Conservatism Flashcards
(249 cards)
1
Q
Who are the five key thinkers for conservatism?
A
Thomas Hobbes
Edmund Burke
Michael Oakeshott
Ayn Rand
Robert Nozick
2
Q
What two categories is Hobbes most useful for?
A
Society and human nature
3
Q
What was Hobbes book where he developed two conservative ideas called?
A
Leviathan (1651)
4
Q
What does Hobbes believe in terms of society?
A
Society should be ordered and balance the human need to live a free life.
In a ‘state of nature’, humans are free from authority and a ‘restless desire for power’ would lead to war.
Rational people would therefore sacrifice their freedom and nature rights for security through the establishment of political authority.
Government is therefore established by the joint consent of the people, and authorises those in power to preserve order and peace.
5
Q
What does Hobbes believe in terms of human
nature?
A
Human demonstrate needy and vulnerable characteristics by:
- completing violently to obtain the basic necessities of life and other material gains
-fighting out of fear to ensure their personal safety
- seeking reputation, both for its own sake and to avoid being challenged by others.
Human capacity to reason is fragile and people’s attempts to interpret the world are distorted by self-interest and the concerns of the moment.
6
Q
What two categories is Burke useful for?
A
State and society
7
Q
What was the name of the book where Burke developed two key conservative ideas?
A
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)
8
Q
What does Burke believe in terms of the
state?
A
Political change should be undertake with great caution and organically.
The state resembles a living organism like a plan that may be changed through gentle ‘pruning’ in order to preserve the stability and harmony of the social and political order.
Reform should be limited and cautious and be based on empiricism and tradition.
Revolutionary change threatens to cut off the ‘roots’ of the organic society leading to social and political breakdown.
9
Q
What does Burke believe in terms of society?
A
He believes in tradition and empiricism.
They represent the accumulated and ‘tested’ wisdom of the past residing in society’s longstanding institutions, customs and practices.
Continuing respect for tradition and empiricism promotes social continuity and stability and provides the essential reference points for ‘necessary’ change.
They encourage social cohesion and security because they offer people a sense of being rooted in and tied to their particular society.
10
Q
What are the names of the two books where
Oakeshott laid out his ideas?
A
Rationalism in Politics (1962) and On Human
Conduct (1975)
11
Q
What two categories is Oakeshott useful for?
A
Society and the state.
12
Q
What does Oakeshott suggest in terms of society?
A
Human imperfection- he suggests that society is unpredictable and humans are imperfect.
A ‘rationalist’ politicial leader is inclined to make decisions based on the ‘authority of his own reason.
This encourages the dngerous idea that the leader fully understands society and how it should be changed,
13
Q
What does Oakeshott believe about the
state?
A
Political thinking and action should be guided by pragmatism and practical experience to ensure public acceptance, maintain social stability and cohesion and respond flexibly to shifting circumstances.
14
Q
What two sections is Rand useful for?
A
Human nature and the economy.
15
Q
What are Rand’s two novels called?
A
The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged
(1957)
16
Q
What does Rand believe in terms of human nature?
A
Obiectivism- rational self-interest is a virtue.
The persuit of self interest is morally right and based on the the virtue of selfishness’.
17
Q
What does Rand believe in terms of the
economy?
A
Freedom- support for a completely unregulated, laissez-faire economy, compatible with the free expression of human rationality.
18
Q
What sections is Nozick useful for?
A
Human nature and the state.
19
Q
What is the name of the book Nozick promoted his ideas in?
A
Anarchy, state and Utopia (1974)
20
Q
What does Nozick believe in terms of human
nature?
A
Libertarianism- individuals have rights to their lives, liberty and the rewards of their labour.
They cannot be treated as things or used against their will.
Self-ownership- individuals own their own bodies, talents, abilities and labour.
This is threatened by enforced taxation to fund welfare and by state regulation over the individual.
21
Q
What does Nozick believe in terms of the
state?
A
Taxes levied for state welfare are immoral because they treat individuals as a means/resource.
Onlv a minimal state can be justified.
This is threatened by enforced taxation to fund welfare and by state regulation over the individual (for example anti-smoking measures).
22
Q
Which key thinkers are useful for the state?
A
Burke
Oakeshott
Nozick
23
Q
Which key thinkers are useful for the economy?
A
Rand
24
Q
Which key thinkers are useful for society?
A
Hobbes
Burke
Oakeshott
25
Which key thinkers are useful for human nature?
Hobbes
Rand
Nozick
26
What does laissez-faire mean?
Abstention by governments from interfering in the workings of the free market
27
What is empiricism?
