Conservatism - Key Thinkers Flashcards
(20 cards)
1
Q
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
A
- keythinker who wrote about the state of nature
- some influence of social contract theories
- book- ‘Leviathan’
2
Q
Hobbes - Order
A
- in “Leviathan” he argued that the state of nature made life ‘nasty, British and short’ and a ‘leviathan’ is needed (dominant state)
- imposed on people from above (followers conservative ideas of hierarchy & authority)
- however Hobbes agreed with liberal ideas that authority is supported by consent from other people
3
Q
Hobbes - Human nature
A
- pessimistic view of HN
- said if humans were left in the state of azure, they would be violent towards one another & not respect private property
- no law & order = “a war of all against all”
- Hobbes believed that order must be imposed on all society to stop the danger of human imperfection
4
Q
Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
A
- founder of modern conservatism
- developed conservative arguments of gradual change, tradition and empiricism
5
Q
Burke - counter-enlightenment thought
A
- disagreed with view that man’s are rational creatures - believed in human imperfection
- his rejection of liberal rationality was influenced by witnessing the French Revolution
- disagreed with the idea that people could destroy society and create a brand new, fairer system
- systems in society should be preserved instead of
6
Q
Burke - change
A
- ‘change to conserve’
- saw threats o conservatism from enlightenment and socialism
- believed in gradual change (should consider impact on present & future, but also listen to mistakes and lessons of the past)
7
Q
Burke - tradition and Empiricism
A
- believed we should all follow traditions and practices
- believed to was arrogant for people of the present to rust the sleeves instead we should listen to tradition
- believed we should have a social contract between “those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born”
8
Q
Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990)
A
- British political philosopher who wrote ‘Rationalism in politics’ and ‘on human conduct’
9
Q
A
10
Q
Oakeshott - Tradition
A
- wrote that to be conservative is to ‘prefer the families to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried’ and to prefer ‘the actual to the possible’
11
Q
Oakeshott - human imperfection
A
- believed humans ere intellectually imperfect - political ideas are so broad and complex that as humans are unable to grasp them
12
Q
Oakeshott - pragmatism
A
- believed that conservatism should be pragmatic
- instead of being highly ideological, conservatives should make practical decisions
- believed the state should be maintained it not overhauled or changed in a revolutionary way
- believed increased that state intervention was a bad thing and that changing society through social engineering was not in the conservatie spirit
13
Q
Ayn Rand (1905-1982)
A
- conservative thinker who had radical ideas and proposed neoliberal policies
- sting focus and freedoms and individuality
14
Q
Rand - objectivism
A
- argues that we gain objective knowledge through the use of logic and reason
- objectivists believe that knowledge exists outside of consciousness & so can be discovered and perceived
- sum posted ideas of human rationality and that we should trust individual to make decisions for themselves
15
Q
Rand - Rationalism
A
- Rand believed that because humans are rational and self-interested beings
- rand was a rational egoistical, because she believed that actin in one’s own interest was rational
- also an ethical egoist, because she believed we are morally obliged to act in our own interest
16
Q
Rand - Freedom
A
- Rand supported laissez-faire economic system and believed this was the only way for individuals to be truly free
17
Q
Robert Nozick (1938-2002)
A
- Right-wing libertarian thinker
- supported a minimal state which is a state with limited power over the actions of individuals
18
Q
Nozick - Libertarianism
A
- opposed taxes (“legalised theft”) and therefore economic redistribution and social justice is theft of indivual private property (opposed welfare state)
- supported free-market capitalism + believed the way goods are distributed in free market is just
19
Q
Nozick - Justice
A
- disagreed with state intervention in order to redriute resources in a more just way
-believed of the state had control over justice, resources would be given to groups that are importance to win elections eg the elderly
20
Q
Nozick - self-ownership
A
- considered the right of the indictable for ownership over their own person to be a vital part of being human
- believed that if the states had control over individuals they will be reduced to work for common goals rather than individual state intervention
