TRADITIONAL POLITICAL IDEAS TLe)

MO-Ta

i
to the mixed economy / and
ee Pu
public ¢ owners
own
owner :Be
s hip,
libera
Jeolib era lism is§ also opposed
a actises :
ctises so-called ‘supp ly-side economics . Starting under Thatcher in t
Ayn Rand (1905-82) to many wester n
wester
other Sr eS,
states, a and mc yst
a‘ the 1980s but later extending
states Ini the 1990s, ; a policyicy of o f } priva-
A Russian-born writer and philosopher who emigrated to the USA when she was me 5 ed in postcommunisti
es sively pursu
agg tivised pEOnORIIGS by
21, deeply alienated by the Bolshevik Revolution, Rand (Alice Rosenbaum) became on has effectively dismantled both mixed and collec
alised indus-
a Hollywood screenwriter before developing a career as an essayist and novelist. transte vering
ene industries from public to private ownership. Nation
ay
Her philosophy of ‘objectivism’, which claimed to show people as they are (that ies vere exits for being inherently inefficient, because, palit
is, as rationally self-interested creatures), rather than as we may like them to be, profit motive . Nea ve
.firms and industries, they are not disciplined by the e
gave unabashed support to selfishness and condemned altruism. Rand defended wasntreflected
econoseymy was tn in the
the be
belie
ism’s
ism’s € emphas. is on tl he ‘supply-side’ of the
pure laissez-faire capitalism on the grounds that it both guarantees freedom g conditions that e cout g
and, by establishing untrammelled competition, it provides for the emergence of the elites needed governments should foster growth by providin
hat
to rather than consumersr to cons C ume. S The ain block k to
main
govern society. Rand's most influential works were her best-selling novels, The Fountainhead ucerss
proc jucer
Oe to prodO uce,
((1943] 2007) hi taaxes. Taxes, in
i -side culturere isis high
supply y-side
and Atlas Shrugged (1947). Strongly informed by her objectivist philosophy and Freidrich Nietzsche's the creation of an entrepreneurial,
fringe
infri
risee and infring
erpris proj ty
roperty
: on proper ri rights , a stat
stance some-
‘superman’ ideal, the former glorifies the struggles of the vi onary architect, Howard Roark, to
rise above i
thisaview, disco urage enterp
iscour
the conformism and corruption of his peers. The latter develops a portrait of a dystopian USA,
in which the times called f
the country has succumbed to over-government and rampant collectivism. For more on . : res d
Rand, see p. 51. * efficiency a
anti-statist on the grounds oF economic
Neoliberalism is not o1 ly
al rinciple S
princ ly
; € ota ly itsS$ commit
CO -
oa aie SS, bi
as eness
espeponsiv a lso ec
because€ of i its pooli
Free-market ideas gained renewed credibility during the 1970s as governments
to -
be defendi r g reedor
ae agains .
liber ty. Neoliberals claim /
ment to individual
experienced increasing difficulty in delivering economic stability and sustained :
‘creeping co llectivism’. At the extreme, these ideas leaddj in the direction of anar
growth. Doubts consequently developed about whether it was in the power Ut a a
of
government at all to solve economic
choreapitslisth (discussed in Chapter 5) and the belief
problems. Hayek and Friedman, for exam- be deliver a y er nee
vices, including the courts and public order, should
ple, challenged the very idea ofa ‘managed’ or ‘planned’ economy. They argued the renee a oO exe
e freedom defended by neoliberals is negative freedom:
that the task of allocating resources in a complex, industrialised economy was of government is oe
né trictions on the individual. As the collective power
simply too difficult for any set of state bureaucrats to achieve successfu y.