The theory that all knowledge is based on experience derived from the senses.
28
Name the two One Nation conservative key thinkers?
Burke
Oakeshott
29
Why was Traditional Conservatism developed?
As a response to the French Revolution in 1789.
30
What are the main beliefs of Traditional
Conservatism?
Hierarchy, Tradition, Empiricism, Authority.
31
Who is the main proponent of Reactionary
Traditional Conservatism?
Thomas Hobbes
32
Who is the main proponent of non-reactionary Traditional Conservatism?
Edmund Burke.
33
Who is the main proponent of non-reactionary Traditional Conservatism?
Edmund Burke.
34
Who was the main proponent of traditional Conservatism as a natural disposition?
Micheal Oakeshott.
35
What does reactionary traditional conservatism belief about the order of society?
There should be a feudal hierarchic order within society.
36
Why were the beliefs of reactionary traditional conservatism challenged?
In the 18th Century the ideas were challenged by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Societal change due to the industrial revolution also enabled this.
37
What did reactionary traditional conservatism do in terms of resistance?
Resisted the decline of aristocratic power and rule.
However, as the rule of the aristocracy fell naturally, this branch too fell.
38
Why did Edmund Burke feel we had to oppose ideas like those in the French Revolution?
He felt that rationalist delusions had led to the bloody French revolution.
39
Why were Conservative ideologies so important to maintain in
Burke's eyes?
Hierarchy, Tradition, Empiricism and Authority had to be defended against the Englightenment as they help to maintain societal equilibrium.
40
At what point could non-reactionary traditional Conservatism change?
After very careful consideration so as to not damage societal fabrics.
41
How can Burke's ideas be seen throughout
19th Century Conservatism?
An adoption of moderate reform to keep society stable alongside commitment to the free market.
42
Which PM followed Burke's ideas quite closely and what did he do?
Robert Peel.
Founded the Metropolitan Police.
Repealed the Corn Law.
43
What does Oakeshott's view of traditional Conservatism focus on, primarily?
Focus on the psychological and intellectual aspects of human imperfection.
44
What does Oakeshott's view turn
Conservatism into?
A natural disposition, rather than a political ideology.
45
What followed Traditional Conservatism?
One-nation Conservatism.
46
Why did One-Nation become a more dominant strand in the
Conservative party?
PM B. Disraeli saw that overly laissez-faire economics were widening inequalities and fanning flames for revolution amongst the working class.
47
What was the main feature of Traditional Conservatism that followed into One-Nation Conservatism?
The idea of noblesse oblige, although this concept was taken much further in One-Nationism.
48
Where was One-Nation Conservatism first espoused by Disraeli?
In his novel, 'Sybil or the Two Nations'.
49
What was Disraeli's ultimate aim and how did he want to achieve this?
Make society secure.
Address the tensions between rich and poor.
Renew feelings of nationalism.
Renew the feeling of community.
50
Why was nationalism a bizarre ideology to espouse for a
Conservative government at the time?
Nationalism had been strongly used in revolutionary states such as
France during the French Revolution.
51
How did Disraeli paraphrase his update to noblesse oblige?
'The palace is not safe when the cottage is angry.
52
What were Disraeli's reforms to noblesse oblige based on?
Empiricism.
He was fearful of the working class revolting so he tried to appease them.
53
What were Disraeli's reforms to noblesse oblige based on?
Empiricism.
He was fearful of the working class revolting so he tried to appease them but he followed Burke's belief that society must 'change to conserve'.
54
What was an early one-nation reform?
the Representation of the People Act 1867.
55
What did the Representation of the People
Act 1867 do?
Enfranchised many parts of the urban male working class.
56
How did Disraeli describe the Representation of the People Act 1867?
'A leap in the dark'.
57
Who is the modern proponent of one-nation
Conservatism?
Harold Macmillan.
58
How did Macmillan espouse one-nation
Views?
Built 300,000 new houses a vear after the Second World War under
Churchill.
59
How did Macmillan attempt to steer the
Conservative party?
Traditional laissez-faire economics alongside the socialist collectivism of state planning.
60
What did Macmillan view as the biggest threat to the preservation of society?
Unemployment.
61
Macmillan followed empiricism. T/F?
False. He adopted the rationalistic views of John Keynes to combat unemployment.
62
Why was the Macmillan administration so interesting from a one-nation perspective?
They made it clear they were willing to abandon most Conservative values.
Empiricism - Rejected to follow rationalistic views of John Maynard
Keynes.
Tradition - The Life Peerage Act 1958' that saw life peers being appointed (including female peers)
An embrace of social liberalism.
63
How did Cameron support social liberalism?
