The Importance of Social Stability and Economic Freedom to Conservatism
Traditionally Conservatism has generally focussed on both social
stability and economic freedom, believing that the two are inherently
intertwined.
The central theme of Conservative thought, namely “the desire to
conserve”, is closely linked to the emphasis placed on respect for
tradition, established customs and institutions that have endured the
“test of time”. Conservatives fervently believe that tradition
reflects the accumulated wisdom of the past, and that institutions and
customs which have been tested by time, should all be preserved for
the benefit of the living and for those still to come. In this way,
tradition is believed to have the virtue of promoting stability and
security within society as it provides individuals with a sense of
social and historical belonging. This is underpinned by the
conservative’s pessimistic view of human nature, believing humans to
be naturally dependent and security-seeking creatures, drawn to the
familiar and desiring to live in safe and orderly communities.
Conservatives have traditionally viewed society as an organic whole or
a living entity whose parts work together in the same fashion the
brain, heart and lungs do in a human body. If society is organic, its
various institutions have been shaped by natural necessity and forces
so as to provide security and social cohesion. Any attempts to alter
this structure are thus fraught with danger as reform or change may
lead to the collapse of society. Conservatives have therefore been
suspicious of change and have generally adopted a pragmatic approach
believing in cha...
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rigorous economic policies such as high unemployment, by encouraging
people to help themselves before claiming benefits.
Conservatism has been concerned with both social stability and
economic freedom over the years. The measure of importance given to
each concept has alternated from time to time depending on the
dominant mood at different points in time and the prevailing
circumstances. Conservatives have adapted their policies to suit
current demands, whilst ensuring that “economic freedom” and “social
stability” have remained central tenets of conservative thought
throughout history. At some time one concept has been more dominant
than the other and vice versa. Nonetheless, Conservatives believe that
the tw2o are very much intertwined and that there can be no social
stability without economic freedom.
Leading up to the year 1981, America had fallen into a period of “stagflation”, a portmanteau for ‘stagnant economies’ and ‘high inflation’. Characterized by high taxes, high unemployment, high interest rates, and low national income, America needed to look to something other than Keynesian economics to pull itself out of this low. During the 1980 election, Ronald Reagan’s campaign focused on a new stream of economic policy. His objective was to turn the economy into “a healthy, vigorous, growing economy [which would provide] equal opportunities for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination.” Reagan’s policy, later known as ‘Reaganomics’, entailed a four-point plan which cut taxes, reduced government spending, created anti-inflationary policy, and deregulated certain products.
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.
Though “conservatism” and “conformity” were the catchphrases of the period there were nonconformity too. Dysfunctional families were there. Youth who were not satisfactory revolted against norms.
For the past century, the United States has been regarded as the greatest hegemonic power in the world. The U.S. played the most important role in the advancement of mankind from social, political, scientific, military, and economic standpoint. Unfortunately, today this is no longer true. Since the 1980’s the U.S. has been on a gradual decline. The introduction and implementation of trickle down economics, otherwise known as “Reaganomics,” has contributed greatly to the systemic dismantling of the socioeconomic structure that made America great.
In the late1960’s American politics were shifting at a National level with liberalism being less supported as its politics were perceived as flawed, both by people on the left who thought that liberalism was not as effective as more radical political enterprises and by conservatives who believed that liberal politics were ostensibly crippling the American economy.
Looking at the United States in 1965, it would seem that the future of the liberal consensus was well entrenched. The anti-war movement was in full swing, civil rights were moving forward, and Johnson's Great Society was working to alleviate the plight of the poor in America. Yet, by 1968 the liberal consensus had fallen apart, which led to the triumph of conservatism with the election of President Reagan in 1980. The question must be posed, how in the course of 15 years did liberal consensus fall apart and conservatism rise to the forefront? What were the decisive factors that caused the fracturing of what seemed to be such a powerful political force? In looking at the period from 1968 to the triumph of Reagan in 1980, America was shaken to the core by the Watergate scandal, the stalling of economic growth, gas shortages, and the Vietnam War. In an era that included the amount of turbulence that the 1970's did, it is not difficult to imagine that conservatism come to power. In this paper I will analyze how the liberal consensus went from one of its high points in 1965 to one of its lows in 1968. From there I will show how conservatism rose to power by the 1980 elections. In doing so, I will look at how factors within the American economy, civil rights issues, and political workings of the United States contributed to the fracturing of the liberal consensus and the rise of conservatism.
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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.
Capitalism, if you want to know what it is this will tell you, it is a place where you can get all the J’s, Nike’s, or if you like Adidas. Capitalism is an economic and political system that makes up a country's industry and trade which is made up of private companies separate from the government unlike socialism. Capitalism is the best economic system to allow your company to grow and succeed in a country's economy.
one may ask whether or not the ideas and goals of classical liberalism have been
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The poor gets poorer, and the rich gets richer. Economically speaking, this is the truth about Capitalism. Numerous people agree that this inequality shows the greedy nature of humankind. The author of the source displays a capitalist perspective that encompasses an individualist approach towards an “un-ideal” economic system. The source articulates a prominent idea that capitalism is far from perfect. The reality is, as long as capitalism exists, there are always those people who are too poor or too rich in the system. We do not need elitists in our society but that is exactly what capitalists are. In this society, people are in clash with those who “have” and those who “have not”, which creates conflict and competition. Throughout
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