Key Ideas - Conservatism Flashcards
(33 cards)
Which Conservative thinker shares a concept in common with John Locke?
What is that concept?
Thomas Hobbs
Social contract theory
Thomas Hobbs quote on Human nature in a state of nature.
“Life would be nasty, brutish and short”
- In reference to humans natural state, when resources are scarcer, it’s everyone for themselves.
Notions of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ dissolve.
Who are all the Conservative thinkers on the syllabus?
- Thomas Hobbs
- Edmund Burke
- Micheal Oakshott
- Ayn Rand
- Robert Nozick
What are the key Conservative works and their key thinkers, and if you can, their dates?
Hobbs - ‘Leviathon’ 1651
Burke - ‘Reflections on the revolution in France’ - 1771
Oakshott - ‘The politics of faith and the politics of scepticism’ - 1962
Rand - ‘The virtue of selfishness’ - 1964
Nozick - ‘Anarchy, state and Utopia’ - 1974
Rational and ethical egoism is who’s concept?
Ayn Rand
Neitzsche and his ideas of natural hierarchy and the ubermench, inspired which Conservative thinker?
Ayn Rand
What did Ayn Rand describe her philosophy as?
Objectivism
Ayn however believed that the government did have one purpose.
What?
Security
Ayn Rand thought had an idea about hierarchy which isn’t strictly Conservative.
What?
That society is not hierarchical but meritocratic.
Robert Nozick has a similarity with liberalism? What?
He had a positive view of human nature.
Humans have self ownership of themselves and do things which are rational to devote themselves to. Therefore the state should not suppress their lives and must instead protect them.
To Nozick like ____ and _____ society is built on social _____________.
Hobbs and Locke
Social contractualism
Nozick believed that social contractualism translates to how we should view the individual. How roughly speaking?
Individuals should be allowed to keep what they earn from their own effort if it comes from a contract people have consented to.
What’s Nozick’s view on human nature?
Human nature is positive and rational, it searches for self fulfilment but is not inherently brutish, it considers the needs of other individuals on their own journies.
What’s Burke’s view on Human nature?
Human nature should be seen as wise as a collective and foolish and selfish individually.
We need structure and tradition to bring out our better qualities.
Which Conservative thinker is responsible for the analogy of the plant being society?
Burke.
Burke claimed society should be compared to a plant because it’s something maintained and pruned.
It grows but must be looked after with care.
Burke is the father of what type of Conservatism?
Paternal
What did Burke think about hierarchy.
That their could and should be a positive aristocracy, looking after the needs of the poor.
Government, most likely comprised of these people, should be serving everyone’s needs.
This helps maintain the neutral hierachy that makes the organic society function
Little platoons is a concept by who, meaning what?
Talk about it.
Burke,
It refers to the ideal for society, small collectives of people looking after each others needs and their traditions.
Traditions and history being the tested framework of which society can be directed reliably with.
Burke was critical of individualism as he saw it as a threat to the social cohesion around these tested ideas society is based on.
Paternal Conservatism has a modern iteration called what?
(In particular in the U.K)
One nation Conservatism
What’s Hobbs take on social contract theory in comparison to Locke.
Hobbs believed that society is a social contract between the sovereign, the institution of stability and order, the supreme authority, and the masses, who agree to laws because in return they’re safer.
What’s Oaskshott’s view of human nature?
It’s “fallible but not terrible” but ultimately prioritises what is familiar because we cannot fully grasp the universes ‘truths’ and complexity.
Oakshott was critical of what school of thought associated with Liberalism and Socialism?
Rationalism.
Oaskshott believed they were peddling free promises, setting themselves up to fall short because people’s expectations will get too high.
To Oakshott, abstract ideas fail, they’re not based on tested traditions which have gotten us here.
Neoliberal and new right thinkers like Rand accuse Oakshott of _______________ and are anti …
Permissiveness
They’re anti permissive, more combative of Liberal and
Socialist ideas they see as a threat.
Contract theory in Conservatism and Liberalism is connected to 4 of its thinkers.
Who and how?
Hobbs: the selfishness of the individual is put aside for their own security under supreme authority.
Locke: Social contract theoy, we give up some freedoms to the ‘neutral umpire’ and small government so that we might be safe to express freedoms.
This government is ‘by consent’, freedoms protected in exchange for compliance with the law.
Burke: The contract between the “dead, living, and yet to be born”.
This is in reference to tradition being needed to be passed down, to tailor to little platoons that bring the better qualities of humanity out.
Nozick: If a social contract exists between consenting parties, they should be entitled to the full rewards of their endeavour.