The m can only be one ee
as the principal threat to the individual, freedo
virtue of the market, on the other hand, is that it acts as the central nervous
rolling back social we ae " ‘
back the state. This, in particular, means
eample, Ca
system of the economy, reconciling the supply of goods and services with the
tion to economic arguments against welfare — for
demand for them. It allocates resources to their most profitable use and thereby it a
-nditure pushes up taxes, and that public services are sueses
ensures that consumer needs are satisfied. In the light of the re-emergence of In the first p ace, ae vere
—neoliberals object to welfare on moral grounds.
unemployment and inflation in the 1970s, Hayek and Friedman argued that
gov ency’: it saps initia
state is criticised for having created a ‘culture of depend
ernment was invariably the cause of economic problems, rather than the cure, spect.
and enterprise, and robs people of dignity and self-re
The ideas of Keynesianism were one of the chief targets of neoliberal criticism, a theory Tesuee
Welfare is thus the cause of disadvantage, not its cure. Such
Keynes had argued that capitalist economies were not self-regulating He placed (1984) also argued thal
the notion of the ‘undeserving poor’. Charles Murray
particular emphasis on the ‘demand side’ of the economy, believing that the g men, it Is a ame
as welfare relieves women of dependence on ‘breadwinnin
levels of economic activity and employment were dictated by the level of ‘aggre- largely somipased a ©
cause of family breakdown, creating an underclass
gate demand’ in the economy. Milton Friedman, on the other hand, argued nt against welfa ‘
that
mothers and fatherless children. A further neoliberal argume
there is a ‘natural rate of unemployment’, which is beyond the ability of govern- { 19 74) en ae )
based on a commitment to individual rights. Robert Nozick
ment to influence. He also argued that attempts to eradicate unemployment by s of welfare an i :
applying Keynesian techniques merely cause other, more damaging, economic advanced this most forcefully in condemning all policie
long as property ms
tribution as a violation of property rights. In this view, so
problems, notably inflalation. Inflation, neoliberals believe, threatens the entire from ae ncaa
been acquired justly, to transfer it, without consent,
basis of a market economy because, in reducing faith in money, the means of ca " ve ;
exchange,
1ounts to ‘legalised theft’. Underpinning this view is egoisti
it discourages people from undertaking commercial or economic in turn, owed nothing by
the idea that people owe nothing to society and are,
society into q question.
activity. However, Keynesianism had, in effect, encouraged governments to of P society
society,
i C
a stance that calls i
very notion
the > very
‘print money’, albeit in a well-meaning attempt to create jobs. The free-market
solution to inflation is to control the supply of money oball financial
lly boosted2 by the globa
by cutting public spend- The fortunes of neoliberalism were substantiaially
ing, a policy practised by both wi vorld
the world e
econo my seeeeming|gly
the Reagan and the Thatcher administrations sis which peaked in the autumn of E 2008,8, with
during the 1980s. Both administrations al crisis precip
ial crisis
ial tate the > steepei st
itated
precipi
also allowed unemployment to rise on the brink of systemic collapse. The financ - at
. g tax revent
193 to plumme
causing
sharply, in the belief that only the market could solve the problem. ecline in global output i
since the e 1930s,
TRADITIONAL POLITICAL IDEA: Eyal tii}

