1. To what extent do conservatives agree about pragmatism
State
• Agree that state needs to be pragmatic if it desires to uphold all of its key values
• Burke “a state without some means of change is without the means of its
conservation” - there needs to be some exibility and adaption in order for
preservation
• However One Nation more about practicing pragmatism in terms of state being exible
in taking more control to protect the welfare of the poor, believe a part of being
pragmatic is to engage in more interventionist measures of helping poor (di erent to
New Right)
• New Right - neoliberals who see the state as a damaging e ect on human a airs,
believe that instead state interference should be kept to a minimal, are less willing to be
exible in this regard.
Society
• Most agree that society should be orderly and stable, authoritarian and one nation
agree on the idea that there is indeed a necessary order within society and are not
willing to be exible with the view of the organic society and the interdependency of
each social group
• They believe that any reform to this system should be limited and only be taken with a
common sense approach, not a idealistic one
• Di ers to neoconservative who seem to have developed a clear set of non negotiable
ideas concerning society including the Thatcherite idea that there is no such thing as
society, they also believe there are dangers in having a permissive society, lacks ethical
norms, and too much freedom - less willing to be exible on this.
Economy
• Not much agreement in terms of the pragmatic approach to managing the economy;
• Some do agree - One Nations and Traditional do take more of a responsibility for the
poor and believe it pragmatic to engage in welfare redistribution due to beliefs of
interdependency and organic society, support for Keynesian economic in order to
protects key values and traditions
• However - neoliberalism deviates from this considerable, encouraging in more
unregulated free market capitalism - are not willing to be exible on this as they resent
‘dead hands of the state’
• Nozick - rejected all forms of redistribution and welfare, regarded it as theft, believed it
was ‘on par with forced labour’, Burke also agreed with the free market as it re ects
natural desire for wealth.
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State
• Agree that state needs to be pragmatic if it desires to uphold all of its key values
• Burke “a state without some means of change is without the means of its
conservation” - there needs to be some exibility and adaption in order for
preservation
• However One Nation more about practicing pragmatism in terms of state being exible
in taking more control to protect the welfare of the poor, believe a part of being
pragmatic is to engage in more interventionist measures of helping poor (di erent to
New Right)
• New Right - neoliberals who see the state as a damaging e ect on human a airs,
believe that instead state interference should be kept to a minimal, are less willing to be
exible in this regard.
Society
• Most agree that society should be orderly and stable, authoritarian and one nation
agree on the idea that there is indeed a necessary order within society and are not
willing to be exible with the view of the organic society and the interdependency of
each social group
• They believe that any reform to this system should be limited and only be taken with a
common sense approach, not a idealistic one
• Di ers to neoconservative who seem to have developed a clear set of non negotiable
ideas concerning society including the Thatcherite idea that there is no such thing as
society, they also believe there are dangers in having a permissive society, lacks ethical
norms, and too much freedom - less willing to be exible on this.
Economy
• Not much agreement in terms of the pragmatic approach to managing the economy;
• Some do agree - One Nations and Traditional do take more of a responsibility for the
poor and believe it pragmatic to engage in welfare redistribution due to beliefs of
interdependency and organic society, support for Keynesian economic in order to
protects key values and traditions
• However - neoliberalism deviates from this considerable, encouraging in more
unregulated free market capitalism - are not willing to be exible on this as they resent
‘dead hands of the state’
• Nozick - rejected all forms of redistribution and welfare, regarded it as theft, believed it
was ‘on par with forced labour’, Burke also agreed with the free market as it re ects
natural desire for wealth.
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fl fl fl fl ff ffff fl fl
