Conservatism - Hobbes, Society & The State

Key Thinker 1: Thomas Hobbes:

• Human nature is needy and vulnerable and therefore likely to commit destructive acts
• There were no rights before, but the state of nature was guided by self-interest. There was a fear of death and a ‘nasty and short’ life.
• This chaos occurred because there was no formal authority, there would likely be a difference of our ideas and then war
• Mankind would eventually realise the state of nature was guided self-interest and thus agreement to a contract made where a sovereign body was present and a right to law and order. Would eventually lead to society with security and progress.
• State would have been autocratic, a plural state would lead to clash of ideas
• Summary: Reasons for the state was for order and without it there is no civil society. It would be effective = autocratic, intimidating and forbidding.

Society:

• Defined by themes which are conduction to stability, security and orders. Much more gradual change.

Localism:

• See society as localised communities ‘little platoon’. Provided with security, status and inspiration whilst acting as a brake on individualism.
• Burke saw it as a critique of the French Revolution. Not autocratic but a central state such as the one in France right now is needed as people are too bothered by their own ideas.

Organicism: Natural, changing of its accord where things occur naturally.

• Society emerges gradually and organically. Liberals believe in planning, but Conservatives see reality as an unplanned society proof that humans are subject to change.
• Society is less like a machine controlled by humans but growing like a plaint that is growing in a way that can’t be predicted

Empiricism: ‘What is’ rather than ‘what should be’: A more gradual approach than socialism

• Look to deal with issues in a practical, evidential with no clear view on how society might evolve.
• Contrast with narrative taken by progressive ideologies – how society ‘should be’
• Conservatives look to ‘stay afloat’ in uncertain waters rather than sail steady towards a specific destination e.g. a more equal society.

Tradition:

• Society heavily rests on tradition
• Custom sand habits should provide security in an uncertain world, where history shapes society.
• Change and reform, though inevitable, must be slow not drastic; respectful not contemptuous of the past
• ‘Society’s present direct stems from its past development’ – Oakeshott. Conserving to change.

Hierarchy:

• See society in a less egalitarian way. Imperfections of humanity leads to inequality in human nature. Leads to an unequal society. Establish a hierarchy of power.
• Small platoons are likely to have top-down structures naturally – Burke. There needs to be a minority authority over the majority.
• Power comes with responsivity. A compromise known as paternalism says that the relationship between society’s stronger elements and its weaker elements e.g. father/child relationship with the father having an organic responsivity over the latter.

Morality:

• Liberalism stresses rationality and humanity as capacity to control its own fate whilst Conservatism has a strong attachment to religion with a belief in original sin.
• Strong emphasis upon marriage, self-contained marriage and individuals being held accountable for their own actions
• Religious principals such as altruism (unselfishness) and compassion will help bind individuals together and curb the imperfections that both conservatism and Christianity see as inherent to human nature.

Property:

1. Property is closely tied to its support for tradition and continuity. Not acquired by autonomous individuals but inherited by one generation to another providing some stability in a shaky world. ‘partnership between those who are living and, those who are dead and those who are yet to be born.”
2. Maintenance of property is an ongoing metaphor for the belief that we must change to conserve. Proper ownership provides a platform and an incentive for property owners to exercise a duty of care towards other and maintain existing society.
3. New Right believes that property should not only be preserved but should extend throughout society creating a property-owning democracy. Those who own property will be better placed to resist state led incursions upon their liberty. Places emphasis upon liberty but still values hierarchy and tradition in order to flourish.

The State: Order & Authority:

• Liberalism and socialism see the state as serving progressive goals, conservatives see the state as having a more disciplinary function. The main function is to provide order, security and authority. Those in authority can make decisions others must accept.
• Without order there can be no liberty and there can no order until there are clear laws backed by a firm authority. The state precedes society
• Liberal notions of natural rights are fanciful as Hobbes said, the feasibility of rights is dependant on law and order which only the state can provide.

Organic Origins:

• Hobbes wanted a state that was committed to government by consent and social contract but Conservatives want a state that arises momentously from a formal rational discussion.
• These states will be normative, not empirical based on ideals rather than reality and are likely to be founder.
• Conservatives want a state that is gradual, unpredictable and without fanfare e.g organic. Less likely to demand a codified constitution and more tolerant of the current version as it has evolved in response to the changing circumstances.

A Ruling Class:

• More comfortable with a state that is overtly hierarchical, reflecting the elite. Acknowledges the notion of the ruling class whose power will be aristocratic and hereditary rather than democratic.
• Traditional conservatives were keen to signal a class that was born and trained to rule the state. More pragmatic and empirical, legislating when it was needed and governing to ensure order.
• The conservative state should avert social upheaval and revolution whilst maintaining the patterns of wealth and power in society.

The Nation State:

• The state should be based on nationhood, a mega community for each class. Germany and Italy have this sense of the national precedes the state.
• In the UK, this occurs due to the monarchy as an expression of identity and less support to the European political union
• New Right is a paradox as they want to strengthen the nation state by rolling back the frontiers of the state. If there was more nationalisation and a bigger welfare state than it is harder to focus on the true function of order and security. The aim should be to streamline the national state’s functions and to make it leaner and fitter in the process.