He passed a bill for homosexual marriage in 2013.
64
How do Disraeli and Macmillan differ in terms of one-nation application?
Disraeli based everything on empiricism and a scepticism of human nature.
Macmillan based everything on rationalism with an advocation of
Keynesian economics.
65
Why did the New Right see a rise in popularity in the 1970s?
The failure of Keynesian economics.
66
How were Keynesian economics failing?
High inflation.
Low economic growth.
(stagflation)
High unemployment.
67
Who is most associated with the New Right?
Thatcher in the UK.
Reagan in the USA.
68
What is the New Right?
A marriage of neo-liberalism (classical liberalist economics) and neoconservatism (traditional conservatist society)
69
What are the main ways in which neo-liberalism differs from
Conservatism?
Society is atomistic (not organic)
A positive view of human nature
70
How did the New Right square the differences between neoliberalism and Conservatism?
They made the neo-liberal policies mostly concerned with economics and atomistic individualism rather than societal views.
71
How did Nozick argue that the legitimacy of the state to intervene was nonsense?
... the state's claiom to legitimacy induces its citizens to believe they have some duty to obey its edicts, pays its taxes, fight its battles and so on.'
72
What do neo-liberals feel about the state?
An incredible antipathic view towards the state as they feel it subverts freedom of the individual rather than the traditional and one-nation view that it props up individual freedom.
73
Who influenced Robert Nozick's views on self-ownership?
John Locke's rationalism - the individual rights of man.
Immanuel Kant - an individual cannot be used as a thing or resource by society.
74
Why do Nozick and Rand believe in atomistic individualism?
They feel the problems surrounding duty and obligation to the state present themselves in the organic society. Nozick and Rand argue that a person should have no other obligation other than to himself and (maybe) his family.
75
What type of government do neo-liberals argue for?
Miniaturist government.
76
What is the primary role of the state in neoliberal governance?
'the narrow functions of force, theft, enforcement of contracts and so on'
To preserve individual freedom, the government should 'roll back the state'.
77
Why does Rand feel so strongly about the
Organic Society?
An individual's thinking is severely reduced. Often to the dominant beliefs of society irrespective of whether or not they are correct or not.
People believing the world is flat, people voting for the Nazi party and supporting Communist regimes.
78
Why is Robert Nozick less extreme than
Rand?
He accepts there are humans are naturally 'pack animals' who enjoy and need for social interaction.
79
What was Rand's ideology known as?
Objectivism.
80
What are the main tenets of objectivism?
• The traditions of other Conservative beliefs are nonsense.
• Truth is found in scientific fact rather than collective beliefs of society or the 'Unproven myth' of religion.
• The 'virtue of selfishness' as a postive and altruism as morally wrong if demanded by the state.
• Relgious, socialist, fascist and democratic organic societies that praise that people should sacrifice their personal values for some greater good. It is wrong for society to demand that people sacrfice personal values for collective truth.
81
Which political idea did Rand loath most?
Communism.
82
What is altruism?
The belief that humans are not born to be self-seeking but can display sympathy for others to cooperate with one another.
83
Why did Rand feel altruism was misrepresented in an organic society?
It should never be demanded by the state, but is absolutely fine, provided the individual makes it of their own accord.
84
Why do neo-liberals detest state spending on welfare?
The development of atomistic individualism makes individuals too dependant on the state.
85
What do neo-liberals feel that the abolishment of state intervention would cause?
People would no longer be dependant on the state and so would begin wondering how they could help themselves rather than being reliant.
86
Why did neo-liberals feel that Keynesian state planning was failing?
Nationalised industries were inefficient. lacked free-market dynamism and were artificially protected from free-market competition, distorting the whole market.
87
What do neo-liberals feel the role of
government is economically?
Controlling inflation via a policy known as
'monetarism'.
88
What is the theory behind monetarism?
Printing money only causes inflation and erodes the value of private citizens wages / savings.
89
How did Thatcher subscribe to neo-liberal views on government intervention?
She privatised gas, electricity, water and telecomes.
90
What did Thatcher think that growing unemployment in the 19705 was due to, and why?
Too much state intervention.
Overprotecting failing industries
Allowing inflation in prices and wages.
91
What did Thatcher do with coal mines?
She sanctioned the closure of many uneconomic nationalised mines.
92
What happened after Thatcher sanctioned the closure of many coal mines?
The largest workers strike since before the war took place.
The government won the strike and the coal industry was privatised.
She restored market forces as it was irrational for the state to keep a failing industry afloat.
93
How did Thatcher iniect market force elements into the NHS and education?