Key concept ... NEOCONSERVATISM

Robert Nozick (1938-2002)
‘Neoconservatism’ refers to developments within conservative ideology
AUS political philosopher, Nozick developed a form of libertarianism that that relate to both domestic policy and foreign policy. In domestic policy,
draws on the ideas of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and John Locke (see neoconservatism is defined by support for a minimal but strong state,
p. 17). At its core, is an entitlement theory of justice that takes certain rights fusing themes associated with traditional or organic conservatism with an
to be inviolable, and rejects the notion that social justice requires that a acceptance of economic individualism and qualified support for the free
society's income and wealth should be distributed according to a set pattern. market. Neoconservatives have typically sought to restore public order,
In particular, Nozick argued that property rights should be strictly upheld, strengthen ‘family’ or ‘religious’ values, and bolster national identity. In
provided that wealth has been justly acquired in the first place or has been foreign policy, neoconservatism was closely associated with the Bush
justly transferred from one person to another. On this basis, he rejected all administration in the USA in the years following 9/11. Its central aim was
forms of welfare and redistribution as theft. Nozick did not, nevertheless, to preserve and reinforce what was seen as the USA's ‘benevolent global
embrace anarchism. Instead, he argued that the state of nature is unsustainable hegemony’ by building up US military power and pursuing a policy of
since competition between private protection agencies will inevitably result worldwide ‘democracy promotion’.
in the emergence of a single dominant agency, which, in effect, becomes a minimal state. Nozi
major work is Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974), although some of its conclusions were mod
Examined Life (1989). For more on Nozick, see pp. 53 and 108.
ip ifferences between ...
and government debt to soar, and even bringing the creditworthiness of some NEOLIBERALISM AND NEOCONSERVATISM
countries into question. Although the initial response to the financial crisis was
a return to Keynesianism, in the form ofa US-led coordinated policy of ‘fiscal
, the crisis also provided new opportunities stemming from neolib- NEOLIBERALISM NEOCONSERVATISM
eralism. From a neoliberal perspective, soaring government debt is essentially classical liberalism traditional conservatism
a consequence of a failure to control state spending, implying that the solution atomism organicism
to indebtedness is ‘fiscal retrenchment’ or ‘austerity’. For example, in the UK radicalism traditionalism
the election of a Conservative-led coalition government in 2010 led to a swift libertarianism authoritarianism
break with Keynesianism and the introduction of a programme of spending economic dynamism social order
cuts more severe than those put in place under Thatcher in the 1980s. Whereas self-interest/enterprise traditional values
the adoption of austerity was essentially a political choice in the UK, in the case equality of opportunity natural hierarchy
of Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus, a reordering of the economy mal state strong state
along neoliberal lines was a condition of bailouts imposed during 2010-13 by internationalism insular nationalism
the EU, the IMF and the Eu opean Central Bank. pro-globalisa anti-globalisation
Ee eee
Neoconservatism
Neoconservatism emerged in the USA in the 1970s as a backlash against the Neoconservatives have developed distinctive views about both domestic pol-
ideas and values of the 1960s. It was defined by a fear of social fragmentation icy and foreign policy. The two principal domestic concerns of neoconserv-
or breakdown, which was seen as a product of liberal reform and the spread of atism have been with social order and public morality. Neoconservatives believe
s’. In sharp contrast to neoliberalism, neoconservatives stress at rising crime, delinquency and anti-social behaviour are generally a conse-
the primacy of politics and seek to strengthen leadership and authority in society. ence of a larger decline of authority that has affected most western societies
This emphasis on authority, allied to a heightened sensitivity to the fragility of since the 1960s. They have therefore called for a strengthening of social dis-
society, demonstrates that neoconservatism has its roots in traditional or organic ciplines and authority at every level. This can be seen in relation to the family.
conservatism. However, it differs
markedly from paternalistic conservatism, neoconservatives, the family is an authority system: it is both naturally
which also draws heavily on organic ideas. Whereas paternalistic conservatives rarchical — children should listen to, respect and obey their parents — and
believe, for instance, that community is best maintained by social reform and naturally patriarchal. The husband is the provider and the wife the home-maker.
the reduction of poverty, neoconservatives look to strengthen community s social authoritarianism is matched by state authoritarianism, the desire for
by restoring authority and imposing social discipline. Neoconservative a strong state reflected in a ‘tough’ stance on law and order. This led, in the USA
authoritarianism is, to this extent, consistent with neoliberal libertarianism. and the UK in particular, to a greater emphasis on custodial sentences and to
Both of them accept the rolling back of the state’s economic responsibilities. ger prison sentences, reflecting the belief that ‘prison w
TRADITIONAL POLITICAL IDEAS 3 Conservatism

