What are the core ideas of conservatism, and how do its traditional and New Right strands differ?
Conservatism: its core ideas of tradition, human imperfection, pragmatism, organic society and property, and the differences between traditional conservatism and the New Right.
A WJEC A2 Unit 3 study of conservatism: its core ideas of tradition, human imperfection, pragmatism, the organic society, hierarchy and property, and the key differences between traditional conservatism and the New Right, including neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism.
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What this dot point is asking
This WJEC A2 topic asks you to explain the core ideas of conservatism and to evaluate how far the New Right breaks with traditional conservatism. You need the central conservative commitments to tradition, human imperfection, pragmatism, the organic society and property, and the tension between traditional paternalism and the free-market individualism of the New Right.
The answer
The core ideas of conservatism
Human imperfection and order
Because humans are flawed and the world is complex, conservatives distrust grand theories and radical reform, preferring what has been tested by experience.
Tradition, pragmatism and the organic society
Conservatives value tradition as accumulated wisdom and a source of stability and identity, and favour pragmatism, judging policies by what works rather than by ideology. They see society as organic: a living whole that grows naturally, in which hierarchy and authority are natural and beneficial, and which should be preserved rather than redesigned. Property is valued for the security, independence and stake in society it provides.
Traditional conservatism and the New Right
The New Right brought a more ideological strand into conservatism, combining two elements.
- Neo-liberalism. Champions free markets, a rolled-back state, low taxes, deregulation and individualism, drawing on classical liberal economics.
- Neo-conservatism. Stresses strong social order, authority, traditional values and the nation, responding to fears about social breakdown.
The debate
The central evaluative question is how far the New Right breaks with traditional conservatism. There are continuities: both stress order, authority, the nation and property, and both resist socialism. But the neo-liberal embrace of free markets and individualism sits awkwardly with traditional conservatism's organic society, paternalism and caution about change, making the New Right more ideological and less pragmatic, which is why some see it as a significant break.
Examples in context
Paternalism versus the market. The tension within conservatism appears most clearly in attitudes to the state and society. Traditional conservatism, with its organic view, can support a degree of paternalism: those at the top of the hierarchy have a duty to look after the rest, and society is a fabric to be preserved. The New Right's neo-liberal strand, by contrast, prizes the free market, individual self-reliance and a smaller state, which can mean rolling back the very institutions and protections traditional conservatives valued. The same broad ideology therefore contains both a paternalist, organic impulse and a market-individualist one, which is the crux of the "break" debate.
Try this
Q1. What do conservatives mean by human imperfection? [3 marks]
- Cue. Humans are psychologically dependent, morally imperfect and intellectually limited, so order and authority matter.
Q2. Name the two strands that make up the New Right. [2 marks]
- Cue. Neo-liberalism (free markets and a minimal state) and neo-conservatism (strong order and the nation).
Q3. To what extent does the New Right break with traditional conservatism? [25 marks]
- What the marker wants. A judgement weighing shared conservative themes against the neo-liberal embrace of markets and individualism.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC A2 Unit 310 marksExplain the core ideas of conservatism.Show worked answer →
A short-answer question testing AO1 knowledge of an ideology.
Core ideas include: tradition (valuing inherited institutions and customs tested by time), human imperfection (humans are flawed, fallible and security-seeking, so order matters), pragmatism (a cautious, practical approach over abstract theory), the organic society (society as a living whole greater than its parts, with hierarchy and authority), and property (giving security, independence and a stake in society).
The best answers explain each idea and link them, for example showing how human imperfection leads to a stress on order and tradition, rather than listing terms.
WJEC A2 Unit 320 marksTo what extent does the New Right break with traditional conservatism?Show worked answer →
An extended evaluation requiring a balanced judgement.
Continuities: both stress order, authority, the nation and property, and both are sceptical of radical socialist change.
Breaks: the New Right's neo-liberal strand champions free markets, a rolled-back state and individualism, which sits awkwardly with traditional conservatism's organic society, paternalism and caution about change; the neo-conservative strand stresses strong social order and the nation. The New Right is more ideological and less pragmatic than traditional conservatism.
The top band weighs shared conservative themes against the neo-liberal embrace of markets and individualism, and reaches a supported judgement.
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