Your text here 1
To What Extent Is Conservatism
a Coherent Ideology?
Within conservatism, there are three different types of conservatism. One of them being
traditional conservatives which are known to be the oldest form of conservatism they
believed For society to function effectively, there must be some form of hierarchy.
Individuals within society need to be aware of their place within and accept their duties
accordingly. For example, Edmund burke believed those who hold the highest status have a
responsibility to look after those further down the social scale. The two main thinkers we
will be discussing for traditional conservatism are Thomas Hobbes and Edmund burke, they
have a sceptical view of human nature and believe that problems are caused due to
overestimation of human potential and believe in a large and powerful state that controls
people, Hobbes believes in the laws of nature state that human beings must strive for peace,
which is best achieved by contract. Leviathan - A metaphor for the state, the Leviathan is
described as an artificial person whose body is made up of all the bodies of its citizens, who
are the literal members of the Leviathan's body. another type of conservatism is one nation
conservatism is where the state needs to be one nation instead of two this to prevent an
event like the French revolution. Disraeli examined the gap between the wealthy elite and
the working-classes. Disraeli argued that it was in the interests of the ruling elite to adopt a
stance of paternalism towards those less fortunate. For instance, the provision of a safety
net for the unemployed would alleviate the most acute forms of poverty. More importantly,
it would prevent the emergence of revolutionary consciousness amongst the disaffected.
Micheal Oakeshott has a more optimistic view on human nature and believes that instead of
dogmatism, pragmatism should be its guiding principle. the last one is New Right which
more specifically refers to a strand of Conservatism that the likes of Margaret Thatcher and
Ronald Reagan influenced They were ideologically committed to economic liberalism as well
as being socially conservative. The thinkers are ayn rand and Robert Nozick, ayn rand
believed in objectivism and arguing that the individual is the most important person and
that it is normal and good to be selfish and Robert Nozick was very neo-liberal and believed
that that the state shouldn’t be involved economically, culturally and socially.
One could argue that conservatives do agree when it comes down to the role of the state
particularly when it comes to law and order. Traditional conservatives follow a Keynesianism
approach which is where an increase in government spending and a reduction in taxation
would bolster demand, whereas a cut in government spending and an increase in taxation
would lower consumer demand. In doing so, the government could deal with the twin issues
of inflation and unemployment. And they accept state intervention. For example, Hobbes
believed that life before the state was “nasty, brutish and short” as it needed a state to
control people as he believed that humans are cynical, selfish and ruthless and that they
needed to be controlled that’s why he believed in a leviathan state which is what Hobbes
This study source was downloaded by 100000832361371 from CourseHero.com on 02-09-2022 09:16:34 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/91557479/To-What-Extent-Is-Conservatism-a-Coherent-Ideologydocx/
To What Extent Is Conservatism
a Coherent Ideology?
Within conservatism, there are three different types of conservatism. One of them being
traditional conservatives which are known to be the oldest form of conservatism they
believed For society to function effectively, there must be some form of hierarchy.
Individuals within society need to be aware of their place within and accept their duties
accordingly. For example, Edmund burke believed those who hold the highest status have a
responsibility to look after those further down the social scale. The two main thinkers we
will be discussing for traditional conservatism are Thomas Hobbes and Edmund burke, they
have a sceptical view of human nature and believe that problems are caused due to
overestimation of human potential and believe in a large and powerful state that controls
people, Hobbes believes in the laws of nature state that human beings must strive for peace,
which is best achieved by contract. Leviathan - A metaphor for the state, the Leviathan is
described as an artificial person whose body is made up of all the bodies of its citizens, who
are the literal members of the Leviathan's body. another type of conservatism is one nation
conservatism is where the state needs to be one nation instead of two this to prevent an
event like the French revolution. Disraeli examined the gap between the wealthy elite and
the working-classes. Disraeli argued that it was in the interests of the ruling elite to adopt a
stance of paternalism towards those less fortunate. For instance, the provision of a safety
net for the unemployed would alleviate the most acute forms of poverty. More importantly,
it would prevent the emergence of revolutionary consciousness amongst the disaffected.
Micheal Oakeshott has a more optimistic view on human nature and believes that instead of
dogmatism, pragmatism should be its guiding principle. the last one is New Right which
more specifically refers to a strand of Conservatism that the likes of Margaret Thatcher and
Ronald Reagan influenced They were ideologically committed to economic liberalism as well
as being socially conservative. The thinkers are ayn rand and Robert Nozick, ayn rand
believed in objectivism and arguing that the individual is the most important person and
that it is normal and good to be selfish and Robert Nozick was very neo-liberal and believed
that that the state shouldn’t be involved economically, culturally and socially.
One could argue that conservatives do agree when it comes down to the role of the state
particularly when it comes to law and order. Traditional conservatives follow a Keynesianism
approach which is where an increase in government spending and a reduction in taxation
would bolster demand, whereas a cut in government spending and an increase in taxation
would lower consumer demand. In doing so, the government could deal with the twin issues
of inflation and unemployment. And they accept state intervention. For example, Hobbes
believed that life before the state was “nasty, brutish and short” as it needed a state to
control people as he believed that humans are cynical, selfish and ruthless and that they
needed to be controlled that’s why he believed in a leviathan state which is what Hobbes
This study source was downloaded by 100000832361371 from CourseHero.com on 02-09-2022 09:16:34 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/91557479/To-What-Extent-Is-Conservatism-a-Coherent-Ideologydocx/
