Conservatism key terms

Question 1

Define Changes to conserve

Answer 1

Key belief in conservatism that distinguished it from a reactionary - for something valuable to be preserved it must be maintained and updated

Question 2

Define Human Imperfection

Answer 2

Drawing on the Old Testament doctrine of original sin - timeless flaws of humanity which make any quest for perfection misguided and potentially disastrous.

Question 3

define empiricism

Answer 3

preference for evidence over theory
emphasises ‘what is’ over ‘what should be’

Question 4

define normative

Answer 4

denotes how arrangements theoretically should be in the future, a term conservatives disdain, given their stress on the uncertainty of their existence

Question 5

define progressive

Answer 5

linked to other ideologies such as liberalism and socialism
the belief that problems always have solutions
the future must always be better that the past and the present
conservatives are sceptical about this

Question 6

define hierarchy

Answer 6

The concept that holds equality of status and power is undesirable.
leadership should come from a small number of individuals and be accepted
apologists contend succesful social and political structures have unequal distribution of power

Question 7

define paternalism/noblesse

Answer 7

These term refer fatherly obligations the ruling class/nobility has to the rest of society
hard-elites decide what is best for the rest irrespective of their wishes
soft- power with elites but decisions are preceded by listening to what non elites want

Question 8

define authority

Answer 8

a recognised right for those with authority to make decisions that others must accept
there is disagreement on how it should be acquired and for what purpose it should be exercised.

Question 9

define laissez faire

Answer 9

this involves the state allowing market forces to operate freely supported by traditional as well as new right

Question 10

define Thatcherism

Answer 10

Synonymous with New right conservatism thatcher pursued a mixture of neoliberal policies (privatisation and tax reduction) and neo conservative (police powers curb on immigration, tax breaks of trad families)

Question 11

define tory

Answer 11

17th-19th century main party along with the whigs
authority tradition hierachy and religion
allied with sections of the whigs and became known as conservatives in the 1830s

Question 12

define one nation conservatism

Answer 12

dates from 1870 benjamin disraeli
conservatism should prioritise national unity by attending to conditions of poooerer classes
justifies greater state intervention in economy more spending and tax

Question 13

define fascism

Answer 13

revolutionary ideology in Europe emerged in 1920-30s
eg Hitler national socialism and Mussolini national politics. national and nostalgic - ultra-conservatism
radical and immediate change,
contempt for traditional institutions and diversity
glorification of dictatorship

Question 14

define supernationalism

Answer 14

a state whose authority cuts across national boundaries eg the soviet union. Conservatives see it as a threat to one nation/traditional state conservatives
post war christian democrats are more receptive of it as an antidote to the legacy of fascism’s ultra nationalism

Question 15

define anti-permissive

Answer 15

limited to neo conservative faction of the new right
policies aim to reverse social liberalism dating from the 1960s
neo conservative: critical view on divorce, abortion and homosexuality

Question 16

define atomism

Answer 16

the view that human beings seek autonomy and space so there is a vague sense of society
conservatives reject this and argue beings are closely linked to their communities
new right conservatives are much more atomistic