One Nation Conservatism

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As a one-nation conservatism ( one nation conservatism ) or Tory Democracy ( Tory democracy ) is called in the UK , a moderately conservative, strong social policy-oriented political attitude. Within the Conservative Party , one-nation conservatives represent the left wing and are thus in opposition to Thatcherism .

history

The term one-nation conservatism goes back to a statement made by then Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli . He said that there are actually two nations in the country: one of the rich and one of the poor who have little contact with each other. He saw it as his task to create social harmony between the different classes and social groups:

“My purpose in politics is to reach towards a reconciliation of these interests, and the creation of one nation. [...] I believe in the virtues, and indeed in the necessity - of peaceful change, in the gradual advance of the Civilized society. "

Disraeli's concern was to find an answer to the social problems that had arisen as a result of the industrial revolution without, like his contemporary Karl Marx , propagating the path of revolutionary confrontation (cf. class struggle ) between rich and poor. Disraeli saw it as the task of the traditional aristocratic elite in particular to show social responsibility for the newly emerging workers. In this way the workers should participate in the growing prosperity and thereby be integrated into the existing political and social system. The principle of one-nation conservatism therefore expresses an essentially paternalistic attitude: it is the duty of society to show consideration for the weak and poor. With Disraeli, this approach became the dominant trend in British conservatism. The party gradually managed to shake off the image of the elite party, to become eligible for broad sections of the population, and to portray the liberal Whigs as representing the interests of industry and big business, thereby largely discrediting them among the workers.

In the course of the global economic crisis , an abundance of interventionist measures on the corporate or Keynesian model was implemented. Prime Ministers Stanley Baldwin , Harold Macmillan and Edward Heath can be assigned to this direction. Macmillan won the general election in 1959 not least because he presented himself as an economically and socially oriented reformist conservative against the background of a very positive economic situation. With the crises of the 1960s and 1970s ( stagflation , energy crisis ), the economic and socio-political measures of the One-Nation-Tories fell into disrepute, and since Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1975 they have only represented a minority within the party. Little astonishingly, prominent one-nation conservatives like Ian Gilmour were among the sharpest critics of Thatcher's liberal-economic policies. The social philosopher John N. Gray is of the opinion that the electoral success of Labor politician Tony Blair can be explained not least by the support of Blair by disappointed One-Nation-Tories.

The Tory Reform Group (TRG), founded in 1975, promotes the one-nation policy to the British public. Its current president is Kenneth Clarke , who ran three times (1997, 2001 and 2005) for the party chairmanship, but failed each time - not least because of the fierce opposition of the Thcherist wing. Prominent members of the TRG include Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Michael Heseltine .

The Prime Ministers David Cameron , Theresa May and Boris Johnson , who have been in office since 2010, often placed themselves in the tradition of this policy; May described herself in February 2017 as "Prime Minister of a one-nation-conservative government" and declared a far-reaching departure from Thatcherism:

“We don't just believe in markets, we believe in communities. We don't just believe in individualism, we believe in society. We do not hate the state, we value the role that only it can play. "

Positions

One-nation conservatism is both value-conservative and socio-politically progressive . The basic values ​​of freedom , responsibility and community as well as the conviction that market efficiency and social justice are compatible are emphasized . The TRG describes itself as a traditional representative of moderate and pragmatic conservatism.

Although the TRG has not formulated an officially binding position on foreign policy, one-nation tories are predominantly considered to be pro-European, which again distinguishes them from the EU-skeptical Thatcherists.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dominik Geppert: Thatcher's conservative revolution. The change of direction of the British Tories 1975–1979. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-486-56661-X , p. 342
  2. ↑ The origin of “one-nation” politics The Economist , July 18, 2016
  3. ^ Gerhard Altmann: Farewell to the Empire. The internal decolonization of Great Britain 1945-1985 . Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-89244-870-1 , p. 222
  4. ↑ John Gray: Politics of the Apocalypse. How religion plunges the world into crisis. Klett-Cotta Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-608-94114-2 , p. 150f.
  5. ^ Cameron 'Heir to Disraeli as a One Nation Conservative The Daily Telegraph
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CNNiVWUyas
  7. ↑ Prime Minister Theresa May backs statue of 'One Nation' Baldwin Daily Telegraph , February 11, 2017
  8. ↑ How Theresa May wants to save capitalism from itself Manager Magazin , July 12, 2016
  9. ^ Tory Reform Group: About the TRG

literature

Web links