She introduced leage tables and target setting to increase competition in nationalised industries.
94
To what extent to Conservatives agree on the state's role in the economy? (Agree)
• It is the role of the state to defend economic contracts and
private property.
• Defend capitalism and the free market.
• Private property is vitally important as it provides psychological security for individuals within society.
• Private property reduces individuals' dependancy on the state.
95
To what extent do Conservatives agree about the state's role in the economy? (Disagree)
• Neo-liberals would abolish taxation. Neo-conservaties and traditional conservatives would argue for lower taxation. One-nation conservatives would argue for slightly increased taxation.
• One-nation conservatives argue for some state intervention in the economy. Other conservatives argue on behalf of heavy laissez-faire economics.
• Neo-conservatives are sympathetic to the free market. They are informed by pragmatism and supported government intervention to correct market failures during 2008.
• Neo-liberals want to 'roll back the state'. All other areas of Conservatism believe in an organic state.
96
What are neo-conservatists most influenced
by?
Traditional Conservatism.
• Maintaining the organic society
• Upholding public morality and law and order
97
Neo-conservatists increase state involvement in society if needs arise. T/F?
True, if they feel it is good for society.
98
Why have neo-conservatists been critical of neo-liberals on topics of society?
They feel that neo-liberal ideas fragment society by not defending core conservative values like tradition, religion and societal responsibility.
99
What do neo-conservatists believe about capitalism?
It is the natural economic state, but it does not provide a set of rules to base society on.
100
Where did the unease of neo-conservatives
start?
With social and sexual revolution in the 1960s ushering in an age of moral relativism that has fragmented society ever since.
101
Why do neo-conservatives not like the secular rejection of many countries in the West?
They argue it has depleted the moral and spiritual stock that has bound society.
102
What is the neo-conservatist view of the organic society?
They reject the neo-liberal vision of atomistic individualism which massively undermines societal values.
103
Why do neo-conservatives feel that anti-poverty programmes failed?
They ignored human imperfection as humans are not naturally moral or hardworking.
104
What is the primary tenet of a neoconservative welfare state?
A safety net for those who are genuinely struggling but not handouts that erode individual responsibility. They do not want it to get too big though, as the wish to promote conservative ideas of family values and hard work.
105
What was the 'right to buy' council houses policy?
A neo-conservative attempt to remodel the welfare state in which the working class became property owners and less state dependant.
106
What is permissiveness?
There is no right or wrong, and some actions that are viewed by some are immoral are actually allowed.
107
What is anti-permissiveness?
A rejection of the theory that there is no right or wrong.
Mostly formed by Judeo-Christian teachings.
108
What do neo-conservatives argue about the post-1960s?
There was a decline in morality so they began to promote anti-permissiveness with more authoritarian policing.
109
Why are neo-conservatives critical of neo-liberalistic views of atomistic individualism?
They feel their rejection of communal customs has helped transform
Western society into a materialistic moral vacuum, ignoring ethnical rights and wrongs of Christian society.
Neo-conservatives in the US of A are massively pro-religion, and much of their politics is formed on this premise.
110
Why do neo-conservatives feel a need to expand the state in some instances?
They feel the state needs to have a tough approach to law and order, so the state needs to be extended to enforce this policy.
111
Why do neo-conservatives feel a need to expand the state in some instances?
They feel the state needs to have a tough approach to law and order, so the state needs to be extended to enforce this policy.
112
What is a modern example of neo-conservatism?
George W. Bush and Tony Blair going to invade Iraq and Afghanistan to curb terrorism.
113
Why is the New Right so bizarre from a policy perspective?
It marries neo-liberal views with neo-conservative views, albeit in a contentious manner.
114
Why did many neo-conservatives find solace in Nozick's work?
Many felt that his values were consistent with traditional conservative views of a small state and laissez-faire economics.
115
Why did some neo-conservatives in America appreciate Rand's views?
Her views of objectivism and individualism are reminiscent of the egoistical individualism inherent in the genesis of the American state.
116
How do neo-conservatives not reconcile all neo-liberal views?
The views on human nature, state, society and the economy were difficult to square.
• Neo-liberals believe in negative freedom only, neo-conservatives believe in positive freedoms if needs be.
• Neo-liberals want to reduce state interference in society, neoconservatives can expand state authority to increase law and order.
• Nozick's view of individualism argue that hard drugs should be legalised. Neo-conservatives believe this is dangerous and immoral.
• Neo-conservatists are sympathetic towards rationalism inherent in free-market economics. Neo-liberals oppose all state intervention.
117
Why is neo-liberalism associated with conservatism across the world?
