tensions of conservatism - knowledge flashcards

The 2 main strands of conservatism seen in modern politics are the New Right and One Nation Conservatism. Of the two, the latter has been most influential in the UK. Only in the 70s-80s did the New Right have a notable impact on the Conservative Party. Since the 90s …

the New Right perspective has become less fashionable within the party itself, although this trend hasn’t been seen globally, with the US Republican party adopting a strong element of the New Right. The other strand of Conservatism, Traditional Conservatism, is not really seen anymore.

Human Nature - The strands agree that …

(i) Negativity

• Human nature is predominantly negative. No strand has an optimistic view of human nature in the way a socialist or anarchist would. Whilst strands disagree over how rational humans are, they would agree we are incapable of being made perfect, innately selfish, and will always have psychologically limitations.

• Humans have a natural level of competition - so nearly all conservatives support capitalism since competitiveness and self-interest means this is the best system to generate wealth.  (Some traditional conservatives may disagree e.g. modern Iran’s economy is built on Islamic limited-profit beliefs, whilst other regimes have favoured protectionism for the good of the elite e.g. in the UK before Disraeli's ONC) 

Human Nature - The strands agree that …

(ii) Human rationality

• All Conservatives accept humans are rational, although they differ greatly to the extent. Even traditional conservatives for example would believe humans to have some …

• limited rationality - enough to realise the advantages of creating a state to ensure order and authority, and to realise the superiority of such a situation compared to the ‘state of nature’.

Human Nature - The strands agree that …

(iii) Individualism

• All strands would argue human beings have some need for a community. Even neoliberal thinkers who are very dubious about the …

 importance of community, accepted that it had some role - e.g. Nozick argued humans are ‘pack animals’

Human Nature - The strands agree that …

(iv) Authority

• All conservative strands believe the negativity of human nature means humans require a source of authority in order to control base desires and ensure order. The source of this authority would be the state.  In this way all strands of conservatism would reject the anarchist or Marxist socialist position of the viability and positivity of a stateless society.…

• Even neoliberals, who want a minimal state and see sources of authority over the individual as wrong because they limit freedom, accept the need for authority.  For example, Nozick believed one of the few roles of the state was to protect citizens from harm and theft. 

Human Nature - The strands agree that …

(v) Crime

• All strands would agree that the core cause of crime is that of …

individuals - their weaknesses, failings and moral error.

Human Nature - The strands disagree on…

(i) Negativity

• Despite their generally negative outlook on human nature, there are differences in their attitudes toward the balance of negative and positive characteristics in human nature.  

• Traditional conservatives & neoconservatives would be very pessimistic.But, ONCs believe humans have a greater capacity for altruism and therefore will be …

willing to e.g. pay more tax to fund a more generous welfare state. Neoliberals have a much more positive outlook, arguing humans are rational (if still innate selfish), and capable of better understanding of abstract ideas and theories, rather than mere empiricalism.

Human Nature - The strands disagree on…

(ii) Human rationality

• Traditional conservatives would have very limited faith in human rationality overall.  This leads them to favour empiricism - practical experience being a much better guide than theory as to what will work - and paternalism, where for their own good, people are guided as to the best ways to act.

• Neoconservatives would share traditional conservatives very limited faith in human rationality, but they would see see humans as having more rational capability than traditional conservatives would argue e.g. believing a reduction in the welfare state would lead to humans rationally deciding to seek job opportunities, rather than turn to crime or create disorder.

• Later ONCs argued that humans are much more rational than traditional conservatives would argue - which led Macmillian to expand the welfare state or Johnson to introduce huge Covid restrictions that whilst backed up by laws, ultimately needed people to choose to comply

• Neoliberals would have a greatly enhanced view of human rationality.  They believe humans can make decisions in their own best interest and as such dismiss the need for paternalism, reject the essentiality of empiricalism and instead have faith that well reasoned theories have value.

Human Nature - The strands disagree on…

(iii) Individualism

• Traditional, neoconservative and ONC argue we are communal creatures that rely on our community and family to provide meaning to our otherwise shallow lives. We need the psychological support these elements bring. Since the community is so important to human well being, then this creates bonds and obligations on the individual to support their family, local community, wider society and even the nations.

• Neoliberalism would reject the common view of conservatives that we are communal creatures, and instead argue we are individualistic. We should be guided by rational self-interest. Thinkers like Rand argued that traditional, neoconservative and ONC ideas on communalism amount to an assault of individual freedom.Hobbes’ traditional conservative view was that humans were so selfish they are entirely individualistic - although most traditional conservatives reject this and support Burke’s view instead, that we are communal creatures.

Human Nature - The strands disagree on…

(iv) Authority

• Traditional, neoconservative and ONC strands would argue that since human beings are so fallible and corruptible, there is a need for firm authority in society to control our base desires.

