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Full Idea
Many conservatives want their world to be peaceful, properous, and pluralist, just as liberals do, but they don't particularly care that it be fair.
Gist of Idea
Conservatives often want peace, prosperity and tolerance, but not social fairness
Source
Adam Gopnik (A Thousand Small Sanities [2019], 1)
Book Ref
Gopnik,Adam: 'A Thousand Small Sanities' [riverrun 2019], p.47
A Reaction
Every conservative will have a sense of what is fair (such as appropriate punishments, and keeping of contracts), but they are more inclined to think that fairness must be fought for by individuals, not imposed by governments.
| 23393 | Confucianism assumes that all good developments have happened, and there is only one Way [Norden on Kongzi (Confucius)] |
| 7257 | All modern social systems seem to be conspiracies of the rich [More,T] |
| 21988 | In the 1840s Hegel seemed to defend society being right as it is, as a manifestation of Mind [Hegel, by Singer] |
| 23817 | We need both equality (to attend to human needs) and hierarchy (as a scale of responsibilities) [Weil] |
| 23829 | National leaders want to preserve necessary order - but always the existing order [Weil] |
| 23107 | Prosperity is a higher social virtue than justice [Kekes] |
| 22259 | Conservatives are either individualistic, or communal [Sandel] |
| 7588 | Allegiance is fundamental to the conservative view of society [Scruton] |
| 8990 | So-called 'liberation' is the enemy of freedom, destroying the very structures that are needed [Scruton] |
| 20451 | Belief that humans are wicked leads to authoritarian politics [Critchley] |
| 22838 | Societies need shared values, so conservatism is right if rational discussion of values is impossible [Charvet] |
| 23126 | Conservatives often want peace, prosperity and tolerance, but not social fairness [Gopnik] |
| 23132 | Conservatives believe obedience and rank are essential to social order [Gopnik] |