberals argue, vice versa) and that liberal notions of ‘natural rights’ are fanciful. Indeed, as Hobbes insisted, the feasibility of individual rights is entirely dependent upon law and order - which only the state can provide.

Question 76

Organic origins

Answer 76

Although conservatives have a Hobbesian view of the state’s function, the link between conservatism and Hobbes can again be overdone. As an early Enlightenment thinker, Hobbes was
heavily committed to government by consent’ and the notion of a state being ‘rationally’ created by a ‘contract’ between the government and governed. By contrast, conservatives are sceptical about states that arise momentously, from a formal
‘rational’ discussion. Such states, conservatives argue, are likely to be normative, not empirical, based on ideals rather than reality, and therefore likely to founder. Instead, conservatives prefer a state that emerges gradually, unpredictably and without fanfare: an ‘organic’ and pragmatic response to humanity’s needs. For this reason, conservatives are less likely than liberals to demand a ‘codified’ constitution and more tolerant of UK- style arrangements, where unwritten constitutions have evolved
organically in response to changing circumstances.

Question 77

A ruling class

Answer 77

The structure of the state, at least for ‘traditional’ conservatives, also differs from that advocated by liberalism and socialism. Unlike supporters of progressive ideologies, conservatives have been much more comfortable with a state that is overtly hierarchical, reflecting the elitist society they also Conservatism endorse. Furthermore, the traditional conservative state is one that implicitly acknowledges the notion of a ruling class, whose power will often be aristocratic and hereditary rather than democratic.

Question 78

Traditional conservatives - a ruling class

Answer 78

Traditional conservatives, from Burke onwards, were therefore keen to signal the merits of a class that was born and trained to rule the state (mindful of its paternalistic responsibilities to society as a whole). For this reason, the traditional conservative state would again show pragmatic
and empirical characteristics, legislating whenever there was evidence to show new laws were necessary and governing so as to ensure order and social cohesion. By such flexible means, the
conservative state would avert social upheaval and revolution while maintaining traditional patterns of wealth and power in society.

Question 79

Nation state from mid-19th to mid 20th century

Answer 79

From the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, conservatives tended to emphasis a state based on nationhood. For all conservatives, the nation became a mega-community, one that enfolded all classes and therefore provided a ‘natural’ basis for the state. For continental conservatives, such as those
in Germany or Italy, there remains a powerful sense that the nation preceded the state, that the two are distinct, and that the latter is distinguishable from the former.

Question 80

Nation state for british and american conservatives

Answer 80

For British and American conservatives, however, nation and state are much more intertwined, with the state serving to define much of the nation itself - hence the importance of constitutions, monarchs and presidents as expressions of
British and American identity. This would also explain why British conservatives have had a much greater attachment to the nation-state than their continental counter parts, and much less enthusiasm for European political union. Like American conservatives, British conservatives tend to see any diminution of the nation-state as a diminution of the nation itself

Question 81

New right - nation state

Answer 81

“For New Right conservatives (again found mainly in the USA and the Uk), the attitude to the state appears paradoxical: to strengthen the nation-state by ‘rolling back its frontiers’! Yet for New Right thinkers like Nozick and Rand, the paradox is easily explained: if the nation-state is burdened by nationalised industries and welfare states, it is then harder for it to focus on is true function of order and security: As Rand observed: When,
the state becomes flabby, it also becomes feeble! So, for New Right conservatives, the aim is to streamline the nation-state’s functions and to make it ‘leaner and fitter’ in the process.

Question 82

Laissez faire

Answer 82

This involves the state allowing market forces to operate freely. Though strongly associated
with economic liberalism, laissez-faire economics has been supported by both traditional conservatives like Edmund Burke and New Right conservatives like Robert Nozick.

Question 83

The economy for conservatives

Answer 83

Capitalism tends to nurture and widen economic inequalities and to sharpen the distinction between rich and poor. Conservatism, meanwhile, defends inequality and hierarchy. So it is unsurprising that ‘conservative economics’ have a pro-capitalist flavour. Indeed, Burke was a robust ally of Adam Smith, the father of laissez-faire economic theory.

Question 84

The economy compared to liberalism

Answer 84

Yet despite this overlap with liberalism, traditional
conservatism’s support for capitalism is nuanced. This is because conservatism worships order, stability and continuity. Yet free-market capitalism promotes risk, innovation and iconoclasm. The dynamic nature of capitalism might well excite liberals, with their optimistic view of human nature and residual belief that (to quote Voltaire) everything is for the best in this, the best of all
worlds’, but it can be quite frightening for conservatives, given their more sceptical view of human nature and their residual fear that radical change threatens dreadful outcomes.

