To what extent is conservatism a coherent ideology?
Introduction:
Whether or not conservatism is a coherent ideology is complicated, whilst there are many
areas of agreement like the flawed nature of humans and hierarchy in society there are
areas where the strands don't agree with each other and areas where there are
disagreements within the strands, notably in the new right. Therefore i will argue that
conservatism is not a coherent ideology to an extent
Point 1
Agree because all agree that humans are flawed
Evidence/examples Evaluation
- Trad conservatives like Hobbes
believe humans are imperfect ‘life Therefore it's clear that the imperfection of
was brutish and short’ before the human nature is an area of mass
state was established. He believed agreement for conservatives
that humans had psychological,
moral and intellectual flaws
- Oakeshott and Burke too had a
sceptical view of human nature
drawing attention to the events of
the french revolution that were an
overestimation of human
potential.because of this, they were
opposed to rationalists as humans
weren’t capable of identifying and
processing such difficult principles.
- Oakeshott had slightly less
pessimistic view of human nature
stating that humanity was capable
of being ‘benign and benevolent’
- The new right also believed
humans were flawed because they
were selfish
Counter point
Neo libs think this is a good thing
Evidence/examples Evaluation
- But thinkers like Ayn Rand view …
this as a good thing. In her book
‘virtue of selfishness’ she wrote
that humans are selfish but this is a
good thing because atomistic and
, individualistic people have the
ability to rationally pursue self
interest.
Interim judgement
Whilst there is agreement …. New right believes that it is a positive thing
Point 1
Agree that capitalism is the best system
Evidence/examples Evaluation
- Burke supported capitalism as it
produces great wealth and he …
believed it was natural for people to
desire wealth, so having markets
that naturally arose as people
freely exchanged should be left to
operate.
- Similarly, one nation conservatives
also agree with capitalism but they
were worried about the divisive
effect of it.
- New right also strongly believe in
capitalism believing it is the
efficient and moral
Counter point
But NR doesn't agree with the paternalistic state intervention of one nation
Evidence/examples Evaluation
- New right conservatives like Nozick …
and ayn Rand zealously advocate
for free market economics.
- Traditional conservatives like Burke
also preferred free markets,
supporting Adam smith’s ideas that
the state should have an ‘invisible
hand’ rather than attempts to
centrally plan.
- However, one nation
Introduction:
Whether or not conservatism is a coherent ideology is complicated, whilst there are many
areas of agreement like the flawed nature of humans and hierarchy in society there are
areas where the strands don't agree with each other and areas where there are
disagreements within the strands, notably in the new right. Therefore i will argue that
conservatism is not a coherent ideology to an extent
Point 1
Agree because all agree that humans are flawed
Evidence/examples Evaluation
- Trad conservatives like Hobbes
believe humans are imperfect ‘life Therefore it's clear that the imperfection of
was brutish and short’ before the human nature is an area of mass
state was established. He believed agreement for conservatives
that humans had psychological,
moral and intellectual flaws
- Oakeshott and Burke too had a
sceptical view of human nature
drawing attention to the events of
the french revolution that were an
overestimation of human
potential.because of this, they were
opposed to rationalists as humans
weren’t capable of identifying and
processing such difficult principles.
- Oakeshott had slightly less
pessimistic view of human nature
stating that humanity was capable
of being ‘benign and benevolent’
- The new right also believed
humans were flawed because they
were selfish
Counter point
Neo libs think this is a good thing
Evidence/examples Evaluation
- But thinkers like Ayn Rand view …
this as a good thing. In her book
‘virtue of selfishness’ she wrote
that humans are selfish but this is a
good thing because atomistic and
, individualistic people have the
ability to rationally pursue self
interest.
Interim judgement
Whilst there is agreement …. New right believes that it is a positive thing
Point 1
Agree that capitalism is the best system
Evidence/examples Evaluation
- Burke supported capitalism as it
produces great wealth and he …
believed it was natural for people to
desire wealth, so having markets
that naturally arose as people
freely exchanged should be left to
operate.
- Similarly, one nation conservatives
also agree with capitalism but they
were worried about the divisive
effect of it.
- New right also strongly believe in
capitalism believing it is the
efficient and moral
Counter point
But NR doesn't agree with the paternalistic state intervention of one nation
Evidence/examples Evaluation
- New right conservatives like Nozick …
and ayn Rand zealously advocate
for free market economics.
- Traditional conservatives like Burke
also preferred free markets,
supporting Adam smith’s ideas that
the state should have an ‘invisible
hand’ rather than attempts to
centrally plan.
- However, one nation