• Neoliberals would accept the need for a state to exist to protect the individual from the criminal tendency of others, but would very largely disagree over the level of authority that should exist in society - since the more authority the state exercises, the more individual freedom is restricted.  Neoliberals would argue …

the vast majority of humans can be trusted to make rational decisions for themselves  Additionally because humans are rational then so will be the arenas in which they operate - therefore the free market can be left to run itself with the ‘invisible hand’ acting to create order and rational human self-interested behaviour ensuring stability, rather than the market needing the ‘authority of the state’ to control it.

Human Nature - the strands disagree on …

(v) Crime

• Traditional and neoconservatives would place the blame for crime squarely at the feet of the individual perpetrator. However, ONC would adopt a more compassionate approach and appreciate that criminal tendencies would be encouraged by deprivation e.g. the extreme poverty seen during the Industrial Revolution. As a result, a ONC may well find common cause with a position like Blair’s Third Way socialist took, of ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ - the causes being societal issues such as poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity. 

• Neoliberals would have a more complex position. Firstly they would completely oppose the criminalisation of ‘victimless’ or ‘anti-society’ crimes, and would largely support the legalisation of e.g. drugs, prostitution etc. Crimes which create victims may, they would argue …

• be perpetrated by individuals because they become disconnected from their own inner human morality, or alternatively may be a rational choice given the circumstances the individual finds themselves in. Whatever the cause, the consequences are negative and need to be dealt with. 

• However they would largely see the state as ‘too dumb and clumsy’ to do a good job of anything including dealing with crime, and would advocate the privatisation of prisons and probation services (the latter done by the UK Conservative Party 2014-20 with terrible results!). They would reject the idea of the state acting to improve ‘the causes of crime’ such as poverty, but would look at impediments to the workings of the free market if for examples wide spread unemployment caused crime, since if the free market is allowed to operate ‘freely’, then equilibriums should eliminate the excess supply of labour that would lead to unemployment.

Society - The strands agree that…

(i) Organic society

• All strands accept the need for a society. Even neoliberals who triumph atomistic individualism, accept there is a need for society.  Indeed key thinker Nozick in his later work ‘The Examined Life’ argued for …

the importance of “knitting joint cooperative activities… into (life’s) fabric” and acknowledged that there were some social goals citizens wish to achieve through the means of government as an expression of our human solidarity.

Society - The strands agree that…

(ii) The state

•  The state needs to exist in order for a human society to function. All accept Hobbes' analysis that the pre-state 'state of nature’ was a dark place.  They would therefore reject Locke’s liberal position of a somewhat positive ‘state of nature’ with ‘natural rights’ and ‘natural laws’ being respected - and instead argue that only the state can preserve the individual's rights from others, through its imposition of law and order. 

• Even neoliberals like Nozick accept rational individuals in a ‘state of nature’ would be driven by self-interest and the desire for safety, to form protection agencies essentially amounting to a minimal state.

Society - The strands agree that…

(iii) Inclusivity

• All would worry about people feeling excluded from connections with other humans.  But they would see this in different ways. For traditional conservatives, neoliberals and ONC this would focus on people’s connections to their social community. For neoliberals they would see it …

• more in economic terms i.e. they would not want people ‘cut off’ from accessing the free market where they can make the most of their talents.

Society - The strands agree that…

(iv) Inequality and utopianism

• Inequality is natural. All support Oakeshott’s analysis that the sort of societies envisaged by radical socialist and anarch-collectivists with shared …

resource ownership and the individual working solely for the collective benefit, are utopian and unobtainable given flawed human nature.

Society - The strands agree that…

(v) Religion

• It can be argued that all conservative traditions have been influenced by Christian tradition to some degree. Whilst the degree they have been influenced is different, and areas are disputed, nevertheless …

given Western society is based on Christianity and Middle Eastern society based on Islam, any ideology espousing traditional and organic values will inevitably be rooted in religious values

Society - The strands agree that…

(vi) Tradition vs theory

• Tradition, empiricalism and pragmatism are seen as very important in traditional conservatism and neoconservatism, and whilst less so, still important to ONC. The outlier here seemingly is neoliberalism which is seen as …

basing its ideas on theory and ideology. However, if we see neoliberalism as merely a return to traditional 19th century classical liberalism free market economics, we could argue that it too is rooted in tradition.

Society - The strands disagree on…

(i) Organic society (1)

• To traditional, ONC and neoconservatives there is an absolute belief in the organic society.  Society is fragile and must only evolve slowly to meet needs.Revolution presents a grave threat since it destroys the established order and eliminates the ‘wisdom of the generations’ contained in the organic society.  All three strands would also support the idea of society made up of a conglomeration of the localised community ‘little platoons’.

• However, neoconservatives would criticise ONC for its adoption of new & far reaching welfare reforms which undermined the traditional UK (and US) culture of self-reliance, and exchanged it for welfarism, leading to a sapping of the strength of the working class.  They would argue that this change didn’t emerge organically in response to need, but instead came as part of a social experiment.