Question 85

Traditional conservatives - economy

Answer 85

• With this in mind, traditional conservatives have sometimes been dubbed capitalism’s ‘reluctant supporters’. On the one hand, they recognise that any assault on capitalism is also an assault on property, inequality, hierarchy and the status quo.
  On the other hand, traditional conservatives are sceptical of the classical or neo-liberal belief that markets are at their most effective when left alone by governments. Supporting laissez-faire capitalism, after all, requires an optimistic view
  of market forces, and is therefore somewhat inconsistent with conservatism’s scepticism and pessimism.
• Traditional conservatives have tried to resolve this dilemma by supporting a moderated form of capitalism, in which free markets are tempered by state intervention. Under this conservative model of capitalism - sometimes referred to as protectionism - society and the economy would be insured against the vagaries of markets by state-imposed tariffs and duties. This ‘protection’ of national producers and consumers was also consistent with traditional conservatism’s emphasis upon national identity and ‘one nation’ (see later), offsetting the globalising effects of free-market capitalism. Traditional conservatives in the twentieth century were also drawn to
  Keynesian capitalism, whereby the state ‘managed’ market forces in the interests of full employment.

Question 86

Neo-liberal economists

Answer 86

Influenced by neo-liberal economists such as Milton Friedman (1912-2006) and Friedrich von Hayek (1899-1992), New Right conservatives have generally had a more sympathetic view of free-market economies. Indeed, in the USA during the 1980s, free-market capitalism was often referred to as ‘Reaganomics’, on account of the support it had in the Republican administration of President Ronald Reagan (1980-88). At the same time, the
New Right governments of Margaret Thatcher (1979-90) aimed to ‘free’ the UK economy through the privatisation of formerly state-owned industries.

Question 87

New right economics

Answer 87

Yet New Right economics still manages to complement traditional conservatism in a number of ways. First, the New Right argues that by disengaging almost completely from the economy, the state could then focus on its true Hobbesian purpose of order and security. Second, the New Right believes that a free-market
economy will be a prosperous economy. This might promote popular capitalism’ and destroy socialism, but it would also fund greater state spending on the police, armed forces and other
agencies vital to the defence of a conservative society.

Question 88

Thatcherism

Answer 88

This is essentially a synonym for New Right conservatism in the UK. Between 1979 and 1990, the governments of Margaret Thatcher pursued
a controversial mixture of neo-liberal policies
(such as privatisation and tax reduction) and
neoconservative policies (such as strengthened
police powers, curbs on immigration and tax breaks for ‘traditional’ family structures).

Question 89

Different types of conservatism

Answer 89

Unlike socialism, with its various tensions and subdivisions, there are just two strands of conservatism: traditional conservatism and
New Right conservatism. Yet it would be wrong to conclude that conservatism is therefore a more straightforward ideology. Like classical liberalism, traditional conservatism is a creed that spans
over two centuries; it is therefore an amorphous doctrine, evolving in accordance with changing circumstances.

Question 90

What was traditional conservatism the aftermath of?

Answer 90

french revolution

Question 91

Traditional conservatism

Answer 91

As explained in our review of conservatism’s origins, the principles of conservatism were grounded in a reaction to the French Revolution of 1789 - an event that, by offering a radical interpretation of Enlightenment values, challenged established notions of state and society across Europe. Although, conservatives were primarily concerned about the effects this
would have upon their own security, it was the Whig politician Edmund Burke who offered the first philosophically coherent objection to what the French Revolution represented.

Question 92

Is conservatism ‘ruling-class ideology’? YES

Answer 92

• It was a claim regularly made by both
  fundamentalist socialists such as Beatrice Webb and revisionist socialists like Anthony Crosland.
• Those making such claims cited Burke - the
  “father of conservatism’ - who attacked the
  egalitarianism of the French Revolution while
  defending aristocratic rule.
• Since Burke, conservatives have always
  defended property, privilege and inequality.
• Conservative paternalism is merely an
  attempt to make inequality and elitism
  palatable to the majority.
• The stress on tradition and piecemeal change
  conspires to prevent radical change, which
  inherently threatens ruling-class interests.

Question 93

Is conservatism ‘ruling-class ideology’? NO

Answer 93

• The prime purpose of the conservative state
• the maintenance of order - is one with
  appeal to all sections of society.
• Conservatism’s love of habit, custom and
  familiarity has echoes within all sections of
  society.
• Traditional conservatism has frequently
  promoted the interests of the poor in order to
  ensure the maintenance of ‘one nation’.
• The conservative wish to avoid revolution is
  altruistic - during periods of revolutionary
  upheaval it is often society’s most vulnerable
  members who suffer most.
• New Right conservatism is meritocratic, not
  aristocratic, identifying with ambitious and
  talented individuals from all backgrounds.

Question 94

Opponents on Burke’s thesis

Answer 94

Conservatism’s opponents have since argued that Burke’s thesis, as expounded in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), merely provided a sophisticated justification for existing society - one in which he, like other members of the ‘ruling class’, had a vested interest. Yet there can be
no doubt that Burke’s cogent analysis, based upon a web of philosophical principles, shaped not just the origins of conservatism but also its development in Britain during the early nineteenth century.

