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Strands of Conservatism - Coggle Diagram
Strands of Conservatism
Traditional Conservatism - emerged in the late 18th Century as a response to the French Revolution and the Enlightenment
Organic Society - society is organic / a living body made up of complex relations between components
Tradition - tried and tested institutions (Church, Monarchy) represent accumulated wisdom and bind society through loyalty, duty and affection
Hierarchy - necessary as people are unequal, different jobs require different rewards
Pragmatism - any attempt to create a perfect society via abstract theory will fail as we require human experience
Gradual Reform - must be introduced slowly, based on past experience to preserve the organic society
Rule by the natural aristocracy - Burke maintained those with ability and experience should govern, largely but not exclusively drawn from the hereditary aristocracy
This was based on Noblesse Oblige, the idea those in authority are best placed to make decisions on behalf of society
Rule by the aristocracy was natural as the upper class have been raised and educated to govern, also holding significant property stakes in society
The French Revolution of 1789 violently removed the monarchy, traditional conservatism was a reaction to justify their position
The Enlightenment in the 18th century stressed the importance of human reason and the need to critically examine existing ideas, rejecting it as it would incite rapid, destabilising change
One Nation Conservatism - emerged in the 19th century in response to Laissez Faire capitalism and Industrialisation, founded by Disraelii in 1868
Reasons for emergence - rise of Laissez Faire capitalism led to fears of self interest undermining organic society and social responsibility, growing industrialisation led to concerns about the economic divide that would destabilise society
Disraeli wanted to reconcile the two nations of rich and poor, reforms would improve conditions for the poor and cement the upper class position, softening the reintroduction of paternalism
Disraeli's conservatism was based on maintenance of traditional institutions, support for imperialism / national pride and reforms for the working class
The Conservative government (1951-64) was a high point for One-nation conservatism, introducing Keynesian / a mixed economy, bringing the rich and poor into a single entity and labelled by Macmillan as the "Middle Way" between unrestrained liberalism and collectivism
Harold Macmillan (1894-1986) proposed this halfway house, including nationalisation of key industry and that a managed economy would preserve capitalism
New-Right - emerged in the 1970's as the main rival to One Nation conservatism, combining neoliberalism and neoconservatism
Neo-conservatives endorse traditional ideas, such as the nuclear family, respect for authority and hard work
Opposition to social and economic intervention, adopting anti-permissiveness regarding moral choices and social attitudes
They regard the 19th century as the Golden Age of economic freedom and individual responsibility, favouring a radical rather than reactionary attitude
Gained traction in the 1970's as Keynesian economics failed to counter stagflation, experiencing little or no growth and rising unemplopyment
They argued that state welfare provision created a dependency culture and permissive outlook that made alternative lifestyles viable and undermined traditional values