Conservatism : Authority

-

Authority

To what extent have conservatives upheld authority.
  • reinforced by notions of 'organic society' and natural inequalities
  • Burke and 'natural aristocracy'
  • social equality is a myth 
  • Do not believe authority arises from contracts made by free individuals- it arises naturally out of a need to ensure that children are cared for etc
  • authority can only come 'from above'
  • authority counters rootlessness and anomie as people know 'where they stand'
  • leads to support of strong leadership 
  • authoritarian say authority is absolute and unquestionable 
  • most believe authority should be exercised with limits but these limits are not artificial - they are natural too

Traditional

  • After witnessing the fallout of the English Civil War, Thomas Hobbes became fearful of the 'state of nature' man reverts to without authority and control as their selfish, evil human nature would make human life 'nasty, brutish and short'
  • Supported by a belief in organic society and natural inequalities, Burke believed that there was a 'natural aristocracy' (talent and leadership are innate qualities that cannot be learnt), the power being in the hands of the aristocracy justified by the fact that they can rule with disinterest unlike self-motivated classes
  • authority counters rootlessness and anomie as people know 'where they stand'
  • most believe authority should be exercised with limits but these limits are not artificial - they are natural too

Authoritarian

  • Also a critic of the French Revolution, Joseph De Maistre was a reactionary authoritarian conservative as he wished to go back to an autocratic monarchy with absolute power.
  • He also believed the Pope had a 'supreme spiritual power' which superseded all other power.
  • His central concern was the preservation of order
  • Authoritarian conservatism is the practice of government 'from above' with or without its consent - authoritarianism differs from authority.

One Nation

  • started doing reforms to placate the poor, consolidate the authority of the rich
  • Benjamin Disraeli
  • neo-feudalism of noblesse oblige in which with power and wealth comes a responsibility to care for the less fortunate
New Right

  • In neo-liberalism, there was a removal of the authority of the state in terms of economics, minimal state, maximum economic freedom laissez faire
  • Neoliberalism arose as a critique of 'big government', Nozick said that distribution was 'legalised theft' of the state, implying it had no authority to do that
  • Neoconservatism was the expansion of authority to try and address the damaging 'counterculture' of 'permissiveness' in society (Kristol)
  • whereas one nation thought that community was best maintained by social reform and the reduction of poverty, neoconservatives believed in a restoration of authority and social discipline - crime and delinquency are a consequence of declining authority - led to longer sentences based on the belief that 'prison works'

















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Cold Earth Slept Below - Percy Bysshe Shelley

-
The Cold Earth Slept Below  Context There is some controversy about when the poem was written, Shelley's first wife Harriet drowned in the Serpentine in 1816 and there is thought that this poem is about her death. Shelley died in a boating accident in 1922 and the poem was not published until after his death, first appearing in 1823 titled 'November 1815'. However, it is well known that Mary Shelley edited her husband's work to remove the publicly unacceptable details of his life and thus she may have changed the date to 1815 so it would appear the poem had been written before Harriet's death. The cold earth slept below;           Above the cold sky shone;                  And all around,                  With a chilling sound,  From caves of ice and fiel...
Read more

Global Politics - Realist thinkers

-
Image
Global Politics - Realist thinkers Thucydides (ca. 460–406 BCE) , classical realist Background  Greek historian with philosophical interests. Thucydides’ great work The History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the struggle between Athens and Sparta for control of the Hellenic world, which culminated in the destruction of Athens, the birthplace of democracy.  Key works :  The History of the Peloponnesian War Main ideas :  Thucydides trap : (Thucydides himself never talks of a “trap.”) The fears of a rising power spark war fervour  in an already established power, leading to conflict as it is seen as the only solution to the growing imbalance of power. More times than not, the dominant power comes out on top but at a catastrophic cost which signals the end of their power and the rise of another in its place.  Melian Dialogue : (A section of conversation between the Melians and Athenians in The Peloponnesian  War where the Athen...
Read more

Ode on Melancholy - John Keats

-
Image
Ode on Melancholy - John Keats No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist         Wolf's-bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine;  Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss'd         By nightshade, ruby grape of Proserpine;                 Make not your rosary of yew-berries,         Nor let the beetle, nor the death-moth be                 Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl  A partner in your sorrow's mysteries;         For shade to shade will come too drowsily,                 And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.  But when the melancholy fit shall fall  ...
Read more