Question 95

Tory

Answer 95

Along with the Whigs, the Tories were one of
the two main parties in England from the
seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries. They were linked to themes such as authority, tradition, hierarchy and religion. Following alliances with sections of the Whig Party,
the Tories eventually evolved in the 1830s into a
broader political grouping known as the Conservative Party.

Question 96

Tory PMs - conservatism

Answer 96

Tory prime ministers such as William Pitt (1759-1806), George Canning (1770-1827) and Robert Peel (1788-1850) were essentially conservative in their political practice. Like
Burke, they displayed a reverence for order and property, showed an antipathy to revolutionary change, extolled tradition, endorsed the notion that society comprised a multitude of small communities, insisted that society and state emerged ‘organically’, praised experience and ‘evidence’ over theory and ‘abstraction’, and defended the principle of paternalistic, aristocratic rule.

Question 97

Senior political figures - conservatism

Answer 97

Yet among such senior political figures, Burke’s influence was most marked in their attitude to change. Once again, it is worth recalling the core conservative belief that we must change to conserve. Within the Uk, this principle was duly
applied by a series of ‘enlightened Tory’ governments in the early nineteenth century governments which sought to avert the spread of revolutionary ideas by embracing moderate reform in the name of continuity.

Question 98

George Canning - traditional conservatism

Answer 98

George Canning, for example, supported Catholic
emancipation and, as prime minister, prepared legislation that allowed Roman Catholics to participate in Parliament (claiming that ‘though emancipation carries dangers, civil strife carries even greater dangers’). Canning also championed the abolition of slavery, arguing that it brought
property ownership into disrepute, while supporting demands from various Latin American countries for independence - all of which echoed Burke’s support for the American Revolution of 1776 and his campaigns against corruption inside British colonies.

Question 99

Robert Peel - conservatism

Answer 99

Within a decade of Canning’s premiership, Robert
Peel offered another example of changing to conserve, seeking to harness the interests of the new merchant and business classes to Britain’s traditional constitution and society. To this end, Peel, along with other newly named “Conservatives’, supported the Great Reform Act of 1832, thus ensuring representation at Westminster for the new industrial towns. Peel’s reasoning was that if the interests of the newly enriched were not harnessed to the existing
social and political structure, there was a danger that those same interests would be harnessed instead to property-less forces with no vested interest in evolving the status quo (a conservative rationale for reform that was central to Burke’s
explanation for the French Revolution).

Question 100

Clear examples of ‘change to conserve’

Answer 100

In addition to offering clear examples of ‘changing to conserve’ while prime minister (1841-46), Peel’s political career offers a practical example of conservatism’s belief in order and authority. As Home Secretary (1828-30), he established the Metropolitan Police Force in London, a measure which led to the creation of similar forces
throughout the country. Peel’s assertion that ‘without security there can be no liberty’ effectively updated Hobbes’ justification for the state and strengthened the association
between conservatism, order and authority.

Question 101

One-Nation conservatism definition

Answer 101

Dating from the 1870s, and linked to British politicians like Benjamin Disraeli, this term denotes a belief that conservatism should
prioritise national unity by attending to the condition of society’s poorer classes. It has been used by conservative politicians to justify greater state intervention in society and the economy, and thus higher levels of public spending and taxation.

Question 102

Why did One-Nation conservatism emerge

Answer 102

Although the governments of Canning and Peel served to stem the effects of the French Revolution, the threat of disorder and insurrection persisted throughout the
nineteenth century, fulled by loud demands for greater democracy (and less aristocracy) within the UK’s political system. All this required a further development of conservative thinking.

Question 103

Disraeli and Von Bismarck

Answer 103

Of particular importance to this development were politicians like Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81) in Britain and Otto von Bismarck (1815-98) in Germany. Sensing that socialism, with its stress upon class conflict, was a new and grave threat to stability and tradition, conservatives like Disraeli and Bismarck understood that the case for orderly change would have to be refined. Likewise, they were aware that to ensure social cohesion and orderly change, new themes were needed to offset the class-conscious politics
encouraged by early socialists like Marx.

Question 104

Importance of the emergence of One-nation conservatism

Answer 104

It was at this point that the importance of the nation emerged in conservative thinking. This was ironic because, until the nineteenth century, nationalism had been associated with anti-imperialism and anti-monarchism. The
French revolutionaries, whom Burke opposed so vehemently, were self-styled ‘patriots’, while subsequent revolutions across Europe (such as those of 1848) had frequently been hailed as ‘patriotic’ movements. In short, until the mid-late
nineteenth century, ‘the nation’ was seen as anything but aconservative concept.

Question 105

One Nation compared to liberals

Answer 105

Disraeli and Bismarck, however, understood nationalism’s conservative potential. Unlike contemporary liberals, whose individualistic outlook led them to deny social class,
conservatives like Disraeli embraced class differences - but in a way that fostered unity rather than rupture. Against the rhetorical background of one-nation conservatism,
Disraeli and Bismarck argued that a society’s classes were, in fact, all members of the same national ‘family’ and that revolutionary politics (including Marxism) represented an attack on the nation itself. For Disraeli, ‘the nation’ was not an alternative to the status quo but the essence of the Status quo, with the existing nation-state being something that all classes had a vested interest in defending.

