POL 1000 – Lecture 4:
Liberalism & Conservatism
Sean Clark
Lecturer, Memorial University
Doctoral Fellow, CFPS
Fall Session, 2011
Lecture Arc
 1. Ideology.
 Proponents, tenets, evolxn, & place in contemp
politics.
 2. Liberalism.
 Classical, Reform, Modern.
 3. Conservatism.
 Classical, Modern.
Ideology
 Is about a system of values & preferences.
 Who should get what? By what means? To what ends?
 In particular, what is preferred balance btn:
 order & freedom.
 individuality & social equality?
  are axes of trade-offs.
 (can graph accordingly).
 Traditional ‘left-right’ axis taken from sitting positions at the Constitutional
Convention in 1789 Paris.
 Aristocrats & defenders of the monarchy sat to the rights of the speaker’s
tribune, while those in favour of a republic sat on the left.
 Grouping assembly members in this way facilitated counting votes.
 By 2nd half of 19thC, ‘left-right’ labels spread to rest of Eur.
 Civil liberties & econ freedoms parties sat on left, while right sat
defenders of old hierarchical order & commercial protectionism.
 In 20thC, see left as govt intervxn, & right as free market (i.e. reversed
positions from the previouse century).
 Generally exist w/in longstanding philosophical traditions.
 These battles are not new—though specifics do evolve over time.
Classical Liberalism
 1. Classical liberalism emerged 1st in ~17thC UK.
 Part of struggle btn rapidly growing bourgeoise & monarchy.
 Merchants & traders wanted rep in govt in return for paying taxes.
 Force King John to sign Magna Carta in 1215.
 Victory in Civil War (absolutist Charles I beheaded in 1649) = parliament becomes more
assertive.
 Goal (i.e. Locke 1632-1704): keep rulers accountable.
 Absolute power becomes arbitrary & corrupt, hence dangerous to the common good.
 Thus need ‘consent of the governed’ to ensure govt acts in society’s best interests.
 Demand: hold regular elections to provide popular representatives (at least for this new wealthy class),
or else we’ll rebel.
 Focus on the utility-maximizing individ (profit is good).
 Humans are rational, autonomous (choose for themselves), & self-interested.
 Individuals know their circumstances best, thus govt intervention should be limited or lassezfaire (let Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ work).
 Require freedom (political, economic, even social, i.e. religion) to let intellect & creativity reach its
potential.
 Ensure basic freedoms, & our self interest will drive us to work hard, be efficient, etc.
 Assume max’d individ self-interest will = max’d GROUP self-int.
 Equality before law (‘= rights’) vital to prevent abuse by the powerful (though liberals often pursue this
half-heartedly, i.e. women’s suffrage).
 Jefferson: “That government is best which governs least.”
 Classic liberals want army, police, prisons—and not much else.
 Whig legislator Thomas Babington Macaulay: “Our rulers will best promote the improvement of
the nation by strictly confining themselves to their own legitimate duties, by leaving capital to
find its own most lucrative course, commodities their fair price, industry and intelligence their
natural reward, idleness and folly their natural punishment, by maintaining peace, by defending
property, and by observing strict economy in every department of the state. Let the government
do this: the people will assuredly do the rest.”
Reform Liberalism
 2. Reform
 19th C Indust Rev & rise of middle class alongside poverty of working class
accelerated demands.
 As wealth diffused, so too did demands for representation (liberalism became more democratic).
 Suffrage therefore increased, first to working class males (mid-late 1800s), then to women (~WWI).
 1688-1832: <10% of adult UK males can vote. 1832 Act: 14%. 1867 Act: 32% 1885: 56%.
‘18 all men over 21 & women >30yrs.
 1800s also saw successive Factory Acts, to improve working conditions, lower work hours (to 10/day),
& ban children.
 Reinforced by failure of classical liberal solutions.
 I.e. ‘hands-off’ not help in Irish Potato famine.
 Middle classes growing, but many in lower classes staying poor.
 Movt from ‘negative’ freedom (no constraints), to ‘positive’ (must have not just
right, but also capacity to act).
 Can poor really be free if have no opportunities to pursue own creativity? Thus must empower
those marginalized. = rise of the ‘welfare state’.
 Much more willing to accept state intervention, i.e. higher taxes (including ‘progressive T’, where rich
T’d at >er rate) & modern welfare state—the ‘social safety net’.
 Pearson: “Liberalism includes the negative requirement of removing anything that stands in the
way of individual and collective progress….The Liberal Party, however, must also promote the
positive purpose of ensuring that all citizens, without any discrimination, will be in a position to
take advantage of the opportunities opened up; of the freedoms that have been won.” (pix)
 Democ & liberalism not the same concept.
 Can be liberal (have rights & freedoms), but no voting (i.e. pre-1997 HK), or have voting, but
little freedoms (i.e. Russia today).
Modern Liberalism
 Western societies dominated by liberalism (more than ‘Large-L’ liberal parties
adhere).
 Politically: power limited by parliament, elections, federalism, legal rights (i.e.
Charter).
 US: keen on Classical lib: checks & balances at every level (i.e. split btn President & Congress).
