Summary Government and Politics A-Level Conservatism Notes

Conservatism, Edexcel A-Level Government and Politics



Core Ideas:


Pragmatism:

▪ Pragmatists value practical experience over ideological thinking, known as
empiricism.
▪ Believe slow change is better than revolutionary change.
▪ Believe humans are not rational.
▪ Both Traditional (Burke) and One-nation (Oakeshott) conservatives believe in
this.



Tradition

▪ Traditions are the practices, customs, institutions, and principles that have
developed over time.
▪ Belief that abandoning traditions can have far-reaching and damaging
consequences.
▪ Both Traditional (Burke) and One-nation (Oakeshott) Conservatives believe in
this.




Human Imperfection

▪ Humans are morally imperfect, motivated by selfish desires.
▪ They have little capacity for rational understanding and need tradition and social
order for comfort.
▪ Both Traditional (Hobbes and Burke) and One-Nation (Oakeshott) Conservatives
believe in this.



Organic State

▪ The organic state grows in a slow manner where everything is connected.
▪ Belief in traditional institutions providing authority to humans.
▪ Includes a natural hierarchy as all humans are different.

, ▪ Individual rights given by the state as only state can maintain them.
▪ Traditional (Hobbes), One-Nation (Burke) and Neo-Conservatism (Oakeshott)
Conservatives believe in this.



Paternalism

▪ Believe that society is inherently unequal and the elite in society are natural
leaders.
▪ Sometimes referred to as the noblesse oblige, meaning the elite have a
responsibility to help the less fortunate.
▪ Traditional (Hobbes), One Nation (Oakeshott) and Neo-Conservatives believe in
this.



Libertarianism

▪ A belief in individual freedom and liberty and laissez-faire economics.
▪ Traditional (Burke) and Neo-Liberal (Rand and Nozick) Conservatives believe in
this.



Types of Conservatives:


Traditional Conservatives

▪ There is a hierarchy to the organic state.
▪ Society is a living organism.
▪ The elite have an obligation to help the less fortunate.
▪ Laissez-faire approach to Economics.
▪ Change should be slow and evolutionary.
▪ Humans are imperfect.



One-Nation Conservatives

▪ Maintaining the traditional hierarchy of society to provide stability and tradition.
▪ A form of nationalism where all classes are part of ‘the nation’
▪ To ensure social order and contentment, some social reform for working class
such as voting rights and some social reforms.
▪ Keynesian Economics.