| Thinker | Strand | Human Nature | Society | State | Economy | Traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobbes | Traditional | Needy, vulnerable, and ruthlessly selfish. Life is “nasty, brutish and short”. | Non-existent without the state. Formed via a contract for security. | Autocratic, intimidating, and forbidding to ensure order. Precedes society. | Motivated by a restless desire to acquire goods. General support for order and property. | Dogmatism |
| Burke | Traditional | ”Fallible yes, terrible no”. Guided by custom/habit rather than reason. | Organic and emerging gradually. Comprised of “little platoons” (local communities). | Should be aristocratic and hierarchical (“born to rule”). Must “change to conserve”. | Robust ally of laissez-faire and free trade. | Organicism Pragmatism Empiricism |
| Disraeli | One Nation | Embraced class differences but saw them as part of a national ‘family’. | A national community where the rich have a paternalistic duty to the poor. | Should be used to bridge the gap between “Two Nations” through social reform. | Moderated capitalism; support for state intervention to ensure social cohesion. | Paternalism Pragmatism Human fallibility |
| Oakeshott | Traditional | ”Fallible but not terrible”. Prefers the familiar to the unknown. | Organic; stems from past development like a plant. Aim is to “stay afloat”. | Exists to “prevent the bad rather than create the good”. Pragmatic; “keeping the ship afloat”. | Sceptical of state management. Supports traditional private property. | Organicism Pragmatism Empiricism (going with what works) Keynesianism (John Maynard Keynes) |
| Rand | New Right | Atomistic; driven by self-interest and “rational self-fulfilment”. Believed everyone had a right to own property. | A loose collection of autonomous, independent individuals. | Small and limited to order and security. “Rolling back the frontiers of the state”. | Pure laissez-faire capitalism. Hostile to the “dependency culture” of welfare. | Individualism Privatisation Dogmatism |
| Nozick | New Right | ”Freedom-loving pack animals”. Individuals have “self-ownership” of talents. | A multitude of voluntary, self-sufficient communities. | ”Minarchist” (minimal); limited to enforcing laws and contracts. | Free-market capitalism; views taxation as “theft”. Hostile to welfare states. | Individualism Privatisation Dogmatism |
Traits
| Trait | Definition | Clashing Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Pragmatism | Evidence over theory. | Dogmatism |
| Individualism | Self-fulfilment achieved through realisation of an individual’s distinct qualities. Ties back to the theory of self-actualisation. | Collectivism |
| Keynesianism | A mixed economy - part-state, part-private. | Privatisation |
| Empiricism | All learning comes from observation and experience. | Dogmatism |
| Organicism | State/society is created naturally. | Individualism (Atomism) |
| Privatisation | Private companies are better suited to running corporations. | Keynesianism |
| Collectivism | Priority to group over individuals. | Individualism |
| Dogmatism | Policy based on ideology. | Pragmatism, Empiricism |