 Chief concern is max individual freedom & keeping check on govt power.
 Europe: more Reform-minded, i.e. big on social justice.
 Economically: free market economies are the norm—though govts do intervene in
certain sectors.
 Some redistribution of wealth thru progressive T, public education & infrastructure, ect.
 Political debates centre btn Classical ideals (such as lower T) & Reform
(empowerment of the disadvantaged).
 (Tragically) ironic that shout so much when agree on the basics.
 1990s & early 2000s: heavy emphasis on exporting liberal precepts abroad (how
aggressively, however, has been matter btn hawks & doves).
 Hoped to spread liberal individualist freedoms & trade (is a longstanding quest to ‘spread the
gospel’), but results were mixed (i.e. China trades, but is authoritarian. Haiti has neither. Plus, ltd
govt = layoffs).
 Robert Kagan: US’ “grand strategy of building the post-Cold War order around expanding markets,
democracy, and institutions was the triumphant embodiment of the liberal vision of international order.”
 Clinton ’94 State of the Union: “Democracies don’t attack each other.”
 Crucial is Nye’s ‘Soft Power.’
 US 2002 National Security Strategy: prominently features democracy promotion.
 Is much more hawkish willingness. I.e. Ferguson: ‘Soft power is, well, soft.’
 Lee Kuan Yew: East Asia’s collectivist values (primacy of community, not individual) mean
liberalism is ill-suited.
 How eagerly has liberalism been taken up in Afghanistan?
Classical Conservatism
 Intellectually rooted in European feudalism, & imperial
absolutism before that (‘archaic conservatism’).
 I.e. Plato (writing amidst Athenian decline): unbridled democ is
dangerous. Need ‘philosopher-king’ to direct society in best fashion.
 Crown (usually a monarch chosen thru blood lineage) leads
society to ensure its protection, w obedience demanded in
return.
 Bodin (1529-96): sovty is the untrammelled & undivided power to make laws.
 Blackstone ‘1765-70: “there is and must be in every state a supreme,
irresistible, absolute and uncontrolled authority, in which the right of
soverignty resides.”
 Job of Hobbes’ Leviathan: bring order to society—organize our
common defence against threats both w/in & w/out: securing peace
rather than securing liberty is the key conern.
 The bargain is obedience for safety.
 Everyone has function & place, thus best to stick to it. (thus inherently
accepts hierarchy).
 Borden 1913: “all men are not born equal in their capacity and energy.”
(p216).
 Is history’s most commonly pervasive ideology.
 Though ran up against ever-stronger liberalism in 1600s & 1700s.
A Fear of Change
 French Revolution (1789) was watershed for classical
thought. Feudal order swept away in spasm of violence.
 ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’ was liberal rallying cry. Elites
overthrown & killed (i.e. Louis XVI, Lavoisier).
 Liberal Emmanuel-Joseph Seyès: “What is the Third Estate? It is the
whole?” [conservatives fear this mob rule].
 Conservatives, i.e. Burke (1729-1797), were frightened at all the
damage.
 Society held together by custom & tradition, thus so radical a break can
offer only turmoil & dictatorship (Directory, not democracy followed).
 Value order over freedom.
 Burke 1790: “Good order is the foundation of all good things.”
 Common for Victorian N. Amer to approve of class, rank, &
distinctions (i.e. Macdonald, Cartier)—i.e. pro Senate, Riel
executed 1885.
 Meighen ‘35: thinking of today is not “nearly as careful or as wellinformed or as thoroughly guided by moral principles as the thinking of
forty years ago.”
Modern Conservatism
 Abhor tyranny (are pro democracy), but also do not accept assumption that society
is aggregation of individuals.
 Instead, is an organic whole (i.e., ‘the nation’), where all organs must work in concert—
thus emphasis unity above all.
 Stress importance of shared social values & traditions--when lacking, conflict risks rupturing society.
 As we have seen, society can tear itself apart.
 Freedom matters (unlike in classical version), but retain a sense of the need for order.
 Take classical idea of powerful sovty & divide it up (so is to state, not just 1 ruler). Still is need for
powerful state, however.
 ‘Democratic Toryism.’
 Implication of preferring stability & conformity is that you assume an objective moral
order exists (such as religion or family).
 These will be signposts of ‘right’ & ‘wrong.’
 Deviation from this moral guidance is viewed skeptically (again, risking social fabric).
 I.e. Plato attacked ‘practical moralism’ (or moral relativism) of the Sophists. Offered instead ‘Republic’
as a permanent set of moral truths.
 Even Aristotle defended the aristocracy’s right to rule (though should be opened for others to join).
 Adherence demanded (though often under-recognized) not for irrational reasons (i.e. zealotry or
fanatiscism), but for instrumental ones (i.e. keep society together).
 Is useful role for the state: ensure law & order w/in, & security from foreign threats.
 Like Reform liberals, are convinced the state has a useful role to play.
 Emphasis, however, is not on individual freedom, but the order, security, & prosperity of the collective.
 I.e. charity is not matter of equality (as hierarchy is okay), but of moral necessity.
 I.e. rich face ‘noblesse oblige’ (responsibility to assist the less fortunate).
Conservatism Today

