Classical Conservatism

  • stability

  • tradition

  • order

Thomas Hobbes

  • the right of the individual and equality of all men

  • all political power must be representative and based on the consent of the people

    • people can do anything the law does not explicitly forbid

  • absolute monarchy was the best form of government

  • human nature is characterized by fear, violence, and dangerous self interest

  • people were more in need of security than freedom

  • wrote leviathan → everyone gives up their freedom to one person who ensures order and stability

Leviathan

  • human beings are physical objects (hobbes)

  • people are motivated in a way to relieve their discomfort, preserve and promote well being

  • humans join in commonwealth

    • leviathan → all responsibility for social order and public welfare

  • fail if soverign has too little power, is subject to own laws, or allowed power to be divided

Edmund Burke

4 pillars hold up society

  • church

  • family

  • government

  • military

all have hierarchy

foundation of all is private property

  • needs to be protected

  • people who have property create stability in society

    • need to know their place in society and do the things they are assigned rather than move up hierarchy

supported American revolution

  • elite revolted

    • constitution and declaration of indepenedence→ conservative

      • put constraints on settlers

        • transfer of elites

have to think about past and how it will affect future generations

  • slow, gradual change, rather than change everything to suit current day

people were not equal (elitist, but for one’s own good)

does not believe in general will of people

  • could result in uneducated people having influences on who ends up in power

whig → British conservative party

tory → conservatives

did not support french revolution

  • loss of constraints which ensure stability

2 points of human nature: inability of reason to consistently trump human passions, and natural inequality of humans.

human tendency toward irrational behavior

compliance with traditional morality is more important than individual liberty → need security, people need to be compliant, people more constrained than liberalism bc people more likely to do bad than good

pretty awesome you vball MVP charlote glass u

economics same

conservatives want more control

oligarchy form of authoritarian

dictator → one person

dictatorship → multiple

these are branches under authoritarian

locke and hobbes believe in social contract → differences in extent

pessimistic view on human nature = more social contract

Hobbes expressed his views in "Leviathan" : "Man's life was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.

orthodoxy → follow original form of religion

fundamentalism → take orthodoxy to extreme

elitism → small group

french rev → destroy clergy and nobility and elite, so burke didn’t like it