Society - The strands disagree on…

(i) Organic society (2)

• ONC would similarly criticise traditional conservatives and neoconservatives for their unbending approach and for their too slow change. Disraeli created ONC because he saw traditional conservatism’s failure to respond to the inequalities of the latter nineteenth centuries could lead to revolution. ONC would attack modern neoconservatives for wanting to remove the idea of welfarism which is now wholly engrained in modern societies - for example the NHS often comes out in surveys as the thing people feel most proud of in the UK, demonstrating strong welfare provision is now what society has ‘evolved to want’.

• Neoliberals however have no interest in organic society and don’t view society as made up of a series of ‘little platoons’.  Instead they have a total commitment to the atomised individual.  Sacrificing the interests or rights of some individuals for the ‘protection of society’ or for the sake of other individuals, can never be justified.  Rand argued the organic society led to a collectivist attitude which led to a totalitarian ‘groupthink’and the destruction of individual freedom, whilst Nozick argued ONCs welfare provision necessitated the ‘theft’ of an individual’s property by the government to pay for schemes they had never consented to.

Society - The strands disagree on…

(ii) The state

• Traditional and neoconservatives would focus on a powerful paternalistic and potentially authoritarian state to impose order. ONC would focus on an active state intervening to ensure societal stability via e.g. …

an expansive welfare system. Neoliberals seek a minimal state instead seeing the state as the enemy of economic fee market efficiency and individual freedom.

Society - The strands disagree on…

(iii) Inclusivity (1)

• Traditional conservatives and neoconservatives worry about cultural & moral plurality weakening the fragile bonds of the organic society. They are therefore distrustful of ‘alternative lifestyles’ and the pluralism inevitable in multiculturalism, believing society is too fragile to tolerate significant diversity. Neoconservatives in the UK and USA pointed to the moral permissiveness of the post-WWII years as the bringer of decline, and therefore opposed ONCs ‘moral laxity’. More rightwing neoconservatives conservatives, e.g. the UK’s Reform Party, would be seriously concerned that continuing extensive immigration will destroy the bonds of community within a country, and that no society can be coherent and unified if it is too diverse.

• ONCs adopt a more moderate approach than traditional conservatives or neoconservatives.  They share concerns that a too diverse society will mean the bonds that unite us will fray, but equally accept that trying to enforce a ‘single way’ on society will lead to the exclusion of all those who lie outside these parameters (e.g. those of a different religious faith, or those for whom faith matters in a largely atheist society).  This will be a negative, since those excluded cannot feel part of the ‘one nation’ sense of common identity and bonding that is so key for social and national unity.  

Society - The strands disagree on…

(iii) Inclusivity (2)

• For neoliberals they reject the conformity and limitations to individuality that are inevitable if there is to be degrees of social conformity.  With the individual at the heart of everything, neoliberals would share the liberal approach of an extensive private sphere where people are left alone to do, think and act as they like. Correspondingly …

neoconservatives and traditional conservatives would reject the neoliberal approach, arguing such a ‘laissez-faire’ approach to maintaining the cultural cornerstones of a culture would lead to a hollowed out ‘post-modern’ society where nothing has any real meaning. They argue neoliberals misunderstand that this would be to the great detriment of people living within this society who will be cut off from the community they rely on and its traditions based on the wisdom of dozens of past generations. 

Society - The strands disagree on…

(iv) Inequality and utopianism (1)

• Traditional conservatives believed society is profoundly unequal - and that this is natural and organic. They rejected the fact that this could be unhealthy, arguing instead that uncertainty and instability creates unhappiness - provided everyone knows where they stand in the social hierarchy, then everyone can be content. There is a ‘natural aristocracy’ and a ‘working class’.  That is just inevitable. Unsurprisingly this led to criticism that conservatism is an ideology designed to preserve the existing elite. ONC would reject this approach, arguing that whilst inequality is natural then it is very important that the level of inequality is limited else the country will be split into a ‘poor nation’ and a ‘rich nation’ and ultimately the poor will revolt as happened in the French and Russian Revolutions (sort of).

• Neoliberals argue society should operate on entirely meritocratic principles, without regard for class based hierarchies and paternalistic & elitist notions of those ‘born to rule’.  There is seeming overlap with neoconservatism's equality of opportunity approach, that all should have a chance to achieve. However here a difference can be seen with neoliberal being open to all ideas in line with their desire to maximise freedom, whereas for neoconservatives the priority would always remain social order.

Society - The strands disagree on…

(iv) Inequality and utopianism (2)

• Both strands shared the idea that the natural inequality of society would be based on class, and that it was natural for the upper and middle classes to enjoy more wealth and power. Neoconservatives and neoliberals however would accept inequality as natural, but reject the idea that  inequality in society should be based on class. Most neoconservatives would reject the traditional conservative views of a natural aristocracy as unfit for the modern age, and reject ONC overly interventionist state policy to reduce inequality.  Instead neoconservatives believe in …

•  equality of opportunity (like modern liberals and Third Way socialists) i.e. that all individuals should have a decent chance to ‘make it’ in society - which requires the limitation of class barriers and the need for a welfare safety-net to prevent extreme poverty.  However given neoconservatives primary focus is on social order and the preservation of the delicate organic society, they would be concerned with the consequences a neoliberal ‘free for all’ total meritocracy would bring.