Modern conservatism has tempered its views under the liberal challenge..

No longer advocate institutionalization of inequality (i.e. emperors).
 Are in favour of democracy. Gifted must be given opportunity to rise.

Even so, remain convinced that submission to authority and slowing change can actually
be a good thing—helps w social cohesion.
 Still have much to say re crime, religion, national development, immigration & morality
legislation.


Look at Quebec’s ‘Reasonable Accommodations’ panel, France’s veil ban, US & mosque-building,
Harper’s prison building —all pt of conservative tendency to put a brake on change.
In West, liberalism is dominant, but still are conservative trends.


US: social conservatism, particularly regarding religion, still very powerful.
Canada: Conservative Party emphasizes law & order, nation-building projects (i.e.
continental railway, early opposition to FT), & a muscular foreign policy.
 Even stronger was pre-’60s Quebec, w political leaders promoting ‘Catholic values’ of large
families, rural lifestyles, & apoliticalization.

Europe: ‘Christian Democratic’ parties still popular. Stress moral issues (i.e. marriage,
abortion) & national development (ag subsidies, industrial champions, etc).
 Cameron post Aug ‘11 riots: "Children without fathers. Schools without discipline. Reward
without effort. Crime without punishment. Rights without responsibilities. Communities without
control. Some of the worst aspects of human nature tolerated, indulged – sometimes even
incentivized – by a state and its agencies that in parts have become literally demoralized.”


 May be a return to conservative though (or perhaps has been an under-appreciation of
the strength of its endurance)
Outside West, conservatism is even more powerful.

Asia is deeply committed to nation-building projects (i.e. Three Gorges). Africa & Mid
E extremely socially-conservative. Latin America retains powerful, respect of authority
commitment to unity, & glory of the state.
How Ideologies Compete