conservatism Flashcards
(30 cards)
what are the 5 core themes?
- pragmatism
- tradition
- organic society
- human imperfection
- paternalism
who are the 5 key thinkers?
- Oakeshott
- Rand
- Nozick
- Hobbes
- Burke
what did hobbes say about a life without a strong government?
‘it is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.’
what did gilmour say about conservatives?
‘the wise conservative travels light.’
in what ways are humans limited?
morally, psychologically and intellectually.
how did oakeshott describe the political world?
‘boundless and bottomless’
what did hayek think about understanding the economy?
humans cannot grasp the complexity of the economy.
what did durkheim do?
A study on suicide
what is anomie
a state of hoplessness, despair etc when there is no tradition, as people have no goals or direction which will lead them to kill themselves.
Thinkers associated with tradition
Durkheim:
Anomie due to lack of tradition. Tradition provides goals and direction and happines.
GK Chesterton:
democracy of the dead
Burke:
democracy is a partnership between the living, the dead and those to be born.
what did william sumner say about hierarchy?
‘the drunkard in the gutter is where he ought to be’
define functionalism
the only things to survive through history are institutions that work. They should not be reformed or abolished as they are functional.
why was thatcher different in her views of soceity?
she denied its existence. Belief in an atomistic society over an organic one.
what is the phrase to describe the duty of those higher in the hierarchy to help those below them?
noblesse oblige
why have neoliberals abandoned the idea of paternalism?
they have a focus on individualism and concerns about dependency culture.
what are the official strands of conservatism?
- traditional
- one nation
- the new right ( neoliberals and neoconservatives)
match key thinkers to core themes for traditional conservatives
hobbes - authority
burke - tradition and organic society
oakeshott - human imperfection and pragmatism
what core theme matches with disreali
paternalism
what was burke’s response to the french revolution?
he wrote ‘reflections on the revolution in france’, which was ‘the most eloquent statement of British conservatism, favouring monarchy, aristocracy, property, hereditary succession and wisdom of the ages.
traditional conservatives can either be…
authoritarian or pragmatic.
what were authoritarian traditional conservative beliefs?
- the belief that consent was not needed for a government to exercise authority.
hobbes mainly agreed, but was into some more freedom.
what are pragmatic traditional conservative beliefs?
- ‘change to conserve’
- a distrust in rationalism because of belief in intellectual imperfections.
who were authoritarian conservatives?
- De Maistre
- Tsar Nicholas I
- Otto von Bismark
- Pope Pius IX
what did burke say about tradition?
democracy is a partnership between the living, dead and those to be born
