Conservatism Strands: Key Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards summarising the major concepts, thinkers, policies and strands of conservatism—Traditional, One Nation, and New Right—highlighted in the lecture notes.

Conservatism

Political ideology defined by a desire to conserve established institutions, values, and social order, showing suspicion of rapid change.

Traditional Conservatism

Oldest strand, stressing order, hierarchy, tradition and pragmatic, gradual change to preserve society.

Toryism

Early English form of conservatism linked to authority, monarchy, Church and landed interests.

Pragmatism (Conservative)

Preference for practical, flexible solutions based on experience (‘what works’) rather than abstract theory.

Empiricism

Decision-making method rooted in observable experience and evidence, favoured by conservatives like Burke and Oakeshott.

‘Change to Conserve’

Burkean idea that limited, timely reform prevents revolution and protects core institutions.

Tradition (Conservative sense)

Accumulated customs and wisdom of past generations, providing identity, stability and continuity.

Human Imperfection

Conservative belief that people are morally, intellectually and psychologically flawed, needing authority and order.

Psychological Imperfection

View that humans crave security and belonging, making strong social order preferable to excessive liberty.

Intellectual Imperfection

Claim that people lack the reasoning power to redesign society safely; hence suspicion of grand theories.

Moral Imperfection

Idea that humans possess antisocial impulses, requiring tough law enforcement to maintain order.

Organicism

Belief that society is a living organism whose parts are interdependent; abrupt change risks social breakdown.

Authority (Conservative)

Natural, hierarchical guidance ‘from above’ that binds society and entails reciprocal duties.

Hierarchy

Acceptance of natural, unequal ranks in wealth and power justified by differing responsibilities.

Paternalism

Principle that the privileged should act in the interests of the less well-off, ruling ‘for their good’.

Property (Conservative view)

Extension of personality that fosters responsibility and social cohesion; a key pillar of order.

Edmund Burke

18th-century ‘father of conservatism’; author of Reflections on the Revolution in France, champion of tradition and cautious reform.

Little Platoons

Burke’s phrase for local, small communities that nurture civic virtue and link individual to nation.

Thomas Hobbes

17th-century thinker who described the anarchic ‘state of nature’ and justified an absolute sovereign to secure order.

Leviathan

Hobbes’s 1651 work arguing that only a powerful, autocratic state can prevent life becoming ‘nasty, brutish and short’.

One Nation Conservatism

Disraelian strand promoting social reform and paternalism to bridge rich–poor divide and avoid class conflict.

Benjamin Disraeli

Victorian Conservative PM who coined ‘two nations’ critique of capitalism and pioneered social-reform Toryism.

Noblesse Oblige

One-Nation principle that privilege brings moral duties toward the less fortunate.

Post-war Consensus

Cross-party UK agreement (1940s-70s) on welfare state, Keynesian economics and mixed economy.

R. A. Butler

Leading ‘One Nation’ Conservative who helped adapt the party to welfare-state politics in the 1950s.

Middle Way

Harold Macmillan’s idea of balancing state planning with private enterprise to secure full employment and welfare.

Keynesian Economics

Theory advocating state management of demand to maintain growth and employment; accepted by mid-century Tories.

U-Turn (Heath)

Edward Heath’s 1972 abandonment of free-market stance to rescue failing industries, returning to interventionism.

New Right

Late-20th-century conservative wave blending neo-liberal economics with neo-conservative social policies.

Neo-liberalism

Free-market revival seeking to ‘roll back the state’, cut taxes, privatise and champion individual liberty.

Neo-conservatism

New Right wing favouring strong authority, tough law and order, traditional morals and national identity.

Monetarism

Neo-liberal economic policy (Friedman) of controlling money supply to curb inflation, adopted by Thatcher.

Chicago School

Group of economists led by Milton Friedman advocating free markets and limited government.

Milton Friedman

Economist author of Capitalism and Freedom; argued economic liberty is prerequisite for political freedom.

Friedrich von Hayek

Austrian economist; The Road to Serfdom warned that state planning leads to totalitarianism.

Robert Nozick

Libertarian philosopher; Anarchy, State, and Utopia defended a minimal ‘night-watchman’ state and strong property rights.

Ayn Rand

Writer-philosopher championing ‘objectivism’ and laissez-faire capitalism; celebrated rational self-interest.

Atomistic Individualism

Neo-liberal notion that society is merely a collection of self-reliant individuals, not an organic whole.

Rolling Back the State

Neo-liberal agenda to reduce government spending, regulation and ownership.