Neoconservatism’s concern about public morality is based on a desire to re- smocracy throughout the world by a process of ‘regime change’, achieved by
assert the moral foundations of politics. A particular target of neoconservative itary means if necessary. Such ‘neocon’ thinking dominated US strategic
criticism has been the ‘permissive 1960s’ and the growing culture of ‘doing thinking in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and
your own thing’. In the face of this, Thatcher in the UK proclaimed her support Washington, particularly through the establishment of the ‘war on terror’ and
for ‘Victorian values’, and in the USA organisations such as Moral Majority cam the attacks on Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. Neoconservative foreign-
paigned for a return to ‘traditional’ or ‘family’ values. Neoconservatives see two policy thinking nevertheless declined in sig nificance from about 2005
dangers in a permissive society. In the first place, the freedom to choose one’s onwards, as the USA recognised the limitations of achieving strategic objec-
own morals or lifestyle could lead to the choice of immoral or ‘evil’ views. There tives through military means alone, as well as the drawbacks of adopting a
is, for instance, a significant religious element in neoconservatism, especially in ateral foreign-policy stance
the USA. The second danger is not so much that people may adopt the wrong
morals or lifestyles, but that they may simply choose different moral positions. In NATIONAL CONSERVATISM
the neoconservative view, moral pluralism is threatening because it undermines In recent decades, new fault lines have opened up within conservatism over
the cohesion of society. A permissive society is a society that lacks ethical norms its relationship to globalisation. While liberalism favours the construction of a
and unifying moral standards, It is a ‘pathless desert’, which provides neither market-based world economy in which there is the free movement of goods,
guidance nor support for individuals and their families. If individuals merely do services, capital and people, other tendencies within conservatism have served
as they please, civilised standards of behaviour will be impossible to maintain. as a counter-globalisation force, a mechanism of resistance to a ‘borderless
world’. This trend has been increasingly apparent since the early 2000s,
The issue that links the domestic and foreign policy aspects of neoconservative
having been boosted by the 2007-10 global financial crisis, which led to the
thinking is a concern about the nation and the desire to strengthen national
steepest decline in global output since the 1930s, and by the onset, in 2015,
identity in the face of threats from within and without. The value of the nation,
the European migration crisis. Counter-globalisation conservatism has been
from the neoconservative perspective, is that it binds society together, giving it
most apparent in the rise of far-right and anti-immigration parties, which
a common culture and civic identity, which is all the stronger for being rooted
have drawn on nm in adopting a ‘backward-looking’
in history and tradition. National patriotism (see p. 112) thus strengthens peo-
and culturally, and perhaps ethnically, ‘pure’ model of national identity. In
ple’s political will. The most significant threat to the nation ‘from within’ is the
many ways, this development has been part of the wider revival of populism,
growth of multiculturalism, which weakens the bonds of nationhood by threat- politics and the
which has seen growing disenchantment with conyentional
ening the political community and creating the spectre of ethnic and racial con- mature
emergence of anti-establishment leaders and movements in many
flict. Neoconservatives have therefore often been in the forefront of campaigns
emocracies, a phenomenon often called anti ] Right-wing , populist
for stronger controls on immigration and, sometimes, for a privileged status to have
parties, ar ticulating concerns about immigration and multiculturalism,
be granted to the ‘host’ community's culture (as discussed in Chapter 9). Such
become a feature of politics in many European states, a trend sometimes
concerns have widened and deepened as a result of the advance of globalisa-
entangled with growing disillusionment about EU integration, and especially
tion, as discussed in the next section. The threats to the nation ‘from without’
Ine ynetary union.
are many and various. In the UK, the main perceived threat has come from the
process of European integration; indeed, since the 1990s, UK conservatism has
at times appeared to be defined by
Key concept POPULISM
However, the nationalist dimension of neoconservative thinking also gave
‘Populism’ (from the Latin populus, meaning ‘the people’) has been used
rise to a distinctive stance on foreign policy, particularly in the USA. Neo- particular tradition
to describe both distinctive political movements and a
conservatism, in this form, was an approach to foreign policy-making that of political thought. Movements or parties described as populist have been
sought to enable the USA to take advantage of its unprecedented position characterised by their claim to support the common people in the face
of power and influence in the post-Cold War era. It consisted of a fusion of of ‘corrupt’ economic or political elites. As a political tradition, populism
neo-Reaganism and ‘hard’ Wilsonianism (after President Woodrow Wilson, reflects the belief that the instincts and wishes of the people provide the
1913-21). Neo-Reaganism took the form of a Manichaean world-view, in principal legitimate guide to political action. Populist politicians therefore
which ‘good’ (represented make a direct appeal to the people and claim to give expression to their
by the USA) confronted ‘evil’ (represented by
deepest hopes and fears, all intermediary institutions being distrusted.
‘rogue’ states and terrorist groups that possess, or seek to possess, weapons of
Although populism may be linked to any cause or ideology, it is often
mass destruction). This implied that the USA should deter rivals and extend its
seen as implicitly authoritarian, ‘populist’ democracy being the enemy of
global reach by achieving a position of ‘strength beyond challenge’ in military ‘pluralist’ democracy.
terms. ‘Hard’ Wilsonianism was expressed through the desire to spread US-style
TRADITIONAL POLITICAL IDEAS

