Book No. –  3 (Political Science – Western Political Thought)

Book Name Western Political Thought (OP Gauba)

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1. What is Conservatism?

1.1. Limitations of Political Action must be Realised

1.2. Politics is a Matter of Prudence

1.3. Aims of Political Association Should be Discovered from within the Community

2. Advent of Neo-Conservatism

3. Conclusion

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Basic Tenets of Conservatism

Chapter – 13

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Harshit Sharma

Alumnus (BHU)

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Table of Contents

What is Conservatism?

  • Conservative tradition in political theory is based on the philosophy of conservatism.

  • Conservatism is better understood as a political attitude than a coherent political philosophy.

  • It is identified with the desire to ‘conserve’ or ‘preserve’ the existing order as the safest course of action.

  • Conservatism seeks to maintain institutions and practices that have stood the test of time.

  • This attitude is reflected in resistance to change, whether inspired by utopian social engineering or revolution.

  • Conservatism is opposed to both liberalism and Marxism.

  • Early hints of conservatism are found in the political thought of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas.

  • Modern exponents include David Hume, Edmund Burke, and contemporary champion Michael Oakeshott.


Utopian Social Engineering

Utopian social engineering refers to a conscious and concerted effort for the reconstruction of all social institutions according to the image of a utopia, i.e. an imaginary world where everything would be perfect in all respects.

Revolution

Revolution refers to an act of sudden and very fast changes in social system which may affect all aspects of social life, e.g. power structure, economy, ways of living, norms and beliefs, and so on. It may be the outcome of mass uprising, mass mobilization, new discovery and inventions, etc. Factors behind revolution may have taken time to reach the point of culmination, but their impact is felt abruptly at a given point of time.

Liberalism

Liberalism refers to a principle of politics which regards ‘liberty’ or ‘freedom’ of individual as the first and foremest goal of public policy. Liberty, in this sense, implies ‘liberation’ from restraints imposed by a tradition-bound society like a feudal state; or by an authoritarian regime. This principle was evolved in the West in late-seventeenth century in order to liquidate feudal privileges of the land-owning class and to create favourable conditions for the new entrepreneurial class to enable them to contribute to social progress.

Marxism

Marxism refers to a set of political and economic principles enunciated by Karl Marx (1818-83) and Friedrich Engels (1820-95) in order to lay scientific foundations of socialism. It seeks to understand the problems of human society through historical analysis, and treats history as a process of conflict between antagonistic forces and classes. This conflict arises from the faults in the mode of production in which one class comes to gain ownership and control of the means of social production and compels the other class to work on the terms and conditions dictated by the former. This conflict reaches its peak in the age of capitalism when it can be resolved by a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism, placing all means of social production (land, buildings, mines, forests, machinery and capital, etc.) under social ownership and control, enforcing universal labour and ensuring full development of the forces of production.

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