Question 106

Disraeli

Answer 106

Conservatives like Disraeli therefore poured scorn on the supposed links between the workers of one nation and those of another (as suggested by Marx’s call for workers of the world’ to ‘unite’). Instead these one-nation conservatives
updated Burke’s notion of an organic affinity between a nation’s richer and poorer classes, arguing that the nation’s aristocracy had a paternalistic duty to (in Disraeli’s words)
elevate the condition of the people’. Once this obligation was recognised by all classes, Disraeli and Bismarck asserted social and political progress could be achieved harmoniously
and without the horrors of class war and revolution. As Disraeli remarked: The palace is not safe when the cottage is not happy.

Question 107

Pursuit of one-nation strategy

Answer 107

However, in pursuit of this ‘one nation’ strategy, neither Disraeli nor Bismarck advocated mere philanthropy on the part of society’s ‘haves’. In a way that would never have occurred to previous generations of conservatives, they endorsed state-sponsored social reform, thereby
distinguishing conservatism from the minimal-state principles of classical liberalism. (Indeed, they regarded laissez-faire individualism, like class-based socialism, as the enemy of ‘one nation’.) As a result, the one-nation conservatism of the mid-late nineteenth century became
associated with legislation that tempered the effects of laissez-faire capitalism, supposedly on behalf of the nation’s working classes.

Question 108

England - One-nation conservatism

Answer 108

In England, this resulted in legislation such as the Factory Act 1874 and the Artisan Dwellings Act 1875, restricting the freedom of factory owners and landlords respectively, while Bismarck’s chancellorship of Germany (1871-90) led to what
some historians regard as the first welfare state, providing German workers with state-backed insurance against sickness, accident and destitution in old age. Bismarck’s conservatism also led to the imposition of tariffs and import
controls, thus confirming traditional conservatism’s ambivalent attitude to free-market capitalism.

Question 109

Fascism

Answer 109

This was a revolutionary ideology which emerged in Europe during the 1920s and 1930s, finding its most devastating expression in the politics
of Adolf Hitler’s National Socialism in Germany and Benito Mussolini’s nationalist politics in Italy. Because of its nationalistic and nostalgic character, it is sometimes seen as a form of ‘ultra-
conservatism’!. Yet its belief in radical and immediate change, its contempt for traditional institutions and local diversity, and its glorification of dictatorship also make it abhorrent to orthodox conservatives.

Question 110

Why did egalitarianism and fascism emerge

Answer 110

During the twentieth century, political debate was reshaped by two seismic events: the spread of socialism and communism after the First World War and the emergence of fascism prior to the Second World War. These developments
were to have a profound impact upon the evolution of traditional conservatism.

Question 111

Egalitarianism - soviet union

Answer 111

For most of the twentieth century, conservatives regarded the existence of the Soviet Union as the most powerful example of the threat now posed by egalitarianism, an ideology, enfolding socialism and communism, which inherently challenged conservatism’s belief in property, hierarchy and modest reform. In the UK, the conservative
fear of egalitarianism was underlined by the extension of the franchise in 1918 (which flooded the electorate with working-class voters) and the accelerated growth of a new political party - Labour - committed to wholesale common ownership. Indeed, until the late twentieth century, it was common for conservatives to lament that socialism and communism were inevitable unless stern political action was taken.

Question 112

Egalitarianism - capitalism

Answer 112

With that in mind, traditional conservatism sought to temper the effects of a capitalist economy with a view to sustaining a society based on property ownership and inequality. Prominent inter-war conservatives, such as future Tory prime minister Harold Macmillan (1894-1986), spoke of a ‘middle way’ between capitalism and socialism, one
that would address economic inequalities while respecting property rights, cultural tradition, national identity and other themes close to conservative hearts.

Question 113

Egalitariansim - state intervention

Answer 113

Although Macmillan did not become prime minister until the 1950s, as early as the 1930s it was clear that conservatism was now prepared to sanction a much greater degree of state intervention so as to protect privilege and
stifle socialism. Between 1935 and 1937, for example, Conservative politicians supported Public Health, Housing and Factory Acts, all of which checked market forces in the name of social cohesion and ‘one nation’.

Question 114

Big Government - egalitarianism

Answer 114

After 1945, conservatism took further steps towards an acceptance of ‘big government’. Across western Europe, conservatives seemed to yield to many of the ideas espoused. By rival political ideologies, notably those of democratic
socialism and modern liberalism, and thus embraced Keynesian economics, ‘welfare states’ and ‘mixed economies’ involving extensive state ownership of industries and services. To a large extent, this was opportunistic and pragmatic. Afte,
all, to give effect to their views, conservative politicians in the twentieth century needed to win elections, and elections were now dominated by working-class, non-property-owning voters
This encouraged socialist theorists, such as Crosland, to argue that conservatives conserve no principles they simply go along with whatever situation they inherit, in the interests of winning
office and stemming the tide of change.

