Conservatism (key thinkers)

What are the two key ideas of Thomas Hobbes?

What are the two key ideas of Thomas Hobbes?

• An ordered society should balance the human need to lead a free life.

• Humans are needy, vulnerable and easily led astray in attempts to understand the world around them.

According to Hobbes, what was the only alternative to total obedience to absolute government?

The only alternative to obedience was chaos.

What hypothetical situation did Hobbes create?

Hobbes created a situation known as the “state of nature” where people were equal and free, and did not have to answer to any form of higher authority.

According to Hobbes, what would the nature of life be if people were equal and free?

Hobbes argued that under such circumstances, humans would exhibit a “restless desire” for power, leading to conflict and turning society into a “war of every man against every man”, and life would become “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”.

How would fearful and rational people respond to the “state of nature”?

Fearful and rational people would choose to sacrifice many of their rights and freedoms in return for order and security - they would enter into a social contract to establish political authority, surrendering all but one of their natural rights to the group to whom they grant authority.

How is government established according to Hobbes?

Hobbes argued that the government is established by the consent of the people, who authorise those in power to do everything necessary to preserve order and peace.

What does “Leviathan” mean according to Hobbes?

Leviathan is where people jointly submit to the absolute authority of the state.

What are the two ways in which Hobbes views human nature?

• Humans are needy and vulnerable

• Humans are easily led astray in their attempts to understand the world around them.

Why does Hobbes see humans as needy and vulnerable?

Hobbes believes people will compete violently to get basic necessities of life and other material gains, will challenge others and fight out of fear to ensure personal safety, and will seek reputation, both for its own sake and so that others will be too afraid to challenge them.

Why does Hobbes believe that humans are easily led astray in their attempts to understand the world around them?

Hobbes believes that the human capacity to reason is fragile, and people’s attempts to interpret the world tend to be distorted by self-interest and the concerns of the moments, thus being led astray.

In Hobbes’ view, what is the best people hope for?

Hobbes concludes that the best people hope for is a peaceful life under strong government authority to guarantee order and security.

What are the 2 key ideas of Edmund Burke?

• Change has to be undertaken with great caution, mindful of the delicate balance inherent in an organic society.

• Tradition and empiricism should be respected because they represent practices passed down from one generation to the next.

What was the fundamental problem with the French Revolution according to Burke?

Burke noted that the French Revolution represented an attempt to create a new society and system of government based on abstract principles rather than the lessons of the past - these were not established in France, so could only end in chaos or tyranny.

What does the state resemble according to Burke?

The state resembles a living organism - organicism.

When and how should the state be changed according to Burke?

Burke argues that the state should only be changed when necessary through gentle “pruning” to preserve political stability and social harmony, resulting in organic, gradual change.

What should reform be based upon according to Burke?

Burke holds that reform should be limited and cautious and based upon empiricism and tradition.

Why does Burke believe revolutionary change can be dangerous?

Burke argues that revolutionary change threatens to cut off society’s “roots” (such as institutions and customs), leading to complete social and political breakdown.

Why should tradition and empiricism be respected according to Burke?

Burke argues that tradition and empiricism represent the accumulated and “tested” wisdom of the past.

What are the 3 advantages of respecting tradition and empiricism according to Burke?

• It promotes social continuity and stability

• It establishes an obligation for each generation to protect and pass on the accumulated wisdom of tradition to their successors.

• It provides society and the individual with a strong sense of historical identity.

What are the 2 key ideas of Oakeshott?

• People’s actions should be guided by pragmatism, rather than ideology.

• Theories and ideologies oversimplify complex situations.

What is the nature of modern society for Oakeshott?

Modern society is both unpredictable and complex.

Why are rational attempts to make sense of the world not accurate according Oakeshott?

Rational attempts to make sense of society inevitably distort and simplify the facts due to human imperfection, as people don’t have the mental faculties to make sense of a complex modern world.

In Oakeshott’s view, what is the impulse of a “rationalist” political leader? What is the danger of this?

A “rationalist” political leader’s impulse is to act solely on the “authority of his own reason” rather than practical experience.

This encourages the dangerous idea that the leader fully understand society and knows how it should be changed.

What examples does Oakeshott use to show misguided human rationalism?

The brutal fascist and communist regimes established in the 20th century were clear examples.

How has the parliamentary government developed according to Oakeshott?

He concluded that parliamentary government in Britain had developed pragmatically over time, and had not followed a rationalist or ideological path.

What must politics accommodate according to Oakeshott?

Politics must accommodate existing traditions, practices and prejudices.

