Agreements:
- Capitalism tends to nurture and widen economic inequalities and to sharpen the distinction between the rich and the poor.
- Conservatism defends inequality and hierarchy, it is likely that conservatives’ economies have a pro-capitalist flavour.
- Support Adam Smith and laissez-faire approach.
- Laissez-Faire: The state can have free markets operating freely with economic liberalism which has been supported by Edmund Burke and the New Right with Robert Nozick.
Traditional
Approach – Skewing Liberalism:
- Traditional capitalism support has subtle differences as conservatives worship order, stability and continuity whilst capitalism promotes risk, innovation and iconoclasm (order with religion).
- “everything is for the best” may be a liberal view but it scares conservatives as they have a sceptical view of human nature and fear that change can bring dreadful outcomes.
- Traditional conservatives may even be dubbed “reluctant supporters” as they agree that an assault on capitalism is an assault on property, inequality and hierarchy. But they disagree with liberalism that the state should be left alone to wither away. It is generally inconsistent with conservatism pessimism.
- They try and support this through a moderated form of capitalism in which free markets are tempered by state intervention known as protectionism where society and the economy would be insured against state-imposed tariffs and duties. Also consistent with their view on national identity.
- Traditional conservatives were even drawn to Keynesian capitalism where the state managed the market forces for full employment.
The
New Right:
- New Right have sympathetic view of free market capitalism through the Thatcher government through privatisation of state-owned industries.
- Yet New Right economies still managed to complement traditional conservatism in several ways.
- Disengaging completely from the economy means the state can focus on its true Hobbesian purpose of order and security
- A free market economy will be prosperous which will bring support for ‘popular capitalism’ whilst destroying socialism but would also fund a greater state spending on the police and armed forces and other agencies vital to the defence of a conservative society.
- Thatcherism: 1979-1990 where Thatcher pursued a controversial mixture of neo-liberal policies such as privatisation and reducing tax along with neo-conservative policies such as strengthening police powers and curbing immigration to bring a more tradit