Question 115

Post-war conservatives

Answer 115

Yet post-war conservatives denied such taunts and insisted they were evolving, rather than forgetting, their previous ideological positions. In his book The Case for Conservatism (1948), Quintin Hogg claimed that ‘conservatism, unlike
liberalism, has always recognised that unchecked laissez-faire can be destructive as well as creative”, while R.A. Butler (in The Art of the Possible, 1971) argued that ‘our support for state welfare, and the Keynesian principle of an economy based on full employment… were little more than updated expressions of our belief in one-nation and paternalism’.

Question 116

Christian democracy

Answer 116

Outside the UK, traditional conservatism after 1945 evolved rather differently. The main reason for this was that other western European nations felt the effects of fascism much more acutely. Revolution, violent nationalism, totalitarian government, military defeat and national humiliation all had a huge effect on the psychology of continental conservatives like West Germany’s Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967), France’s Robert Schuman (1886-1963) and Italy’s Luigi Sturzo (1871-1959). After 1945, such European conservatives therefore developed a variant of traditional conservatism known as Christian democracy.

Question 117

Overlaps between post-war european conservatism and traditional conservatism

Answer 117

• There is the same belief in Judaeo-Christian morality as a force for binding society together.
• There is the same belief in authority and hierarchy (underlined, in Christian democracy’s case, by its links to the Roman Catholic Church).
• There is the same commitment to social conservatism, the same emphasis upon marriage and family life, and the same scepticism towards socially liberal causes such as abortion and sexual equality.
  -There is the same scepticism towards free-market economics. Christian democracy thus stresses the ‘social market’, a form of capitalism that draws upon Roman Catholic principles of obligation and communal duty, but
  with echoes of Disraeli’s ‘paternalistic’ conservatism.
• There is the same acceptance of an enlarged state: like post-war conservatism in the UK, Christian democracy was comfortable with Keynesian (state-managed) capitalism, high public spending and an expansive welfare state.

Question 118

Christain democracy view of nation state

Answer 118

In countries like Germany, Italy and Spain, the
experience of fascism left conservative politicians explicitly wary of nationalism and traditional notions of patriotism. (In Germany in particular, references to ‘one nation’ sat uncomfortably alongside its recent history of Nazism.) In other continental democracies too, the experience of
invasion, occupation, collaboration and national shame deeply affected conservative attitudes towards national identity and national self-determination.

Question 119

Supranationalism

Answer 119

This refers to a state whose authority cuts across
national boundaries. The Soviet Union was a clear
example; the European Union is said to be a
developing example. British and American
conservatives tend to dislike the concept, seeing
it as a threat to ‘one nation’ and the traditional nation- state. Post-war continental conservatives, such as the Christian democrats, are much more receptive, seeing supranationalism as an antidote to the legacy of fascism’s ‘ultra-nationalism.

Question 120

Conservatives amendable to supranationalism

Answer 120

An idea first hinted at by Schuman’s plan for limited economic integration in the 1950s and later embodied by the European Economic Community and the European Union. Here again
the Roman Catholic influence within Christian democracy was helpful for continental conservatives, given that the Roman Catholic Church itself practises supranational
authority.

Question 121

Suspicion on aim of christain democracy

Answer 121

For many British conservatives, meanwhile, the suspicion has always been that the real aim of Christian democracy’s supranationalism is to eliminate ‘the nation’ as a feature of conservative philosophy and instead make ‘the region’ the
main focus of communal identity (as it is now for many German and Italian conservatives). For this reason, many British conservatives - such as the philosopher Roger Scruton - regard Christian democracy as a form of ‘no-nation conservatism’ and therefore something for which they feel little affinity.

Question 122

Is conservatism merely the politics of pragmatism? YES

Answer 122

• The ‘father of conservatism’, Edmund Burke,
  made his attack on the French Revolution an
  attack on ‘abstract philosophy’, claiming it
  ignored human imperfection.
• Traditional conservatives have consistently
  advocated an ‘empirical’ approach to
  politics, one based on ‘what is’, not ‘what
  should be’.
• Traditional conservatism prides itself on
  “flexibility’. This has helped conservatism
  endure several centuries of dramatic
  change.
• Conservative pragmatism is shown
  by the different policies adopted by
  various conservatives at different times.
  Robert Peel, for example, supported
  laissez-faire capitalism, while (a century
  later) Harold Macmillan backed a
  more Keynesian (interventionist)
  approach.
• Michael Oakeshott therefore argued that
  conservatism is a short-term, ‘getting by’
  approach to politics: unlike liberalism
  and socialism, it has no long-term
  objectives concerning society and the
  economy.