Society - The strands disagree on…

(v) Religion

• Traditional conservatives (including Hobbes, Burke & Oakeshott) and early ONCs in the West tended to be heavily influenced by Christianity. Other traditional conservative regimes have been influenced by religion to some degree, e.g. the monarchies of the Persian Gulf, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Putin’s modern Russia. The European version of ONC - Christian Democracy - has been heavily influenced by Catholic Christian community values. Neoconservatism remains very heavily influenced by Christianity in America. 

• Later ONCs in the UK and elsewhere moved away from religious influences. Neoconservatism in the UK has a more mixed relationship with Christianity - important to some, less so to others. Neoliberalism’s relationship with Christianity is disputed - some see its focus on individual self responsibility as echoing Christian teachings especially that of Protestantism with its individual relationship with God (link to the Reformation for those doing History). Others argue its focus on self-interest is incompatible with Christian teachings on social justice and the communal good.

Society - The strands disagree on…

(vi) Tradition vs theory

• For ONCs and neoconservatives, theories and philosophical ideas are distrusted or rejected.  Empiricalism and pragmatism are key. However, ONCs would be more willing to accept a faster pace of ‘organic change’ e.g. their acceptance almost immediately of the modern welfare state in the UK that was developed in the late 1940s.  Neoconservatives largely see this as a mistake - accepting the need for a welfare safety net which can include healthcare, but rejecting the extent of welfareism created.

• Neoliberalism though charts a radically different path abandoning the ‘tried and trusted’ for new revolutionary economic ideas like privatisation and monetarism. Rand & Nozick saw rationalism & logic much superior to empiricism & tradition.Neoliberalism though charts a radically different path abandoning the ‘tried and trusted’ for new revolutionary economic ideas like privatisation and monetarism. Rand & Nozick saw rationalism & logic much superior to empiricism & tradition.

The state - The strands agree that…

(i) Necessity of the state

• For traditional conservatives, ONC and neoconservatives it is vital - even if they see the extent of the role it will play in different terms.  Neoliberals are distrustful of the state, but accept …

it must exist, even if its role should be minimalised.  But neoliberal conservatives do not stray into the realm of anarcho-capitalists (or any other anarchists) in seeking the abolishment of the state.

The state - The strands agree that…

(ii) The reach of the state

• All strands accept that the state needs to play a role in key areas such as …

law and order and in the economy.  After that, they agree on little.

The state - The strands agree that…

(iii) the economy

• All strands would argue that the state should play some role in the economy and the state should run the economy along capitalist lines.  Even neoliberals accept the state should play …

a role in the free market, albeit one limited to a handful of areas such as controlling inflation, enforcing contracts and supply side provision in the form of training workers via national education programmes.

The state - The strands agree that…

(iv) Change

• Traditional conservatives, neoconservatives and ONCs all share a worry about change, albeit to very different degrees.

• Neoliberalism appears to embrace change.  However, if we see neoliberalism as a ‘return to the past’ of classical liberal economics, and a re-righting of the previous 50 years of economic state interventionism, then we could tenuously argue they were against change too?  It doesn’t feel like a very convincing argument though.

The state - The strands agree that…

(v) Paternalism

• It could be convincingly argued there is little to unite the strands here - with traditional conservatism, neoconservatism and ONC all supporting paternalism in differing doses, and neoliberalism rejecting it.  

• However, there is paternalism in neoliberalism as it actually operates in the modern world.  The form of neoliberalism theorised by Nozick has in reality become diluted by pragmatic concerns around society’s continuing need for …

• welfare programmes.  Neoliberal ‘welfare-to-work’ programmes - such as the UK government’s 2011 flagship ‘Work Programme’ try to move people off welfare and into full or partial self-sufficiency via work.  Whilst there is a clear economic aspect to this, there is also a moral one too.  In this, the moral aspect could be seen as  paternalistic in terms of both instructing people how to behave, and in terms of the state ‘knowing what is best for people’ when they instruct society that work is better for the individual rather than a life spent on welfare.

The state - The strands agree that…

(vi) Who rules the state?

• All strands would agree that it is important to have those people best suited to govern, to be ruling the state (although is this such a blindingly obvious point it doesn’t count as a comparator?).  

• We could more usefully find commonality in the fact all conservative strands believe in the state and therefore leadership.  Compare this to anarcho-individualists who would reject any government, state or leaders, or to anarcho-collectivists and Marxist socialists who would also not envisage a world of leaders or those governing, and instead support direct democracy grassroots decision making for every decision the community needs to make.