The Conservative party in the UK and the Republican party in the
USA both advocate neo-liberal economics (laissez-faire and free trade)
118
How can the New Right be surmised?
A marriage of political convenience between neo-liberals and neoconservatives focusing on the efficacy of the free market.
A loathing of collectivism, 'big state' and therefore complete opposition to communism.
119
Why do neo-conservatives not like the secular rejection of many countries in the West?
They argue it has depleted the moral and spiritual stock that has bound society.
120
To what extent to Conservatives agree on the state's role in the economy? (Agree)
• It is the role of the state to defend economic contracts and
private property.
• Defend capitalism and the free market.
• Private property is vitally important as it provides psychological security for individuals within society.
• Private property reduces individuals' dependancy on the state.
121
What did the Representation of the People
Act 1867 do?
Enfranchised many parts of the urban male working class.
122
What does Oakeshott's view of traditional Conservatism focus on, primarily?
Focus on the psychological and intellectual aspects of human imperfection.
123
What are the three types of Conservatism?
Traditional Conservatism
One-Nation Conservatism
The New Right
124
Why did Traditional Conservatism emerge?
In large part as a reaction to Enlightenment.
125
What are the main principles of Traditional
Conservatism?
Pragmatism
Empiricism
Tradition
126
Why did One-Nation Conservatism see a rise in popularity?
To preserve society, there needed to be more state intevention.
127
What was the main reason for the rise of
One-Nation Conservatism?
The French Revolution.
128
Who was the main proponent of One-nation
Conservatism?
Benjamin Disraeli.
129
Why did the New Right see a rise in popularity?
An argument that one-nation conservatism had sanctioned too many changes to the role of the state and had lost touch with true
Conservative values.
130
Who was the main proponent of the New
Right?
Margaret Thatcher
Ronald Reagan
131
Who was a main proponent for Traditional
Conservatism?
Thomas Hobbes.
132
How does traditional Conservatism view human imperfection?
In three categories:
Morally imperfect (selfish creatures)
Intellectually imperfect (reality is always beyond rational understanding)
Psychologically imperfect (humans are security driven and socially dependent)
133
What did Hobbes argue about human imperfection?
It is unavoidable and unchangeable.
134
What was the 'state of nature' according to Hobbes?
Human desire for power and material gratification, while being naturally distrustful of others.
Society prior to the existence of state.
'perpetual and restless desire for power and power that only ceaseth in death'.
a violent anarchy where life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short'".
135
What was Hobbes theory on the 'state of nature?
Humans would actively try to escape that state.
They would form a certain social contract that surrenders some individual autonomy to a centralised monarchy in exchange for humans living collectively and without fear.
136
What is authority?
Those in higher positions of society who are best positioned to make decisions on society's behalf. Their legitimacy comes naturally form within the hierarchy, and those below them in the hierarchy are obliged to obey.
137
What was Hobbes' main book?
Leviathan.
138
When was Hobbes alive?
1588 - 1679
139
What was the premise for Hobbes' ideas?
The anarchy that ensued due to the English
Civil War.
140
What were Hobbes' main ideas?
How he imagined state and society to have formed.
The imperfection and selfish nature of humanity.
Humans are just rational enough to seek order.
Society cannot function effectively without the creation of the state.
141
Who is Edmund Burke?
"the Father of Conservatism'
142
How did Edmund Burke disagree with
Hobbes?
Burke did not think that:
Humans are ruthlessly individualistic but are naturally communal.
Humans were capable of making mistakes to the same destructive levels.
Decision making based on rational ideas of abstract thought is ill-advised.
143
What were Burke's main ideas?
The organic society is not static and must be changed to preserve it.
Burke's belief in human imperfection led to him rebutting most ideas from Enlightenment thinkers.
The Jacobins' quest for the ideal society failed (they sacrificed social order in exchange for the human rights of Rousseau and Paine)
Burke was sympathetic towards the American Revolution (he thought the colonies had been completely misgoverned by the
British government)
144
What was Burke's main work?
Reflections on the Revolution in France.
145
What is empricism?
The idea that knowledge and experience come from real experience and not abstract theories.
146
Why did Burke completely oppose the French Revolution, but support the American Revolution?
The French Revolution was built on abstract principles that discarded any empiricism and tradition for idealism that descended into violence and chaos.
Burkes believed the colonies had been completely misgoverned by the British and when they overturned the British, they did not abandon values, culture or tradition of the pre-existing society.
147
What was Micheal Oakeshott's main work?
'On Being Conservative'
148
What were Oakeshott's main ideas?
Conservatism is as much as disposition as it is a set of political ideas.
