Philosopher Roger Scruton argues in 'How to be a conservative' that conservatism is an instinct to preserve
things (either useful or 'elevating' even if financially worthless) that have been around a very long time. While not converted to his views wholesale, I did find some interesting points.
The UK law of corporations means that businesses are obliged to make a profit. Since charities are legally not able to make a profit, they set up 'trading arms' to generate income.
Society is composed of individuals. Socialism and communism sought to redress injustices by imposing forms of government, sometimes by force.
Boundaries are not created by drawing lines on a map, but 'arise through emergence of national identities, which in turn requires that religious obedience take second place to the feeling for home, territory and settlement'. RS thinks that putting religion above nationality (e.g. Islam), as a test of membership, poses a threat to political order.
Western civilization is rooted in Christianity, which focuses on confession and forgiveness. Accountability in public office is one manifestation of this, but is absent from the Islamic world and rapidly disappears from dictatorships. [My note: It is increasingingly absent from Western politics with cover-ups all too common.] There has been a gradual transfer of authority and decision-making from the bottom of society to the top.
Education used to be the transmission of knowledge, then became social engineering, eliminating distinctions and unfair advantages. He claims that a diverse educational system, with well-designed and rigorous examinations, will enable children to find the skill, expertise or vocation that suits their abilities. [My note: I don't know of any country which does this. The grammar/comprehensive divide means that children 'fail' at a young age. The 1960s proposed UK technical schools never became a reality.]
Post WW2, the view that nationalism was the cause of war has led to increased European integration. As an ideology, nationalism (as with all ideologies) is dangerous. It replaced religion, which gave a purpose for life. Everyday nationalism is based on settlement, with peace between neighbours. RS claims that because we define membership in territorial terms, we enjoy elementary freedoms and that in states founded on religious obedience, freedom of conscience is a scarce and threatened asset. He notes that our laws (UK) are secular and, where possible, neutral to religion while shari'ah law was intended for a long-gone community. The English speaking world has internalized the idea that law exists to do justice between individuals, and not to impose a uniform regime of commands.
Socialism aimed to give equal opportunity to all but had unintended consequences of long-term benefit dependency. He accepts that inequality breeds resentment, and recommends using your wealth wisely to benefit the most people. [My note: Does this happen much? A few wealthy people are known to donate much to specific causes, but probably this is a small minority.] Economic activity depends on knowing other people's wants, needs and resources; prices provide an index of scarcity of resource and/or extent of demand.
Market economies need legal and moral sanctions to function properly but modern economics have developed ways of avoiding costs or passing them on that bypass sanctions (hedge funds, sub-prime mortgages). New Islamic banking is elaborately dependent on legal fictions which make unreal estate into the primary subject matter of financial contracts.
Transferring costs. Glass bottles expensive to produce, so makers charged a refundable 2d per bottle, which were re-used. Now produced cheaply and thrown away. Supermarkets use transport networks built at public expense; zoning laws favour shopping malls and large warehouses. Packaging (25% by weight of products sold) is mostly non-degradeable. [My note: RS offers no solution.] On environmentalism, he states that we must find motives strong enough to restrict our appetites.
Liberalism has its roots in 19th century - political order exists to guarantee individual freedom; authority and coercion are only justified if liberty requires them.
Law. Tort - the wrongdoer must compensate the victim. Contract - anyone who breaks a contract must compensate the other for their loss. Equity - he who seeks equity must do equity. Citizenship is largely misunderstood by Islamists, who believe in unquestioning obedience to divine law. RS claims that Western govenrments are aware that many people (even maybe a majority) did not vote for them, so must make themselves acceptable to those they disagree with and states that traditional rights have been supplemented by positive duty rights and reciprocal duties (my right to life = your duty not to kill me).
Multi-culturalism. RS states that culture is permeable to the rest of life, adapts to organisations, which in turn adapts to the emancipation of the people. His view is that many migrants come to the West in search of the advantages of liberal jurisdiction but without understanding or accepting the costs. Effort is needed on both sides to integrate new arrivals into national life, and the common culture should adapt to include them, noting that race and culture are not the same thing. Fear of accusations of racism have meant refraining from criticism or action against overtly criminal actions such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation and 'honour' killings.
On internationalism, his view is that we should continue the ancient practice of the resolution of disputes between sovereigns by treaty, since such states are legal persons, who should deal with each other through a system of rights, duties, liabilities and responsibilities. Sanctions typically hurt the people, not ruling elites.
RS feels that religious obedience is not a necessary part of citizenship, and, in any conflict, the duties of the citizen must prevail over religious obedience.
He concludes that the virtues of Western democracies are inseperable from the secular rule of law, which is inherently territorial and thinks attempts to reduce legislative powers of sovereign nations must be resisted. Toleration means accepting the right of others to think and act in ways of which you disapprove - but this does not mean renouncing all opinions others might disagree with, an easy-going relativism or a belief that 'anythign goes'.
Roger Scruton: How to be a conservative. Bloomsbury, 2014 (hbk) and 2015 (pbk).
