conservatism is probably the most
difficult political ideology to define
so that some people have tried to define
conservatism as a state of mind rather
than as a set of ideas more a reaction
to the prominent ideologies of the day
than a collection of beliefs that can be
pulled apart and examined this being
said conservatism does have a basic
collection of core values although these
are stretched to the limit by the
different approaches taken by the
various strands of conservatism as
conservatism is so difficult to define
it is also very difficult to pin down
where it began
certainly a basic distrust of new ideas
and a wish to continue living in the old
ways is a fairly universal human
phenomenon many books have been written
for many different cultures arguing that
traditions should be maintained in the
face of new ideas however if we look at
conservatism as an ideology rather than
as a state of mind one obvious starting
point is Thomas Hobbes the writer of
Leviathan one of the most important
political works ever written
Hobbes is fundamental idea was that
humanity if left to its own devices
would dissolve into chaos and anarchy
and thus a strong centralized leader is
required in order to prevent human
societies from collapsing in on
themselves
Hobbes his ideas powerfully influenced
both liberalism and conservatism but it
was conservatism that took on Hobbes's
ideas more wholeheartedly while liberals
see the state as a necessary evil that
exists to serve the individual
conservatives to the state is a
fundamentally good thing which prevents
human beings and tearing themselves
apart as such most forms of conservatism
support the power of the state and its
ability to resort to force to restore
order if necessary
the three major strands of conservatism
one nation conservatism neoliberalism
and neoconservatism all hold wildly
differing views on what their core
beliefs are neoliberalism can loosely be
described as a 20th and 21st reimagining
of 19th century liberalism and thus is
better discussed in my introduction to
liberation video while the remaining two
strands share enough core values to
warrant discussion here
conservatives see human beings as
naturally fickle and difficult prone to
treating others unfairly if allowed to
get away with this
because of this conservatives reject any
idea of humanity is inherently good it
also reject any idea of human nature as
a constant seeing the way human beings
act towards each other has driven by
their needs at the time rather than any
law of nature with this rejection of a
consistent idea of human nature comes a
belief in political pragmatism
conservatives shy away from the grand
overarching theories of ideologies such
as socialism instead attempting to
operate within the existing society and
culture this pragmatism means that
conservatives will sometimes accept
societal institutions they may
ideologically opposed such as British
conservatives accepting the
nationalization of the commanding
heights of the economy by the Labour
Party after the Second World War
as conservatives are highly suspicious
of grand ideological theories preferring
to maintain this age quo where possible
this means the Conservatives will often
define themselves against the prominent
ideology of the day in an attempt to
preserve those aspects of society they
feel that under attack the British
Conservative Party for instance to find
self against the free-market liberalism
of the 19th century the arguing for
welfare and the more invented society
against the socialism of the mid 20th
century for arguing for individualism
and private enterprise and against the
fascism of the early 20th century are
becoming champions of individual liberty
and democracy in general conservatives
are supporters of tradition holding that
institutions and ideas that have stood
the test of time should not be dismissed
lightly this does not mean that
conservatives reject change
rather they argue that all change should
be gradual and should respect the
particular customs of the society at
large
as previously discussed conservatives
tend towards an idea of society that has
strong top-down control by relatively
centralized government because of this
conservative argue for a strong state
that can protect the citizens when
required as well as an acceptance of
societal hierarchy and support for
private property
seeing human beings as naturally fickle
creatures conservatives believe the best
way of keeping order is having a state
willing to maintain it neoconservatives
are particularly keen on this idea as
they see social discipline as the best
way of structuring society I believe
that too much focus on individual choice
damages society's cohesion one nation
conservatives meanwhile focused more on
the organic side of society seeing
reducing poverty and tackling social
issues as the best ways of maintaining
the social order conservatives support
the ownership of private property both
because it has been an aspect of Western
culture for thousands of years and
because they see it as giving people in
general a stake in a social order as it
stands in British political thought the
idea that home ownership crates
conservative voters is a strong one and
British general election results seem to
suggest that that is indeed the case
the Conservatives view your human nature
believes that human beings are not equal
in terms of talent or ability and the
wild education may go some way to
alleviate actual differences between
individuals it cannot completely erase
them as this is the case
conservatives see hierarchy within
society as a good thing and acceptance
that different people are more suited to
some roles than others conservatism is
an extremely difficult ideology to
explain primarily because as differing
strands can vary so much depending on
different cultural attitudes in France
for example a conservative is likely to
defend the French tradition public
secularism and reject public displays of
religion while in America
the Conservatives likely to
wholeheartedly embrace religion in the
public realm
despite this conservatism can probably
best be seen as a political reaction to
the major ideology of the time and can
best be summed up in a Michael Portillo
quote if there are no political nostrums
ie fixed beliefs there would be no need
for conservatism this ends my
introduction to conservatism I hope to
return to the topic for a closer look in
the future for now please like this
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