The Front National in France, led by Marine Le Pen, the daughter of the founder of
the party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, has attracted growing electoral support since the
1980s for a platform largely based on resistance to immigration. In 2017, Le Pen
gained 10.6 million votes (34 per cent) in the second round of the presidential
hy, and to what extent, have conservatives supported tradition?
election, Other anti-immigration and anti-multiculturalist parties include the
Freedom Party in Austria, the UK Independence Party, the Northern League in conservatism a ‘disposition’ rather than a political ideology?
Italy, the Vlaams Blok in Belgium, the two Progress Parties in Norway and Den- ny has conservatism been described as a philosophy of imperfection?
mark, and the Danish People’s Party, which broke away from the Progress Party
t are the implications of the belief that society is an organic entity?
in 1995. Such national conservative parties and movements tend to prosper in
conditions of fear, insecurity and social dislocation, their How does the conservative view of property differ from the liberal view?
strength being their
capacity to represent unity and certainty, binding national identity to tradition How far do conservatives go in endorsing authority?
and established values. In other cases, such tendencies have been evident within Is conservatism merely a ruling class ideology?
larger and more mainstream conservative parties. This was, for example, evident
To what extent do conservatives favour pragmatism over principle?
in the UK Conservative Party's swift conversion to the cause of leaving the EU
(Brexit) following the ‘Leave’ victory in the 2016 EU referendum, and in the what ways is One Nation conservatism rooted in the assumptions of traditional conservatism?
subsequent decision by Theresa May's government to prioritise, in negotiations How and why have neoliberals criticised welfare?
with Brussels, the establishment of checks on immigration from the EU over the
To what extent are neoliberalism and neoconservatism compatible?
UK’s continued membership of the European single market. The link between
Why and how have conservatives sought to resist globalisation?
conservatism and nationalism is examined in greater depth in Chapter 6. (For
a discussion of the ideas and policies of the modern UK Conservative Party, see
Chapter 5 of Essentials of UK Politics.)

on of similarities and difference between conservative thought in the USA and the UK.

Honderich, T., Conservatism: Burke, Nozick, Bush, Blair? (2005). A distinctive and rigorously unsympathetic
account of conservative thought; closely argued and interes:

a, K., Conservatism (2011). A defence of a small-c sceptical conservatism that draws heavily on the writings
f Burke and Oakeshott.
n, R., The Meaning of Conservatism (2001). A stylish and openly sympathetic study that develops a distinc-
tive view of the conservative tradition.