Conservatism - economy

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  • Created by: mfwe
  • Created on: 22-05-19 13:03

Conservatism - economy

Similarities

  • All Cons are united to an extent; all accept capitalism as best economic system.
  • All support right to own private property, and all (to differing extents) accept inequality and consequent hierarchy that comes from capitalism.
  • Burke, Rand and Nozick strongly supported Smith's laissez-faire economic theories.
  • ON, who are prepared to intervene in the economy the most, supported private enterprise/business. Support for Keynesian economics was pragmatic at the time as it was popular/seemed to be successful.
  • All fundamentally reject socialism as economic system as it aims to achieve economic equality, which all strands see as undesirable.
  • Some overlap: Neo-Lib NR can be in agreement with Hobbes, by focusing on state providing law and order but not economic intervention.
  • Supporters of NR argue a prosperous economy brings stability to society (which Trad and ON both want) + more money to spend on police, thus strengthening the nation.

Differences

  • Capitalism = prone to radical change, so Trad desired some control. Fear unstable nature of it + liberal belief that free market is solution to economic problems. Pessimistic: most Trad not prepared to support laissez-faire economics in the same way Neo-Libs do.
  • Trad reluctantly supports capitalism, prepared for state to introduce more measures, eg tariffs, to protect home producers/stabilise prices (protectionism).
  • Rand + Nozick oppose protectionism as it disrupts market forces.
  • ON prepared to intervene further than Trad in intervening; Disraeli: prepared to support increased gov regulation of economy (eg factory regs that forced standards on to capitalist factory owners).
  • From mid-20th century: ON embraced Keynesian economics; state managed market forces to ensure full employment + intervened heavily in economy when slumping. Contrasts Neo-Lib NR: it's the gov's job to control inflation, not provide full employment.
  • Macmillan: Keynesian = middle way between USSR's state-controlled economy and extremes of free market capitalism that caused Wall Street Crash/Great Depression.
  • ON: accepted limited nationalism/progressive taxation with wealthy paying more.
  • NR: fundamentally opposed this level of state intervention. Rand and Nozick had fundamental faith in free market; reject expansion of state that ON was prepared to support because it was morally + economically wrong.
  • NR politicians eg Thatcher shrunk state through privatisation and lowering of taxes.
  • Neo-Libs: mixed economy and public ownership = inefficient and wasteful. Supported competition as way of driving up standards. Also supported de-regulation/********* back of gov restrictions. Gov should cut welfare programmes for economic and moral reasons.
  • Key division between ON and Neo-Lib NR = one embraces interventionist Keynesian economics + one embraces Smith and Von Hayek's laissez-faire economics.

Overall comparison

In conclusion, whilst all conservatives fundamentally reject the socialist economic system, instead favouring the capitalist system, there is disagreement over the extent of state intervention in the economy, with Trad and ON both supporting increased intervention through Keynesian economics, and the NR fundamentally rejecting this level of intervention, instead preferring laissez-faire.

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