Question 123

Is conservatism merely the politics of pragmatism? NO

Answer 123

• Traditional conservatism, far from being
  philosophically neutral, is based on
  philosophically contentious assertions (for
  example, that slow change is preferable to
  radical change; that ‘vision’ and ‘principle’ are
  inferior to ‘tradition’ and ‘evidence’).
  a Traditional conservatism does not reject
  revolution merely as a method of change; it
  does so to protect a society based on certain
  principles, such as hierarchy, inequality and
  private property.
• As a result, socialists see conservatism as
  ‘ruling-class ideology’, a changing set of biased
  policies, reflecting the evolving tactics of elites
  determined to preserve their privilege.
• Oakeshott described traditional conservatism
  as ‘a psychology rather than an ideology’,
  drawing upon humanity’s ‘instinctive love of
  the familiar’. Conservatives may therefore
  reject ‘pragmatic’ change if it conflicts with
  their instincts and emotions.
• New Right conservatism draws upon the neo-
  liberal/libertarian doctrines of philosophers
  like Hayek and Nozick, while New Right
  politicians, such as Margaret Thatcher,
  proclaimed themselves ‘conviction politicians’

Question 124

An American export

Answer 124

For much of the twentieth century, conservatism in the UK - and most of western Europe - was defined by a combination of social conservatism and qualified support for economic liberalism. In other words, while conservatives stressed order, authority and traditional communities, their
support for private property and capitalism was tempered by a fear that market forces could generate gross inequalities that would outrage the majority of (working-class) voters. As a result, traditional conservatives in Europe and the UK supported interventionist economic policies, such as Keynesianism, and high public spending on state welfare.

Question 125

US conservatives

Answer 125

In the United States, however, conservatism had a rather different mixture. There, conservatives placed much more emphasis upon individual freedom, laissez-faire capitalism, private property and minimal government, largely because
these values squared with different traditions (those of the USA), reflecting the communities that emerged organically after the discovery of the New World.

Question 126

Traditions of liberal characters in America

Answer 126

Many of these traditions were essentially liberal in
character, stemming from the individualist values of the USA’s Founding Fathers and a Constitution that owed much to the philosophy of John Locke. But it is important to remember that those values were quickly blended with other values that were more obviously conservative, such as traditional Christian morality, a respect for marriage and
family life, intense patriotism and a belief in ‘strong’ (albeit limited) government.
In other words, American conservatism had always involved a synthesis between classical liberalism and social conservatism. From the 1970s onwards, conservatives in Europe were increasingly convinced that this (American)
model of conservatism was one that they too should adopt.

Question 127

The ‘crisis’ of traditional conservatism

Answer 127

To understand New Right conservatism, it is first necessary to appreciate that it was primarily an analysis of the ‘crisis’ engulfing states like the UK by the mid-1970s. This crisis was supposedly characterised by spiralling inflation, mounting
unemployment, unsustainable welfare spending, increased crime rates, moral laxity and a growing sense that society was becoming ungovernable, largely on account of trade union militancy.

Question 128

For the New Right, however, this crisis also represented an indictment of traditional conservatism.

Answer 128

After 1945, traditional conservatives (like Macmillan, Hogg and Butler) had clearly endorsed a postwar consensus involving Keynesian economics, state welfare and social liberalism.
According to the New Right, traditional conservatives were therefore complicit in a rapidly declining economy, a bloated welfare state, a ‘permissive society’ and an increasingly
feeble country - one lacking in both moral and formal authority and struggling to resist both socialism at home and communism abroad. So, as well as new government policies, a new interpretation of conservatism was urgently
required.

Question 129

Europe - new right

Answer 129

In most of Europe, where conservatives remained faithful to the ideas of Christian democracy, such a reinterpretation was largely resisted. However, conservatives in the UK and the USA. Proved much more willing to challenge traditional conservative thinking. This was eventually expressed in the UK by the Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) and in the USA by the Republican president Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).

Question 130

Is conservatism compatible with capitalism? YES

Answer 130

• Capitalism is often described as economic
  liberalism - it is focused on individuals
  rather than the communities that
  conservatism champions.
• Capitalism creates economic and social
  divisions that threaten ‘one nation’.
• Capitalism is dynamic and volatile,
  threatening the stability and continuity
  conservatives crave.
  m Capitalism tends towards globalisation,
  undermining the national identity
  conservatives value.
• Capitalism promotes a meritocracy that
  challenges hereditary ruling classes.

Question 131

Is conservatism compatible with capitalism? YES

Answer 131

• Capitalism is based on private property, which
  historically conservatives support.
• Capitalism generates inequality, which
  conservatives defend as ‘natural’ and ‘organic’
• Capitalism has been at the heart of economic
  activity for several centuries and therefore
  squares with conservatism’s support for
  tradition.
• Capitalism provides the ruling class with
  wealth that can then be used for paternalistic
  support for the less fortunate.
• New Right conservatism is keen to extend
  private property and market forces in the
  name of greater individual freedom.

