To what extent do different conservatives agree on the importance of paternalism?

P1: agreement - human nature is imperfect and needs authority

tough government and justice system

prevention of state of nature

P1: agreement - human nature is imperfect and needs authority - philosophers

Hobbes - life would be ‘nasty, brutish and short’ in the state of nature

Burke - ‘natural aristocracy’ controls human nature

P2: disagreement - Neo-liberals believe humans can be self-reliant and rational

support for atomistic individualism and meritocracy

paternalism is less needed as positive view of human nature

humans should be less dependent on each other and the state

P2: disagreement - Neo-liberals believe humans can be self-reliant and rational - philosopher

Thatcher - ‘there is no such thing as society’

P3: agreement - one nation and paternalistic strands believe in paternalism as a reaction to early capitalism

strong state unifies society and safeguards lower classes

noblesse oblige - moral social obligation

P3: agreement - one nation and paternalistic strands believe in paternalism as a reaction to early capitalism - philosopher

May - creation of a ‘shared society’ focussing on the ‘responsibility we have to one another’

P4: disagreement - new right rejects paternalism

creates a debilitating dependency culture that prevents hard work

welfare is funded by taxation which is morally wrong

state should be small and limited

P4: disagreement - new right rejects paternalism - philosopher

Nozick - taxation is ‘on par with forced labour and theft’