Rationalism is beyond the ability of human beings because they are intellectually imperfect.
Due to rationalism being flawed, humans should put more stock in tradition.
Government should be grounded in pragmatism and empiricism, and not guided by abstract concepts of what should be.
149
What type of politics did Oakeshott argue for?
Politics of faith.
Politics of scepticism.
150
Why did Oakeshott argue for the 'politics of faith'?
Faith in rationalism is misplaced and those who act on the authority of their own reason will fail.
The implementation of abstract ideas leads to unforeseen
consequences.
Be wary of making sure the 'cure is not worse than the disease'.
151
What changes do the state enact if they subscribe to the idea of empricism?
Their changes are informed by past experience.
152
What changes do the state enact if the subscribe to the idea of rationalism?
Changes are informed by abstract ideas.
MacMillan's adoption of state management and Keynesian economics rather than the long-standing tradition of laissez-faire government.
153
What do Conservatives believe about the evolution of the state?
It happens over time and emerges and grows rather than an instantaneous creation.
154
It happens over time and emerges and grows rather than an instantaneous creation.
Once the state is established, society then emerges and grows organically into a complex organism of traditions and customs.
155
Where do traditional Conservative thinkers disagree on the topic of power?
Hobbes believed in an absolute monarchy, but Burke and Oakeshott believed in parliamentary power, which are ironically liberal in origin.
156
What did Burke mean by 'little platoons'?
Localised communities that retain their identity and enable wider integration within the nation.
Communities give structure to our lives.
157
What is 'change to conserve?
Society should naturally adapt to shifting circumstances by instigating small modifications to compensate rather than either completely resetting or refusing change whatsoever.
158
What is 'noblesse oblige'?
The duty of society's elite to care for those less wealthy and less privileged.
159
Where does 'change to conserve' meet a contrasting opinion in Conservatism, and how do traditional Conservatives square the problem?
Change to Conserve can go against the respect and love of tradition, monarchy etc.
Conservatives believe that those institutions should be revered, but the moment they threaten the social fabric, they must be removed.
160
Why do Conservatives think the Russian and
French Revolutions happened?
The inaction to preserve society.
161
What did Burke argue about states without the belief in a 'change to conserve?
'A state without the means of some changes is without the means of its conservation.'
162
What do Conservatives believe about society?
It is inherently inequal, as there is a natural order in which each individual has his place.
Each individual has inequal talents and ability.
163
What did Hobbes believe about societal rule?
Society should be ruled by an absolute monarch who governs a
'commonwealth' which was arranged by rank and influence.
164
What did Burke believe about societal rule?
The aristocracy should lead as they were wiser than their inferiors, but they also have some level of responsibility of the lower orders.
165
What did Oakeshott believe about societal
rule?
Should be governed by elected officials, with a championing of tradition (HoL, Electoral College etc.)
166
What are the core ideas of Conservatism?
Human Imperfection
Organic Society / State
Pragmatism
Tradition
Paternalism (hmm..)
Libertarianism
167
Why is pragmatism a core value of
Conservatism?
They have a deep distrust of abstract theories provided by other strands of political thinking.
168
What did Burke's idea of 'change to conserve inform?
PM Robert Peel repealing the Corn Laws to help the Irish famine.
PM Robert Peel giving middle-class men the vote.
PM Benjamin Disraeli solving the 'Big Stink' of London.
169
Where does the belief in pragmatism stem from?
Empricism.
170
Why is pragmatism a useful skill in politics?
It allows Conservative governments to accept positive changes from other parties when they enter power, but when they are out of power they can scrutinise rationalistic / ideological changes.
171
What is the most important tradition in the UK?
Religion.
172
How did Burke perceive religion?
Incredibly important, described as 'Our comfort, and one great source of civilisation'.
Religious tradition that bind society together are so important that atheism should be suppressed as it is destabilising.
173
Why did Oakeshott argue against the 1960's Social Revolution on the topic of religion?
The revolution undermined Judeo-Christian religion and many people left the religion as a result.
Oakeshott felt that due to the decline in region, many people would turn to abstract and rationalistic ideas as an intellectual replacement for religion.
174
What were the two natural following steps from tradition according to Burke?
Tradition embodies continuity, which therefore would advance peacefulness (the ultimate goal of society).
175
Why should people trust long-standing institutions according to Burke?
There is a level of accumuted and generational wisdom within.
Monarchy
Ancient Universities
Religion
176
Why should people trust long-standing institutions according to Burke?
There is a level of accumuted and generational wisdom within.
Monarchy
Ancient Universities
Religion
177
Why are some Neo-Conservatives pro-religion despite not being religious themselves?