What are the 3 advantages of the pragmatic approach in Oakeshott’s view?

• The pragmatic approach can deliver what is in the best interests of the people without overstepping the limits of public acceptance.

• It maintains social stability and cohesion by emphasising moderation, cautious change where necessary, and a sense of historical continuity.

• It is flexible, reflecting complex and shifting social realities, unlike rigid theories and ideologies which encourage dogmatic decision-making.

What are the two key ideas of Ayn Rand?

• People should pursue their own happiness as their highest moral aim.

• People should work hard to achieve a life of purpose and productiveness.

What was Rand’s response to the rise of fascism and communism in the 20th century?

Rand’s response to fascism and communism was objectivism.

What is objectivism?

Objectivism is a libertarian philosophical system that advocates the virtues of rational self interest and maintains that individual freedom supports a pure, laissez faire capitalist economy.

What principles does objectivism offer according to Rand?

Rand argued that objectivism offered a set of principles covering all aspects of human life, including politics, economics, culture and human relationships.

What is the fundamental basis of human life according to Rand?

Rand argues that reason is the fundamental basis of human life.

What type of individualism did Rand endorse?

Rand endorsed a form of ethical individualism that claimed the rational pursuit of self-interest was morally right.

Why is control or regulations of actions wrong according to Rand?

Rand held that to control or regulate an individual’s actions corrupted the capacity of that person to work freely as a productive member of society, mainly by undermining their practical use of reason.

What government programmes did Rand reject and why?

Rand rejected government welfare and wealth redistribution programmes because the state relies on the implicit threat of force to ensure that people contribute to such schemes through taxation.

How did Rand refer to this opposition of external coercion of the individual?

The “non-aggression principle”.

What is altruism?

Altruism is the idea that an individual should put the well-being of others first.

What was Rand’s stance of altruism and why did she believe this?

Rand condemned all forms of personal altruism because such acts created an “artificial” sense of obligation and expectation, and did not accord with an individual’s rational self-interest.

What was Rand a self-proclaimed radical for?

Rand was a self-proclaimed ‘radical for capitalism’.

What type of economy did Rand call for? Why?

Rand called for “a full, pure, uncontrolled, unregulated laissez-faire” economy as she believed human rationality was entirely compatible with the free market and it respects the individual’s pursuit of rational self-interest.

How can individuals act under an unregulated laissez-faire economy according to Rand?

Under such economic arrangements, Rand argues that free individuals can use their time, money, and other resources, and can interact and trade voluntarily with others to their mutual advantage.

What are the 2 key ideas of Robert Nozick?

• Individuals in society cannot be treated as a thing, or used against their will as a resource.

• Individuals own their bodies, talents, abilities and labour.

What two thigs did Nozick argue for in his work Anarchy, State and Utopia?

Nozick argued for a rights-based libertarian system and a minimal state.

What moral philosophy was Nozick’s libertarianism partly based on and what was this?

Nozick used Kant’s moral philosophy, specifically the principle that humans should be treated “always as an end and never as a means only” - humans are rational beings with free will, and should not be treated as objects, or used against their will as resources.

Kant assumes that individuals are “____________________________”?

Inviolable end in themselves.

What role do rights perform on people according to Nozick?

Nozick argues that rights act as “side-constraints” on the actions of others by setting limits on how a person may be treated, for example, an individual cannot be forced against their will to work for another person’s ends.

What are the two arguments that Nozick presents to highlight how taxes for state welfare programmes are immoral?

• Taxes amount to a type of forced labour imposed on the individual by the state.

• They treat individuals as a means or resource to further the goals of equality and social justice and so violate the principle that humans should be seen as better ends in themselves.

What is only type of state that Nozick justifies?

The only type of state that can be justified is a minimal or “night watchman” state with powers limited to those necessary to protect people against violence, theft and fraud.

What is the idea of self-ownership?

Self-ownership is the idea that individuals own themselves - their bodies, talents, abilities and labour, and the rewards or products created by their talents, abilities and labour.

What individual right does self-ownership give according to Nozick?

Nozick states that self-ownership gives the individual the right to determine what can be done with the “possession” - it gives them rights to the various elements that make up one’s self.

In terms of self-ownership, what is welfare taxation a form of according to Nozick?

Such taxation is a form of slavery - the state gives others an entitlement to part of the rewards of an individual’s labour. Citizens entitled to benefits are partial owners of the individual as they have partial property rights over his or her labour, undermining self-ownership.

How does an extensive state compromise self-ownership in Nozick’s view?

A state that regulates what people eat, drink or smoke interferes with their right to use their own bodies as they want, compromising self ownership.