Question 132

New Right conservatism: a two-dimensional doctrine

Answer 132

New Right conservatism is best described as a merger between two distinct ideologies: neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism. Neo-liberalism is principally associated with Austrian philosopher Friedrich von Hayek, whose 1944 thesis, The Road to Serfdom, is regarded as the ‘bible’ of neo-liberal thinking. Hayek’s Views were subsequently reinforced by American economist Milton
Friedman and, in the UK, by think-tanks such as the Adam Smith Institute and the Institute of Economic Affairs. It also chimes with the libertarian philosophy of Robert Nozick and Ayn Rand. Neo-liberalism’s aims can be distilled into the following objective: to extend individual freedom by ‘rolling back the frontiers of the state’ in order to create a free market economy.
According to thinkers like Nozick and Rand, such measures would not just promote freedom, they would also lead to the return of economic growth and a vibrant, prosperous society.

Question 133

Neo-Liberals wished to see

Answer 133

• a drastic reduction in taxation
• a much tighter control of government spending (along the monetarist lines prescribed by Friedman)
• an end to the dependency culture arising from expensive welfare states
• the deregulation and privatisation of services carried out by government the neutering of ‘obstructive’ bodies wedded to ‘statist’ ideas
  (such as trade unions and many local councils).

Question 134

Anti-permissive

Answer 134

Linked to the neo-conservative wing of the New Right, such policies seek to reverse much of the social liberalism dating from the 1960s. Neo-conservatism takes a critical view of issues like divorce, abortion and homosexuality.

Question 135

Neo-conservatism

Answer 135

Neo-conservatism, meanwhile, is associated with American scholars like Irving Kristol (1920-2009) and British philosophers like Roger Scruton (1944-). Whereas neo-liberalism’s concern
was the salvation of individual liberty, neo-conservatism’s main objective was the restoration of authority, national identity and a society informed by Judaeo-Christian morality.

Question 136

Neo-conservatives wished to see:

Answer 136

• a tougher approach to law and order, involving more powers for the police and stiffer sentences for offenders
• a more robust approach to national defence, including a less conciliatory approach to the nation’s potential enemies (principally, in the context of the 1970s, the Soviet Union)
• a less tolerant approach to immigration (mainly because of its challenge to traditional national identity) anti-permissive social policies (in respect of issues like abortion and homosexuality) and the promotion of ‘traditional family structures via the state’s tax and benefits system.

Question 137

Atomism

Answer 137

This relates to the view that human beings seek
autonomy and ‘space’, which therefore leads to only a vague sense of society. Conservatives traditionally reject this view, arguing that individuals are closely connected by their
communities. However, New Right conservatives are much more atomistic in their view of human nature and society.

Question 138

New Right conservatism: a contradictory doctrine?

Answer 138

New Right conservatism proved to be one of the most controversial ideologies of the late twentieth century. Yet some of its fiercest critics were themselves conservatives. Some conservative commentators, for example lan Gilmour in his book Inside Right (1977), argued that the New Right marked a ‘betrayal’ of traditional conservative principles. Other studies of conservatism, such as Anthony Quinton’s
The Politics of Imperfection (1978), contested that because it mixes neo-liberalism and neo conservatism, the New Right enfolds a series of “fundamental contradictions’.

Question 139

Three reasons to argue that New Right conservatism is a blend rather than a mismatch,
and that neoliberalism and neo-conservatism complement, rather than contradict, each other.

Answer 139

• New Right conservative was ‘a liberal mugged by reality.
• Low taxation
• strengthen state

Question 140

New Right conservative was ‘a liberal mugged by reality.

Answer 140

First, Irving Kristol famously observed that a New Right conservative was ‘a liberal mugged by reality. By that he meant that neo-liberals, with their optimistic view of human
nature, fail to anticipate the tensions arising from a free-market capitalist society, where inequality flourishes. So to contain such tensions, they require a strong authoritarian state (of the sort favoured by neo-conservatives) to maintain
order and protect private property.

Question 141

Low taxation

Answer 141

Second, to achieve the low taxation they desire, neo-liberals would have to reduce dramatically levels of state spending on welfare. But for this to be viable, there have to be alternative sources of support for those blamelessly in need. So neo-conservatives provide an answer: the restoration of traditional morality (which neo-conservatism
supports) and an end to the ‘permissive society’ should lead to the restoration of supportive families and altruistic voluntary communities, while reviving a sense of individual responsibility. All this will effectively ‘privatise’ compassion
and social security and thus weaken the state’s obligations.

Question 142

Strenghtened state

Answer 142

Third, neo-conservatives wish to strengthen the state by reinforcing the police, security services and armed forces. All this requires extra state funding. But neo-liberals claim this will be easier once state spending has been reduced in
other areas, following measures like privatisation and welfare reform. So neo-liberalism’s wish to ‘roll back the frontiers of the state’ in economic and welfare policy effectively finances the more statist objectives of neo-conservatism. This
arrangement was neatly summarised by the title of Andrew Gamble’s study of Thatcherism: The Free Economy and the Strong State (1988).