The religion serves a major societal function that other intellectual thought cannot replace.
178
What is the main example that Conservatives give for following tradition?
French Revolution
Russian Revolution
179
Why is paternalism a core value of
Conservatives?
The belief in an unequal society follows that the ruling class has a noblesse oblige relationship to weaker elements.
To prevent worker revolution, the ruling class must help those below.
180
How is paternalism an offshoot of pragmatism?
If the state fails to counter societal problems, there is a risk that established orders will be upset and revolution ensues.
181
How was MacMillan an example of
Paternalism and Pragmatism?
He continued with the state ownership and private ownership from Attlee.
182
Why did the New Right become popular in terms of paternalism?
Some felt that the poorest in society were so dependent on the state that the societal obligations of traditional Conservatism had been forgotten.
183
What does libertarianism emphasise?
Negative freedom (freedom from interference)
Minimal state interference
184
What is laissez-faire?
A preference for minimal state intervention in the economy.
185
When did income tax become a permanent staple of the UK system?
1842, Robert Peel.
186
Why did income tax begin in the UK?
The state began to grow and welfare spending also increased.
187
What type of society do neo-liberals believe in?
An atomistic society.
188
Who are the key thinkers for neo-liberal beliefs?
Ayn Rand.
Robert Nozick.
189
What is society in Rand's eyes?
A collection of self-interested and self-sufficient individuals.
190
What is neo-liberal thought on human perfection?
They reject the theory of pessimistic human imperfection, opting to follow the rationalism of the Enlightenment.
191
What is the neo-liberal stance on empiricism?
Rejection, opting to follow rationalism instead.
192
What is egoistical individualism?
The rights of the individual are more important than the state.
193
What types of freedom do neo-liberals believe in?
Negative freedoms.
194
What is the problem with noblesse oblige according to neo-liberals?
It restricts an individuals development as it limits choice and prevents humans from learning from their mistakes.
195
Why does neo-liberalism challenge traditional
Conservative hierarchies?
They believe it should be replaced by an organisation based on meritocracy.
The minimal state will allow the emergence and co-existances of voluntary formed communities.
196
What is the role of the state in neo-liberal
society?
A nightwatchman to oversee the rule of law and protect the rights of individuals from criminals and foreign invaders.
197
What did Nozick argue about tax?
'Tax, for the most part, is theft.'
198
What do neo-liberals argue for in terms of taxation?
Massive reduction in tax and state spending as a moral and economic imperative for individual freedom.
199
What did Nozick say about the state and welfarism?
The state encroaches on the lives of citizens and that welfarism creates a dependency culture with the state 'owning' individuals.
200
What is atomism?
A society that exists as a loose connection of self-interested and self-sufficient individuals.
201
What is radical?
Belief in ideas that favour drastic social, economic or political change.
202
How do neo-liberals suggest we can achieve atomism?
By 'rolling back the state'.
203
How do neo-liberals suggest how we can 'roll back the state?
Deregulation and privisation of services carried out by the state.
Trade unions should have their powers curbed.
The individual should be 'left alone' economically, socially and politically.
The individual should have the right to choose anything.
The growth of the state is the gravest contemporary threat to individualistic freedom.
204
What are the types of human imperfection?
• Moral
• Intellectual
• Psychological
205
Why did income tax begin in the UK?
The state began to grow and welfare spending also increased.
206
Why are some Neo-Conservatives pro-religion despite not being religious themselves?
The religion serves a major societal function that other intellectual thought cannot replace.
207
Why is pragmatism a useful skill in politics?
It allows Conservative governments to accept positive changes from other parties when they enter power, but when they are out of power they can scrutinise rationalistic / ideological changes.
208
Who are the Conservative Key Thinkers?
Thomas Hobbes, Edmund Burke, Micheal Oakeshott, Ayn Rand, Robert Nozick.
209
What was Hobbes' view on Human Nature?
Extremely negative.
Humans are selfish and individualistically driven by self-interest.
210
What was Hobbes' view on the state?
The state only exists because of a 'social contract' between the sovereign and his subjects.
Some freedoms are lost to ensure security and the rule of law.
211
What was Hobbes' view on Society?
Society did not exist in any form prior to the creation of the state.
The sovereign brings order and authority.
212
What was Hobbes' view on the Economy?
Economic activity is only possible after the creation of the state, with the sovereign bringing order and authority allowing the economy to develop.
213
What was Hobbes main book?
'Leviathan'
214
What is the most important quote from
Hobbes' book?
The life of man would be 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short' if society was not maintained.
215
What did Hobbes believe about authority?