The state - The strands disagree on…

(i) Necessity of the state:

• Traditional, ONC and neoconservatives embrace the role of the state.  They all argue it brings order and stability - and therefore allows humans to enjoy freedom. ONCs have also seen the state as something of an ‘enabler’ in the way modern liberals would - as providing the means for people and communities to thrive e.g. by providing jobs through Keynesianism, or providing homes & communities via social housing projects.

• Neoliberals see the state more in classical liberal terms, as a necessary evil - necessary to ensure order and oversee some aspects of the economy e.g. curbing inflation, but ‘evil’ because when the state acts, it inevitably restricts individual freedom.

The state - The strands disagree on…

(ii) The reach of the state (1)

• ONCs believe the state should play the most extensive role of any of the strands - creating an extensive welfare system and embracing Keynesianism to produce ‘managed capitalism’.  They would reject the traditional conservative, neoconservative and neoliberal position that the state should provide only a small welfare safety net, arguing this would undermine social cohesion and stability.

• Most traditional conservatives (e.g. Burke and Oakeshott) and neoconservatives want to see a powerful state, but one that would limit the areas it would make interventions in …

• - for example not routinely taking an active role in the economy (and only intervening in emergency situations).  Both strands would support a state provided welfare safety net, and would accept there may be times in national emergencies when the state must step in to dominate society.   But they would reject the extent of the state role created under ONC in 1950s-70s Britain, and argue that this created a culture of dependency on the state and a weakening in the national fibre of the individual as a result.  They would argue conservative paternalism is best done at a localised level, and welfare too therefore, run by local community voluntary efforts, not from the state.

The state - The strands disagree on…

(ii) The reach of the state (2)

• However Hobbes as a traditional conservative would reject the limited role of the state and instead wanted it to be a ‘leviathan’ - all powerful and all controlling.  Other traditional conservatism could become authoritarian - leading to a substrand of traditional conservative called authoritarian conservatism. Authoritarian conservatism was seen in e.g. Tsarist Russia  

• Neoliberals have a very different stance. They distrust the state thinking it subverts freedom.  They argue the growth in the power and range of functions of the state seen in the West since WWII has led to bloated bad government. Instead the state needs to be ‘rolled back’ so it deals with only a narrow range of functions - crime which creates victims, foreign affairs and some economic issues such as controlling inflation, enforcing contracts and the supply of trained workers via the education system. Nozick’s ‘invisible hand justification of the minimal state’ argues the state does not need to play a big role in law and order, because human rationality will mostly ensure stability instead.

The state - The strands disagree on…

(iii) the economy:

• See the economy section for proper details, but the strands would differ greatly as to the role of the state in the economy.  ONC would support a ‘mixed economy’ of some state owned enterprises e.g. in transport, energy, the utilities and production, combined with private businesses. ONC’s Keynesianism would see a big active role for the state in the economy

• Neoconservatives and neoliberals would see a much smaller role for the state in the economy and would like the free market to largely run itself.  However they would see the economy as subordinate to the bigger picture of creating social stability.  Therefore …

• if the state needed to interfere in the capitalist economic system for the ‘greater good’ then it should do so (Some traditional conservatives have favoured protectionism to help national producers, and if we see Donald Trump as a neoconservative, his tariffs policy and reduction of free trade could be seen in this light - although I don’t think Trump has enough of an ideology to be called a neoconservative, more just an egotist).  

• Neoliberals would take a very different view, and would want the state to play a minimal role in the economy & would support privatisation.  They would prioritise the promotion of free market economics over all other aspects of society, because they see it as a vehicle of both maximising wealth & for maximising individual freedom.  Additionally the free market would help provide social order and stability via the ‘invisible hand’ of the market - since the free market rewards and therefore encourages rational human behaviour. 

The state - The strands disagree on…

(iv) Change

• Traditional conservatives are the most reluctant to adopt change.  Some traditional conservatives such as Hobbes and modern groups like the Ayatollah's of Iran would be reluctant to see any change at all. Burke however accepted that it was a necessity as outlined in his maxim ‘change in order to conserve’.

• Neoconservatives share a reluctance to change - and when this strand emerged in the 1970s they sought a return to the pre-1950s-1970s era - before the growth of welfare entitlement and a permissive society.  In this way they viewed society as having taken a ‘wrong turn’ and wanted to get back to the traditional British values of duty, discipline, self-reliance, family etc.  However they did not agree with traditional conservatism’s focus of a ‘natural aristocracy’ ruling class, arguing this was unsuitable for the modern world and preferred instead the idea of equality of opportunity.

• ONC would share the central ideas of traditional and neoconservatism that change should be only when necessary, ideally done with care and caution.  But, they have shown a much greater willingness to embrace change as shown by e.g. Disraeli's 1867 Great Reform Act that doubled the number of people eligible to vote in elections, and the ONC governments of the 1950s-70s which embraced the welfarism and Keynesian economics ‘of the age’.

