CONSERVATIVIS

M
PS 113 | BAPS-2A | POLITICAL CULTURE &
BEHAVIOR
I. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

• 18th century British philosopher

Edmund Burke and his 1790 work
Reflections on the Revolution in France
• Society is 'organic,' or real, rather than
just an abstraction created by the
musings of philosophers.
• Conservatism is the suspicion of
change
• change should only occur, if
necessary, in order to avoid a
greater evil

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• Any proposed change should be reviewed carefully
considering the facts on the ground rather than through a
prism of abstract theory.
• Maistre and Latin conservatism = Burkean conservatism
was evolutionary, the conservatism of Maistre was
counterrevolutionary.
• Traditional conservatism as a political philosophy dates to
the late 18th century but only loosely resembles the brand of
conservatism practiced in the United States today.

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 II. WORLD VIEW

•  The conservatives favored

tradition, culture, and
nationally defined beliefs and
customs and believed these
factors drove external changes in
the society.
• The conservatives were against
radical social changes and the
modernization of society at
large.
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III. IDEAL STATE

• Conservatives seek to “preserve

the political arrangements, how to
be conducive to good lives”,
• Conservatism follows Utilitarian
Theories like Hume and Paley
• All governments are founded on the
apathy of the masses and the voluntary
support of a powerful minority.

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 CENTRAL BELIEFS OF
  CONSERVATIVISM
• Tradition
• It generates social cohesion by linking people to the past and providing
them with a collective sense of who they are.

• Human Imperfection Society

• Human beings are thought to be psychologically limited and dependent
creatures. In the view of conservatives, people fear isolation and
instability.
• Humankind’s intellectual powers are also thought to be limited
 CENTRAL BELIEFS OF
CONSERVATIVISM
•  Hierarchy and Authority
• Conservatives have traditionally believed that society is naturally
hierarchical, characterized by fixed or established social gradations.
• There must be leaders and there must be followers; there must be
managers and there must be workers; for that matter, there must be those
who go out to work and those who stay at home and bring up children
• Property
• This doctrine has an attraction for those conservatives who regard the
ability to accumulate wealth as an important economic incentive
• Property ownership can promote what can be thought of as the
‘conservative’ values of respect for law, authority and social order
 The philosophic conservative recognizes the

“
distinction between political and non-political
government, 
1. Political:

2.Non-Political:
 IV. PROGRAMS OF ACTIONS

• Conservatives in Western society

strive to protect a variety of
institutions, including organized
religion, parliamentary governance,
and property rights.
• Conservatives oppose progressivism
and want to revert to traditional
values.

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V. EVALUATION OF THE
IDEOLOGY

• Unverified or unverifiable,
• Accepted as verified by a particular group, because it performs
social functions for that group.
• Ideologies claim ‘true’ definitions of liberty, equality, justice, rights
and the ‘best’ society.
• To persuade the people to obey, follow and support them, rulers
use ideologies of various kinds.

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“ THANK YOU