Any authority is better than no authority as without authority we have no society. With no society, we enter a period of bloodshed and violence.
216
What did Burke believe about Human
Nature?
Somewhat negative, but not as much as Hobbes.
Humans are morally and intellectually fallible.
217
What did Burke believe about the state?
The state emerges and grows like an organism, rather than just appearing at once.
The state is hierarchical, with the hereditary elite ruling with paternal noblesse oblige over their subjects.
The state should 'change to conserve'.
Society should be guided by empiricism.
218
What did Burke believe about society?
Society is like a multifaceted organism.
Communities, traditions and customs all have a symbiotic relationship.
219
What did Burke believe about the economy?
The free market is the true and natural organic state of the economy.
The state should protect laissez-faire economics.
220
What was Burke's famous quote?
'Evolution, not revolution'
221
What did Oakeshott believe about human nature?
Somewhat negative, on a similar level to Burke.
Conservatism is based on intellectual imperfection.
Decisions of the human and the state should be grounded in empiricism rather than rationalism.
222
What did Oakeshott believe about the state?
The state should be guided by tradition and experience rather than rationalism.
Rationalistic state intervention should be met with scepticism.
Change, should it be necessary, should be guided by pragmatism and empricism.
223
What did Oakeshott believe about society?
Society is a multifaceted organism.
Communities, traditions and customs all have a symbiotic relationship.
224
What did Oakeshott believe about the
economy?
The free market is the natural state of the economy and market.
State involvement should be considered very carefully and should be limited to pragmatic moderation.
State management / economic politices underpinned by rationalism should be avoided as humans are intellectually imperfect.
225
What wing did Oakeshott sit on?
He had a foot in both traditional Conservatism and one-nation
Conservatism.
226
What were Oakeshott's books known as?
'On Being Conservative'
'On Human Conduct'
227
What was Oakeshott's famous quote?
'to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried.., the actual to the possible'
228
What does Oakeshott believe about the methods of understanding social organisation?
Enterprise Association
Civil Association
229
What is enterprise association?
The state is understood as imposing a universal purpose on its subjects. This tends to follow with dictatorships. (Nazis with racial domination is an example).
230
What is civil association?
Laws impose obligatory conditions of action.
They do not require choosing one action rather another.
This requires a faith in humanity to grasp a universal good.
231
Why did Oakeshott get criticised?
Many felt he was selling short the possibility of political progress.
232
What was Rand's view on human nature?
Positive.
Humans are capable of rational though and should be objectivist in persuing their self-interest.
233
What was Rand's view on the state?
The state should be so minimal.
The state should only secure a free market, law and order, national security.
234
What was Rand's view on society?
Society should pursue atomistic individualism.
A collection of autonomous individuals are motivated by self-fulfilment.
Individuals resist state and societal obligations as they restrict individual freedom.
No welfare state whatsoever.
235
What was Rand's view on the economy?
Free-market capitalism with no state intervention whatsoever.
Privatised and deregulated economy.
236
What wing of Conservatism did Ayn Rand lie in?
New Right, although she stated on many occasions she was not Conservative in any way.
237
How did Rand think people could behave rationally?
By being selfish.
238
What were Rand's books known as?
'Atlas Shrugged'
The Fountainhead'
239
What do both of Rand's novels involve?
Protagonists that follow their own goals relentlessly and are opposed by regulations of government in a dystopian USA.
240
What type of Darwinism did Rand believe in?
Social Darwinism.
241
What were Rand's more, (bizarre, interesting, strange?) ties, non
politically?
She had ties to modern Satanism, with many of her policies being adopted by Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan.
242
What did Nozick believe about human
nature?
Positive.
Individuals are rational and driven by self-ownership of talent and their abilities and labour.
243
What did Nozick believe about the state?
A minarchist state.
The state should be limited to law and order, enforcement of contract and defence.
244
What did Nozick believe about society?
It is essentially atomistic.
A collection of autonomous individuals with liberatarian values who
realise it is in their self-interest to be together.
Individuals resist state or societal obligations as they restrict individual freedom.
No welfare state.
245
What did Nozick believe about the economy?
A minarchist state.
Free market capitalism.
Privatised and deregulated economy.
246
What was Nozick's main book?
Anarchy, state, and utopia
247
What did 'Tales of a Slave' detail?
A 9 stage progression within slavery that asks at which point you are no longer a slave.
248
Why did Oakeshott get criticised?
Many felt he was selling short the possibility of political progress.
249
What was Hobbes' view on the state?
The state only exists because of a 'social contract' between the sovereign and his subjects.
Some freedoms are lost to ensure security and the rule of law.