• In comparison to the other three strands neoliberalism has by far and away the most embracing attitude to change.  In the field of economics neoliberals abandoned traditional orthodoxy such as it being the state’s role to ‘manufacture jobs’ and instead adopted radical never-before-seen ideas like privatisation and monetarism.  These amounted to ‘revolutionary economic changes’.  Neoliberals also embraced change and favoured theory over experience.

The state - The strands disagree on…

(v) Paternalism (1)

• Traditional, neoconservative and ONC strands would all strongly support the paternalistic role of the state.  They would disagree over extent and style, however.

• ONC believe the most in paternalism as evidenced through their use of an extensively interventionist state, which maintains universal health care, an extensive welfare programme and uses the state to intervene in the economy to try to create full employment.  Conservative critics view …

• their paternalism in a similar light to the socialist mantra of ‘cradle to the grave’ state provision of social security (indeed the phrase ‘cradle to the grave’ - if not the idea - was first used by Conservative Party PM Winston Churchill in 1943).  ONC s would reject this and argue they still have a focus on individual responsibility and want limits to state intervention.  Modern ONCs would only back soft paternalism.

The state - The strands disagree on…

(v) Paternalism (2)

• Traditional conservatives or neoconservatives may back soft or hard paternalism.  Traditional conservatives and neoconservatives would agree paternalism is one of the state’s key roles.  However they would reject the level of intervention seen in an ONC state, believing this level of ‘help up’ amounts to ‘hand outs’ which are counterproductive since they sap individual vitality and self-reliance.  Nevertheless, particularly in the moral arena, neoconservatives and traditional conservatives would be very firm in offering advice and policy directives to aid their vision of a more traditional and less ‘experimentally progressive’ society.  Neoconservative would criticise ONCs record in this regard - indeed one of the reasons neoconservative was born was as a backlash to the permissiveness of the post-WWII years which in Britain at least, saw a mix of ONC and socialist governments.

• Paternalism would be rejected by neoliberals.  It runs counter to everything they believe about individual freedom and an atomistic society where people are left alone to live their lives as they see fit - as befits rational self-sufficient and self-interested individuals.

The state - The strands disagree on…

(vi) Who rules the state? (1)

• Strands would clearly disagree on who should rule.  In traditional conservatism Hobbes argued all power should rest in the hands of the all-powerful monarch.  Most other traditional conservatives reject this and instead support Burke’s idea of a ‘natural aristocracy’ - a ruling class born to lead.  

• ONC would share Burkeian traditional conservative views - but whereas some traditional conservatives would support hard paternalism, ONC would only support the more inclusive soft paternalism.  It could be argued that recent UK prime ministers David Cameron and Boris Johnson (and perhaps Rishi Sunak too), were all ONC, and all came from the class that was ‘born to rule’.

• Neoconservatives would reject the idea of a natural aristocracy born to rule and instead support some form of equality of opportunity so a wider range of people had the chance to rise to the top.  UK neoconservatives like Margaret Thatcher and her key colleague Norman Tebbit were absolutely not products of the traditional British elite, whilst president Ronald Reagan in the US was the son of a shoe salesman and American writer Irving Kristol who was nicknamed the "godfather of neoconservatism" came from a middle class Jewish family in New York.  Given the backgrounds of some of its adherents, it is clear neoconservatism wouldn’t support the idea of a ‘natural ruling class’... which wouldn’t have included them!

The state - The strands disagree on…

(vi) Who rules the state? (2)

• Neoliberals would reject any idea of a natural class born to rule, and instead insist positions in the state and society should be based on a strict meritocracy with those with the most ability and strongest work ethic rising to the top.

• Whilst distinguishing between the neoconservative and neoliberal position on who should rule is difficult - after all equality of opportunity is a prerequisite for a meritocracy - we could see neoliberals, in line with their openness to radical new thinking, as being far more open to innovative and charismatic leaders who seek to ‘chart a new path’ making it to the top.  Additionally …

they may well argue only people who’ve proven themselves very successful in business, could have proved themselves. For neoconservatives they would seek no such ‘visionaries’ and instead would want a ‘safe pair of hands’.  Instead a leader would prove themselves, not through individual economic success, but through embodying the sort of moral characteristics a neoconservative would value such as hard work, being upstanding, valuing the community, having traditional values etc. To use an American example, some neoliberals could see a self made multi-billionaire like Elon Musk as a suitable political leader, but for a neoconservative, he would seem to offer few of the values they would respect.

The economy- The strands agree that…

(i) Form of capitalism:

• All conservatives support a capitalist economy.  They are therefore firm supporters of the rights and importance of the individual owning private property. They therefore reject …

Marxist socialism, democratic socialism or anarchism's anti-capitalist positions.

The economy- The strands agree that…

(ii) The main economic role of the state and level of intervention:

• All strands believe the state should …

 play at least some role in ensuring a capitalist economic system operates and is successful.