Dependency Culture

New Right term for welfare practices that allegedly erode self-reliance and enterprise.

Section 28

1988 UK law, exemplifying neo-conservatism, that forbade local authorities from ‘promoting’ homosexuality.

‘Short, Sharp, Shock’

Thatcher-era neo-conservative policy advocating tough, deterrent sentences for young offenders.

Victorian Values

Thatcher’s phrase lauding 19th-century self-help, thrift and moral discipline.

Populism (Conservative sense)

Appeal to independent, self-reliant ‘ordinary people’—small traders, farmers—suspicious of big government and elites.

Petite Bourgeoisie

Marx’s term for small property-owning classes; key New Right support base.

Meritocracy

Belief that social position should reflect individual talent and effort, embraced by neo-liberals.

Minimal (Minarchist) State

Nozick’s ideal: government limited to protecting life, liberty and property through police, courts, defence.

Free Economy and Strong State

Andrew Gamble’s summary of Thatcherism combining market freedom with firm authority.

‘Liberal Mugged by Reality’

Irving Kristol’s quip describing neo-conservatives: former liberals who turned to order and authority after social unrest.

Monetary Policy

Control of money supply and interest rates; centrepiece of Thatcher’s anti-inflation strategy.

Privatisation

Selling state assets to private owners to increase efficiency and widen property ownership.

Deregulation

Removal of state controls to encourage competition, enterprise and market flexibility.

Stop and Search Powers

Expanded police authority under neo-conservative law-and-order agenda.

Authoritarianism (New Right)

Readiness to use state power to enforce moral standards and security despite economic libertarianism.

Culture of Permissiveness

Neo-conservative critique of relaxed moral norms seen as eroding family and social cohesion.

‘There is no such thing as society’

Thatcher’s statement emphasising individual and family responsibility over collectivist notions.

Two Nations

Disraeli’s depiction of Victorian Britain divided between rich and poor who ‘know little of each other’s habits’.

Compassionate Conservatism

David Cameron’s attempt to revive One-Nation image within modern Conservative Party.

Big Society

Cameron initiative encouraging voluntary groups and localism, echoing Burke’s ‘little platoons’.

Supply-Side Policies

Measures (tax cuts, deregulation) aimed at boosting production and competitiveness, central to New Right economics.

Monarchy (Conservative role)

Traditional institution providing continuity and symbolic national unity, upheld by conservatives.

Order (Conservative priority)

First requirement of society; without it, freedom and prosperity are impossible.

State of Nature (Hobbes)

Hypothetical pre-political condition of perpetual conflict, justifying absolute sovereign power.

Autocracy (Hobbesian)

Unlimited authority vested in a sovereign to maintain peace and security.

Feudal Hierarchy

Pre-industrial social order of ranks and duties, backdrop to early Tory conservatism.

Protectionism (Corn Laws)

Tariffs defending domestic producers; repealed by Peel to attract middle-class support.

Tamworth Manifesto

Robert Peel’s 1834 statement advocating cautious reform and pragmatic conservatism.

‘The Palace is not safe when the cottage is not happy’

Disraeli’s warning that elite security depends on alleviating popular distress.

Macmillan’s ‘Property-Owning Democracy’

One-Nation aim of spreading home ownership to bind citizens to the capitalist system.

Permissive Society

1960s cultural liberalisation opposed by neo-conservatives.

‘Legalised Theft’ (Nozick)

Libertarian description of redistributive taxation violating property rights.

Monetarist vs Keynesian

Contrast between controlling money supply (New Right) and managing demand (post-war consensus).

Thatcherism

British variant of New Right ideology combining monetarism, privatisation and neo-conservative social policy.

Reaganomics

US application of New Right ideas: tax cuts, deregulation, defence build-up under President Reagan.

Popper’s ‘Open Society’

Philosophy stressing critical freedom; influenced conservatives’ opposition to totalitarian planning.

Consensus Politics

Cross-party cooperation on broad policy goals; rejected by New Right as corporatist stagnation.

Corporatism

Tripartite state-union-business management of economy; dismantled by Thatcher’s New Right.

Flying Picket

Mobile strike tactic outlawed by Thatcher government’s union reforms.

Closed Shop

Workplace requiring union membership; banned by New Right labour legislation.

Dependency Culture

Condition where welfare recipients allegedly lose self-reliance, used to justify cuts to benefits.

‘Get on your bike’ (Tebbit)

New Right exhortation urging unemployed to seek work actively, emphasising self-help.