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CONSERVATISM

Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2012, classical liberalism, Conservatism

It is important to think of conservatism as a set of ideas that is not necessarily the same as those upheld by political parties calling themselves ‘Conservative’.

Some modern ‘Conservative’ parties are strongly associated with the idea of a reduced role for government (privatization, reduced social programs) and promotion of free markets.

This perspective, however, is based on classical liberalism rather than conservatism. Conservative ideas do not welcome the unrestricted operations of a free market, but value social stability and the maintenance of traditional community bonds and social hierarchies.

Conservatives assume that institutions and values that have lasted a long time embody the collective experience of the community. They have persisted because they have played a valuable and positive role in society.

The prospect of a conservative revolution has raised the anxiety of the predominantly liberal disability leadership. Whether the diverse disability community shares the policy objectives of the leadership, and its concern over the conservative agenda, is not clear. This article considers four major branches of the conservative movement—fiscal conservatism, the federalist movement, social and religious conservatism, and libertarianism—and their compatibility with the independent living movement, a social movement supported by most people with disabilities. It concludes that the two social movements have several consistent tenets, such as individual responsibility, personal and economic freedom, and self-reliance. Conversely, liberal policies, which tend to encourage dependency, appear in direct conflict with the independent living philosophy. The Americans with Disabilities Act is examined as a disability policy that is largely consistent with conservative principles. The article concludes that, to achieve their policy goals, people with disabilities should seek representation on both sides of the political aisle and should develop proposals that will be acceptable to conservatives and moderates as well as liberals. - Ideology and Independent Living: Will Conservatism Harm People with Disabilities? ANDREW I. BATAVIA  ann.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/549/1/10

A Reflection of The Rising Spectre of Conservatism: Motivational Accounts of Social Work Students 
IAN O'CONNOR, LEN DALGLEISH and JANET KHAN 
Summary: It has recently been argued that the increasing conservatism of Western society is reflected in those entering social work. Pearson, however, has argued that social work recruits by their choice of occupation are politically deviant. In this paper motivational accounts of social work students and intending psychologists are examined in light of the emerging political trends. Social work students were more concerned with personal growth, and later in training with effecting social change, than the intending psychologist. An examination of motivational accounts revealed two groups of social work students. The traditional base of the profession was represented by a subgroup who wished to help others and/or effect social change. A second group of students, concerned with the benefits that could accrue to self through social work practice, was also identified. It is considered this privatization reflects the dominant ideological trend being given personal meaning by the student. - bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/14/1/227

Urban renewal and the culture of conservatism: changing perceptions of the tower block and implications for contemporary renewal initiatives 
Keith Jacobs, Tony Manzi, University of Westminster 
The article is divided into two parts. In the first part, we examine the emergence of the tower block phenomenon and summarize the cause of its subsequent decline. The issue is important, for, as we argue, tower blocks have been used to discredit not only public housing, but state welfare provision in general. In the second part, we utilize our analysis of developments in social policy in the United Kingdom in the 1990s to generate a critique of housing renewal strategies. Although it is important not to read across simplistically between politics, cultural crit icism and policy failure, nevertheless with reference to tower blocks we argue there is a commonality between these three issues. By highlighting these links it is possible to show how many of the latest housing pro posals are influenced by a one-dimensional reading of 'modernity', accentuating the negative aspects and neglecting some of the positive attributes. As a consequence, the philosophies that now underpin housing development are, in many respects, regressive and unimagina tive. - csp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/18/55/157

Jury Toughness: The Impact of Conservatism On Criminal Court Verdicts 
James P. Levine 
An analysis of criminal court verdicts after trials with and without juries shows that, contrary to popular belief, juries are acting tougher than judges in deliberating the fate of defendants. Study of 58,336 trials of persons charged with felonies in six states and the District of Columbia shows that juries convict substantially more often than judges trying cases alone. The slightly contrary results in two other jurisdictions are explained by special circumstances. The phenomenon of jury toughness is seen to be the result of changes in the dominant po litical ideology, as trend data on federal court verdicts show an increasing rate of jury convictions since the 1950s as a response to the growth of popular conserva tism on criminal justice issues. Jurors, as representing the body politic, have used their discretion over fact finding as their means of expressing indignation about crime and dealing harshly with criminals. - cad.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/1/71

Two Currents of Conservatism in Modern Japan 
James Babb 
Lecturer in Japanese Politics at the Department of Politics, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England 
This paper examines the division of Japanese conservatives into two political parties in the early post-war period in order to understand why one party chose to enter a coalition government led by the Japanese Socialist Party in 1947 while the other refused. It argues that Japanese conservatives were divided between those who favoured heavy industry and state involvement in the solution of social and economic problems, and those who focused on the defence of the rural and traditional status quo. The war had augmented this division and moved the industrializing conservatives closer to the Socialists. This commonality of interests continued after the war and formed the political basis for an industrial–statist conservative alliance with the Socialists, which led to the formation of a centre–left coalition government in 1947. - ssjj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/5/2/215  

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