The economy- The strands agree that…

(iii) Privatisation or nationalisation?

• All conservatives would highlight the benefits of having a vibrant private business sector.  They would all believe big chunks of the economic system should be in the hands of the private sector. ONC are the most pro state control, but in the ‘mixed economy’ model they follow, they would be very supportive of a large and thriving private sector. All conservative strands also accept the need for state control of some areas of society.  In this way …

• they would reject the anarcho-capitalist position. All conservatives would see the need for a state run police force and security services for example. Virtually every conservative would also accept the need for a national education system, and some form of state run transportation infrastructure. In the UK the importance of the NHS to people is pragmatically recognised.  In this most neoliberals would accept the common conservative position - with only the most extreme neoliberals disagreeing.

The economy- The strands agree that…

(iv) Attitude to inequality:

• Inequality is natural and inevitable. All strands reject socialist efforts to create an equal society. Instead conservatives see advantages in inequality since it acts as a catalyst for individual endeavour, motivating people to …

•  seek to improve their lives. All conservatives would advocate at least some form of state overseen welfare safety net, to deal with problems arising from extreme poverty.

The economy- The strands agree that…

(v) Unemployment:

• Unemployment would be seen as problematic by all conservative strands - albeit for different reasons. For traditional conservatives, neoconservatives and ONC unemployment is a worry because of the negative effects it has on …

 social stability. For neoliberals they dislike unemployment because it shows the marketplace not operating a peak capacity, since the equilibrium of allocation between labour, production and demand isn’t operation at its greatest level of functionality

The economy- The strands agree that…

(vi) Attitude to welfare

•  All conservatives would support the idea of some form of state sponsored or state supervised welfare safety net - therefore rejecting the anarcho-capitalist position. All would oppose the idea of very extensive ‘cradle-to-the-grave’ style democratic socialist style state provision. All conservative strands would see it as …

• the responsibility of the individual to look after themselves and their families. They would reject socialism’s position that people are the responsibility of the community, rather than of themselves. However conservative critics of ONC would point to their welfare provision as being overgenerous, counterproductive by promoting a dependency culture, and ultimately too similar to the socialist provision.

The economy- The strands disagree on…

(i) Form of capitalism:

• Neoliberals support a pure form of free market capitalism. ONCs reject this position and support a managed capitalism approach. Traditional conservatives and neoconservatism take a third position - one that is less clearcut. Most favour Burke’s support of Adam Smith’s free market approach.  But they are far less ideologically committed to it than neoliberals, and ready to modify this approach should it be pragmatic to do so. Other traditional conservatives may favour a …

pro-capitalist but anti-pure free market position of protectionism via tariffs to limit foreign imports and support domestic producers. Neoliberals would attack this for hurting consumers by driving up prices, limiting choice and artificially protecting uncompetitive domestic producers. Finally some may support alternative non-capitalist models e.g. North Korea's ‘Juche’ (self-reliance) economic system.

The economy- The strands disagree on…

(ii) The main economic role of the state and level of intervention: (1)

• Traditional conservatives and neoconservatives believe the primary role of the state in the economy is to ensure it operates effectively enough to ensure social stability i.e. that poverty and unemployment are not at damaging levels. Ideally, if intervention is not needed for social reasons, then they would prefer the state to not interfere in the free market. Neoconservatives would also oppose the ONC’s more interventionist approach, which they argue economically creates inefficiency and socially creates ‘dependency culture’. However when needed neoconservatives are willing for the state to intervene very firmly - as was seen in Bush’s 2008 Keynesianism style intervention in the US economy, or Trump’s 2020 CARES Act.

• ONCs want to see a much more active role for the state economically - one in which it actively manages capitalism to ensure the economy serves the needs of all citizens. Like for traditional conservatives and neoconservatives, the purpose of this is to ensure social stability. However they envisage a strong state playing a highly active role, nationalising key industries and creating Keynesian style high tax and high spend policies to fund job creation programmes to minimalism unemployment.  In this way they plan to build a successful stable economy, which will stop the social, economic and political problems associated with the later Industrial Revolution and the 1930s Great Depression, when capitalism can have been seen to have failed. Neoliberals however are passionately opposed to an interventionist state, and instead want the state to play a minimalistic role in the economy.

The economy- The strands disagree on…

(ii) The main economic role of the state and level of intervention: (2)

•   In this way - unlike other conservative strands - it sees the free market as much more than just a device to ensure social stability. Instead it is an end in itself since it creates so many ‘knock on’ positives - generating wealth, helping maximise individual freedom, motivating people to achieve, leading to innovation and progress, and through all these methods thereby boosting human happiness. The main economic role of the state is simply to stay away from the operation of the free market as much as possible, since when the state intervenes it distorts the operation of the free market (e.g by creating monopolies through nationalisation or the awarding of government contracts). The state's role should be …

• limited to a few specific functions such as controlling inflation, provisioning the supply of trained labour, and enforcing contracts.  Neoliberals support privatisation, low taxation and low government spending. They believe that unemployment is a natural part of the rhythm of the market reacting to supply and demand pressures - job losses simply occurring due to an imbalance that will naturally self correct, and when it does so, will lead to more employment again.

