Conservatism as a Tension between Paternalism and Libertarianism
There are many different strands of conservatism within the ideology,
the most significant of which in modern terms are paternalism and
libertarianism. This conflict can be illustrated by the rival
traditions of one-nation conservatism and New Right, or in particular
neoliberal, conservatism.
The basic idea of paternalism is to have authority over people for
their own good. Whereas continental conservatives in the nineteenth
century opposed any change, an Anglo-American tradition began with
Edmund Burke which was more cautious, modest and pragmatic - these
type of conservatives were willing to ‘change in order to conserve’.
Therefore, those in a privileged position should use their power to
help those less well off. These ideas are known as one-nation
conservatism, and are often traced back to Benjamin Disraeli, a
nineteenth-century British Prime Minister. He based his ideas on
supporting social obligation over individualism. At the time there was
a lot of economic inequality, and revolutionary upheaval, particularly
in continental Europe. His ideas came from the fear that social
inequality would lead to upheaval and threaten the established social
order - therefore social reform was necessary to consolidate the
position of the conservative elites.
This is the pragmatic basis of one-nation beliefs, but there was also
a moral basis. There is a strong sense of social obligation within
paternalistic conservatism - with wealth comes obligations, and the
economic inequality in the country leads to an inequality of social
responsibilities. This comes from the idea of ‘...
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...he liberal new right contrasts completely with one nation principles
in that it opposes social welfare, both on economic and moral grounds.
The welfare system pushes up taxes and is often inefficient, but also
creates a ‘culture of dependency’ by taking away people’s initiative
and desire to better themselves. It is also blamed for family
break-ups as women do not need to depend on men as breadwinners, and
is seen as violating property rights because it involves compulsory
redistribution of wealth.
Although up until the 1960s conservative governments both in the UK
and elsewhere supported paternalistic, one-nation principles, since
the 1970s New Right ideas have become much more prominent, and
therefore libertarian ideas within conservatism, particularly in
economic terms, are more significant in modern conservatism.
Conservatives, ideology places the values on status quo. They have difficulties accepting changes, and believe that change should be taking at a slow pace. They believe that human institutions are the product of a gradual process of experience. Conservatives believe slow changes would be more effective over a long period of time. time. They believe changing institutions and practices would affect the would affect the underlying structure. Conservatives be that it is not realistic to expect that that changes in institutions and practices would replace the existing without causing chaos.
The typical conservative tends to focus his philosophical Ideals on the self reliance and free market. They don't see the need for big spending politicians and big government programs. They would prefer to see the money stay in the private sector. They also believe that business people tend to be better at economic decisions than politicians. They believe that the government has it's place, but many times oversteps it's authority for political reasons. Big business and corporations are not evil in their world, in fact most conservatives will tell you that big business and corporate success is the only thing that will make the economy go.
The Libertarian Party is considered America’s largest third party and believe in total individual liberty including pro-drug legalization, pro-choice, pro-home schooling etc. They also believe in total economic freedom which means they want a traditional laissez-faire approach. They believe that there is a correlation between lower government and more freedom. They want each person to have as much individual rights as they possibly can.
Overall, politics are key in determining whether this era was predominantly liberal or conservative as well as economic and social reforms. On an aside, conservatism can be defined as a political philosophy based upon tradition and social stability while liberalism can be defined in two ways. Modern Liberalism emphasizes liberty and rights but, believes in strong government intervention in order to prevent the growth of a capitalist society, while classical liberalism advocates liberty and the autonomy of the individual. With these definitions given it can be concluded that the progressive era promoted change as well as government intervention to prevent capitalism from spreading and the autonomy of the individual. In conclusion, for the most part the Progressive Era from 1901-1907 was a triumph for modern and classical liberalism.
In the movie ground hogs day, the main character Phil Connors, a Pittsburgh TV weatherman wakes up repeatedly to the same day every day, Ground Hogs day. Once he realizes that every day he is waking up to the same day, he begins to direct his day differently. His actions were intended and determined because he knew what was going to happen because he experienced the day before. He had an option to allow what was destined to happen, happen or Instead, chose a different route.
