Conservatism Key Quotes
Key thinkers:
Hobbes
- “Power after power”- paternalism, human imperfection, the state
- The state of nature without authority is “poor, solitary, nasty, brutish and short”-
human imperfection, paternalism/hierarchy and authority, state, human nature
- Social contract theory- people sacrifice freedom for law and order- paternalism,
human imperfection, state, human nature
Burke
- “a state without some means of change is without the means of its conservation” –
pragmatism, state
- Tradition is “the law of our creator”- tradition, pragmatism, state
- “Society should be a partnership between those who are living, those who are dead
and those who are to be born”- tradition, pragmatism, state
- There is a “natural aristocracy” and “born leaders”- organic society, human nature,
state, paternalism, noblesse oblige
- “Change to conserve”- pragmatism
- The free market is natural as it reflects a desire for wealth- human nature, economy
Oakeshott
- Conservatism is “a disposition”- pragmatism
- The political world is “boundless and bottomless”- paternalism, pragmatism, human
imperfection, economy
- Conservatism is “to prefer the familiar to the unknown”- pragmatism, tradition,
human imperfection, state, economy
Rand
- “I am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism”- human nature,
economy
- “Supremacy of reason”
Nozick
- Welfare “transfers the justly acquired wealth from one person and transfers it to
another without consent”- state, economy (taxes), paternalism, society
- “Individuals have rights and there are things no person or group may do to them…
How much room do individual rights leave for the state?”- state, human nature,
libertarianism
Other thinkers:
Chesterton
- “The democracy of the dead”- tradition, pragmatism, democracy, state
Thatcher
- “There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are
families… people must look after themselves first…(then) to look after our
neighbours”- society, paternalism
- Victorian values: “those were the values when our country became great”- society,
tradition
Key thinkers:
Hobbes
- “Power after power”- paternalism, human imperfection, the state
- The state of nature without authority is “poor, solitary, nasty, brutish and short”-
human imperfection, paternalism/hierarchy and authority, state, human nature
- Social contract theory- people sacrifice freedom for law and order- paternalism,
human imperfection, state, human nature
Burke
- “a state without some means of change is without the means of its conservation” –
pragmatism, state
- Tradition is “the law of our creator”- tradition, pragmatism, state
- “Society should be a partnership between those who are living, those who are dead
and those who are to be born”- tradition, pragmatism, state
- There is a “natural aristocracy” and “born leaders”- organic society, human nature,
state, paternalism, noblesse oblige
- “Change to conserve”- pragmatism
- The free market is natural as it reflects a desire for wealth- human nature, economy
Oakeshott
- Conservatism is “a disposition”- pragmatism
- The political world is “boundless and bottomless”- paternalism, pragmatism, human
imperfection, economy
- Conservatism is “to prefer the familiar to the unknown”- pragmatism, tradition,
human imperfection, state, economy
Rand
- “I am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism”- human nature,
economy
- “Supremacy of reason”
Nozick
- Welfare “transfers the justly acquired wealth from one person and transfers it to
another without consent”- state, economy (taxes), paternalism, society
- “Individuals have rights and there are things no person or group may do to them…
How much room do individual rights leave for the state?”- state, human nature,
libertarianism
Other thinkers:
Chesterton
- “The democracy of the dead”- tradition, pragmatism, democracy, state
Thatcher
- “There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are
families… people must look after themselves first…(then) to look after our
neighbours”- society, paternalism
- Victorian values: “those were the values when our country became great”- society,
tradition