The economy- The strands disagree on…

(iii) Privatisation or nationalisation?

• Traditional conservatives would naturally see private business as being more efficient than the state. Neoconservatives would agree. However both are not ideologically wedded to privatisation, and would happily retain state ownership over any element of society they deemed necessary for the good of social stability. ONC have operated a mixed economy position - supporting widespread nationalisation of key industries, whilst keeping a vibrant private sector business element. Neoliberals would attack the ONC position. They would argue that nationalisation creates vast state monopolies which crush the ability of private business to compete in many areas. They would point to the example of the woeful customer experience under BT as a nationalised industry, compared to the freedom and choice offered by the modern telecommunications industry in the free market. Neoliberalism …

• favours taking as much as reasonably possible out of government control and privatising it. Thatcher’s greatest privatisation was her selling off to the public social (council) housing. Critics of neoliberalism in the UK point to areas of failure in Thatcher’s privatisation programme - particular in the water, rail and energy industries. ONCs would argue that these cornerstones of the economy are ‘natural monopolies’ and need to be run for the good of a nation's people, not for profit. Boris Johnson’s government in 2020 effectively accepted the failure of elements of rail privatisation, when the government took back control of the Northern Rail franchise.

The economy- The strands disagree on…

(iv) Attitude to inequality:

• Neoliberals would be most willing to embrace more extreme inequality - however they would argue the free market will naturally work to establish equilibriums which will reduce inequality levels anyway. Traditional conservatives and neoconservatives would fully support the natural state of society is inequality, but would not want it at such extreme levels that it could create the conditions for social revolution e.g. the gross inequalities seen in the Ancien Régime in France prior to the French Revolution. ONCs would be the most uncomfortable with inequality, whilst fully accepting it is both natural and inevitable. The gross inequalities of …

the Industrial Revolution were very harmful, and modern ONCs could see the value of big welfare programmes and social housing schemes, to ensure the minimal level of wealth in the country affords people a decent standard of living. The economic disaster of the Great Depression led to WWII which was the supreme social disrupter across Europe - and therefore it is the job of the state to ensure poverty and inequality doesn’t reach levels likely to cause people to turn to extremist political ‘solutions’.

The economy- The strands disagree on…

(v) Unemployment:

• For traditional conservatives and neoconservatives, unemployment is undesirable, but of no great significance unless it reaches levels which could cause a threat to social stability. For ONCs unemployment is seen as a greater problem, and a source of human unhappiness, poverty, a drain of state welfare services, and a waste of an opportunity for an individual to contribute. They would share traditional conservatives and neoconservatives' fears about how widespread unemployment can lead to support for social dislocation and political extremism.  As such ONCs have embraced Keynesianism style policies, using government spending to boost the creation of jobs. Neoliberals are …

ambivalent about unemployment. Whilst it isn’t a positive, they see it as a natural state of affairs which occurs when the free market enters a different economic cycle, and producers react to new levels of demands. Since it is natural and inevitable - and is little more than the free market righting itself - it is not of concern and does not require government intervention to tackle it.  Indeed this would only make things worse. Long term widespread unemployment would concern neoliberals since this is a waste of resources and opportunity - but they believe this would never happen should the free market be allowed to operate in a truly autonomous and uncorrupted manner.

The economy- The strands disagree on…

(v) Unemployment:

(vi) Attitude to welfare

• Traditional conservatives and neoconservatives would support the idea of a minimum welfare safety net, to ensure poverty and inequality isn’t so bad as to endanger social stability and possibly cause revolution. Traditional conservatives would prefer welfare provision to come from non-state sources in the local communities. Neoconservatives would also like to see this happen, but would accept the state needs to play more of a role in the 21st century, compared to the 19th century. Neoconservatives would criticise the welfare levels provided in ONC as creating a dependency culture and sapping the strength of the working class to be self-sufficient. They argue human nature is such that some people will be lazy and sponge off the state if given the opportunity. Neoliberals would agree with this position, and also criticise welfare provision on the grounds it acts as an economic drain on the state and society, and demands taxation, which is a limit on the personal freedom of those who own the wealth that the government is taxing. Hayek’s ‘The Road to Serfdom’ argues unchecked welfare spending will eventually …

•  bankrupt Western societies. ONCs take a different position and are far more willing to accept and even embrace welfare. In order to create social harmony and preserve the existing society from radical or revolutionary change, the ONC government is prepared to fund more generous welfare programmes and provide extensive social housing.  This was particularly seen in the post-WWII 1950s-70s era (a time known as one of ‘consensus politics’, because on the big political issues e.g. how to run the economy, levels of taxation, nationalisation etc, the UK Labour and Conservative parties largely agreed).