Question 143

Can conservatism be reconciled with socialism? YES

Answer 143

• Traditional conservatives and socialists play
  down the importance of individualism.
• Traditional conservatives and socialists stress
  the importance of communities.
• Traditional conservatives and socialists stress
  the importance of unity within communities.
• Traditional conservatives and socialists see
  capitalism as potentially problematic.
• Traditional conservatives and socialists are
  sceptical of meritocracy, highlighting ‘fate’
  and ‘chance’.

Question 144

Can conservatism be reconciled with socialism? NO

Answer 144

• Conservatives see inequality as natural,
  socialists see it as unacceptable.
• Conservatives are sceptical of progress, socialists
  see it as essential.
• Conservatives defend private property, fundamentalist socialists favour common
  ownership.
• Conservatives reject revolution, some fundamentalist socialists see it as desirable and
  inevitable.
• Traditional conservatives advocate noblesse oblige, socialists think paternalism is patronising.

Question 145

Brexit: was the UK’s 2016 referendum a ‘conservative moment’? YES

Answer 145

• The UK’s participation in a supranational
  political system was at odds with the UK’s
  traditions.
• The decision to leave the EU was an attempt
  to restore national self-governance.
• The ability to take back control of
  immigration would help restore national
  identitv.
• The EU was a contrived system of
  government, with normative principles (i.e.
  eventual political union within Europe), at
  odds with conservatism’s preference for
  organic systems of government.
• The EU represented ‘big government’ and
  continental dirigisme, at odds with the
  leaner and fitter’ state advocated by the
  New Right.

Question 146

Brexit: was the UK’s 2016 referendum a ‘conservative moment’? NO

Answer 146

• Leaving the EU was a ‘leap in the dark’ - a radical change with highly uncertain consequences.
• Rejecting David Cameron’s ‘renegotiated
  membership’ offer was a rejection of the case
  for gradual, incremental change.
  “ Leaving the EU was a rejection of an arrangement which, though imperfect, had worked for decades (the UK’s 43-year
  membership was proof that its EU partnership
  had not been wholly ineffective).
• Leaving the EU was tied to a faith in global,
  laissez-faire capitalism - an historically liberal form of economics that defied traditional conservative scepticism.
• Brexit threatened ‘one nation’ by allegedly
  encouraging racism and xenophobia.

Question 147

Tensions within conservatism: human nature

Answer 147

Traditional conservatives, such as Burke and Oakeshott, take a sceptical view of human nature, drawing attention to the gap between aspiration and achievement while warning against the grand, utopian schemes of progressive politicians. For them, the horrors
of supposedly idealistic movements –such as the French and Russian Revolutions ~ are
not aeic acident, they arise from a misreading and overestimation of human potential. By
Contrast; New Right thinkers take a more optimistic view emphasising the possibilities of
individuals with initiative and liberty. Key thinkers like Nozick and band take an especially,
positive view of what individuals can achieve in the economic sphere, arguing that the key to unlocking human potential lies in fostering a pro-capitalist environment where individual energies are unleashed.

Question 148

Tensions within conservatism: society

Answer 148

Traditional conservatives see society as a collection of small communities (what Burke termed little platoons’), overseen by a hierarchical structure in which ‘paternalistic.
elites exercise their inherited power in the interests of the majority. Such communities
are considered organic, in the sense that they emerge in a natural and unplanned way,
and place great store upon tradition and continuity. By contrast, New Right conservatives
are ambivalent about society’s very existence, drawing upon the libertarian belief that
societv is a mere collection of atomised individuals seeking self-determination. New Right conservatives are more sceptical about paternalistic communities, preferring a society
defined by those who have achieved, rather than inherited, power, status and property in other words, a society that is meritocratic rather than aristocratic.

Question 149

Tensions within conservatism: state

Answer 149

Traditional conservatives like Burke defend a state where political power is wielded by those who are “born to rule’. As such, traditional conservatives believe the best states have a natural ‘ruling class”, reared according to the principles of duty and sacrifice, and instilled with a sense of responsibility towards the governed. Traditional conservatives are pragmatic about the extent of the state and are prepared to enlarge it in the name of social stability and ‘one nation’. By contrast, New Right conservatives wish to ‘roll back the frontiers of the state’ (outside areas such as security and defence) so as to advance individual freedom and reverse the dependency culture. New Right conservatives are hostile to the principle of aristocratic rule - they fear that ruling classes have too much stake in the status quo and are therefore reluctant to admit the need for radical change by New Right governments.

Question 150

Tensions within conservatism: economy

Answer 150

Traditional conservatives, while keen to defend an economy based on private ownership, are sceptical about free-market capitalism, fearful that its dynamic effects exacerbate inequality, threaten ‘one nation’ and fuel support for socialism. As capitalism becomes more globalised, traditional conservatives also fear that market forces promote a more cosmopolitan society that erodes national identity and national culture. As a result, traditional conservatives have been prepared to countenance state intervention via Keynesian economics, higher taxation and high public spending on state welfare. By contrast, New Right conservatives like Nozick zealously advocate free-market economies state spending are significantly reduced where state functions are privatised and deregulated, and where levels of taxation and state spending are significantly reduced.