One nation conservatism (also known as one nationism, or Tory democracy) is a form of British political conservatism that views society as organic, and values paternalism and pragmatism. The phrase "One-nation Tory" originated with Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), who served as the chief Conservative spokesman and Prime Minister after 1852. He devised it to appeal to working class men as a solution to worsening divisions in society. As a political philosophy, one nation conservatism reflects the belief that societies exist and develop organically, and that members within them have obligations towards each other. There is particular emphasis on the paternalistic obligation of the upper classes to those classes below them.
The ideology featured heavily during Disraeli's terms in government, during which considerable social reforms were passed. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the party moved away from paternalism in favour of free market capitalism, but fears of extremism during the interwar period caused the revival of one nation conservatism. The philosophy continued to be held by the party throughout the post-war consensus until the rise of the New Right, which attributed the country's social and economic troubles to one nation conservatism. David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, named Disraeli as his favourite Conservative and some commentators and MPs have suggested that Cameron's ideology contains an element of one nationism.
Read more about One Nation Conservatism: Political Philosophy, History
Famous quotes containing the words nation and/or conservatism:
“We as a nation need to be reeducated about the necessary and sufficient conditions for making human beings human. We need to be reeducated not as parents—but as workers, neighbors, and friends; and as members of the organizations, committees, boards—and, especially, the informal networks that control our social institutions and thereby determine the conditions of life for our families and their children.”
—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)
“The world is burdened with young fogies. Old men with ossified minds are easily dealt with. But men who look young, act young and everlastingly harp on the fact that they are young, but who nevertheless think and act with a degree of caution that would be excessive in their grandfathers, are the curse of the world. Their very conservatism is secondhand, and they don’t know what they are conserving.”
—Robertson Davies (b. 1913)