Decision-making would be so much easier if we all maintained our autonomy in making the decision, however, because our decisions do not always abide by autonomistic values paternalistic intervention must occur. The purpose of autonomy is to allow us to choose to do things that affect only ourselves and does not negatively affect those around us. Unfortunately, many choices do, whether we know it or not, involve those in our environment. Paternalism is in place to protect the rights that are in our best interest and that will benefit us in the long run. Paternalistic intervention occurs when decisions are no longer in our best interests. If the decision is like to be regretted and irreversible in the future, paternalism is again justified. Autonomy is a fleeting concept, for as soon as someone chooses to do something that will later cause an addiction, his or her autonomy is lost. They no longer have the decision to do or not to do the action; it becomes a need.
War frenzy has gripped the hearts and minds of the neoconservatives in Washington and London. For the first time in history, the Russians and the Americans are dropping bombs on the same country. This is wonderful news is it not? Yes, if you're not a neocon.
- Conservatism is essentially the defense of economic individualism against the growth of a welfare state.
Libertarianism is the philosophical position that human beings possess free will, and from that we are free to make choices. This means that we are morally responsible for our actions as moral responsibility requires freedom. Moreover, Libertarians believe that each human being has a right to self-determination which must be respected by society; it is a defining feature of what it means to be a moral being. One theorist who views freedom from a Libertarian perspective is Peter Van Inwagen – he introduces the ‘garden of forking paths’ argument. Inwagen states that we consciously
Starting during the 1970s, factions of American conservatives slowly came together to form a new and more radical dissenting conservative movement, the New Right. The New Right was just as radical as its liberal opposite, with agendas to increase government involvement beyond the established conservative view of government’s role. Although New Right politicians made admirable advances to dissemble New Deal economic policies, the movement as a whole counters conservativism and the ideologies that America was founded on. Although the New Right adopts conservative economic ideologies, its social agenda weakened the conservative movement by focusing public attention to social and cultural issues that have no place within the established Old Right platform.
The strong, emerging central government worried conservatives, who supported a weak federal government with little interaction, and resulted in distinct party divisions (285). By allotting the federal government more political control during the early twentieth century, the government now can reign over state governments and affairs. Today many conservatives are still opponents to the strong federal government, finding issues with its involvement in local affairs, whether that be educational involvement through common core or business involvement through labor unions (Diamond 2; Weber 1). While the New Deal formed a divide between political parties, a divide that is still present in current politics, it also jump started the Conservative Movement. Assistance was provided to lower class citizens through New Deal programs.
Cooper, Barry, Allan Kornberg and William Mishler. The Resurgence of Conservatism in Anglo-American Democracies. Durham: Duke University Press, 1988. Print.
Paternalism, Goldman says, is never to obstruct an individual’s deeper long-range preference. He starts off with a scenario in which an individual who wants to go to New York is about to accidentally get on board a train going to Boston. A good Samaritan, who we may assume is aware of the individual’s intentions of going to New York, pushes that individual off the train, displaying a form of paternalism. In Goldman’s terms, this scenario depicts justified paternalism because it only sacrificed the individual’s immediate autonomy in order to preserve his deeper long-range preference. In this situation the individual only acted the way he did (board the train to Boston) due to ignorance. His intentions were always the same as his long-term preference, of going to New York. But Controversy arises when an individual’s immediate preferences don’t match up with his or her long-term preferences. In one circumstance, the individ...
In philosophy there are many words that mean different meaning. Some of the words that we studied in philosophy really changed the way I thought about those words. The words that really made a difference I the way I thought are pragmatism, realism, liberalism, conservatism and ideology. These words really made me think in a whole different way.
In the article “In Defense of Permissive Parenting” Tony Decouple addresses how parenting skills can be a great effect to children. According to a pair of new studies, they state how minor communication style can have an impact to children. A Mexican-American woman by the name of Xenia was in a store with her four years old son named Paulson; she had to battle his son over buying a soft drink. There are several studies that can help parents to raise their children. A study shows that battling youngsters rather than reasoning may get them to do what they want. The studies suggest that parents should explain decisions with their children, and let them talk back at least a little bit. According to Bruce Fuller a UC Berkeley professor; white parents deploy reasoning techniques more compared to other cultures. There are different ways, cultures, and techniques to raise children between whites, blacks and Mexican-American. Reasoning with children is the best way to raise youngsters.