Human Imperfection & Organic Society/State

Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 5.1.2

Human Imperfection

Human imperfection is the idea that human nature is flawed and unable to be perfected.

Conservatives reject ideas from the enlightenment about trying to improve human nature, arguing that human nature cannot be perfected.
Human imperfection goes against the liberal idea of human rationality, that humans are rational creatures that can become more fulfilled when given the freedom to make their own choices.
Because humans are imperfect, they are unable to make good decisions for themselves.

Humans are psychologically imperfect - our brains mean that we are not necessarily rational.
We behave in ways that are familiar and comforting, rather than things that may be better for us.
Humans are attracted to safety, comfort and order, rather than radical ideas and change.
So, order and hierarchy in society should be preserved.
Institutions that protect order and hierarchy should be preserved.

Humans have flawed characters and therefore cannot always act rationally or perfectly.
This leads to a conservative view of crime as being a result of a flawed moral characteristic, rather than inequalities in the world.
Conservatives believe in behaviour regulation through the law (anti-permissiveness) as a result of moral imperfection.

Human rationality is imperfect and unreliable, and humans are intellectually imperfect.
The world around us is more complicated than our intellects are able to comprehend.
This disagrees with the liberal view that humans can create a free society through their rationality.
Instead, we are unable to fully understand the society around us, and to try and completely overhaul what already exists would not be successful.

Conservatives believe that the state is more important than the individual parts that make it up.

Society develops as an organism, rather than as a man-made device, and is therefore constantly changing.
Conservatives support gradual change, and believe that society will evolve to fit the needs of the present.
The idea of the organic state links to the conservative beliefs in authority, because those in authority are there because they are society's natural leaders.
The idea of the organic state links to a cohesive society because it suggests state unity is more important than disagreements between the state’s individual parts.

“Change to conserve” links to ideas of organic change in society.
Conservatives believe that it is important to adapt to changing circumstances in society, as long as these adaptations conserve the basic principles of social order, hierarchy and tradition.
For this reason, many conservatives favour gradual and evolutionary change rather than radical revolutionary change.
Change to conserve preserves the status quo (how things are) whilst also ensuring the Conservative Party remains relevant to the electorate.

One-nation conservatism is an example of changing to conserve.
One-nation conservatism emerged as a response to the emergence of capitalism in Britain during the industrial revolution.
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli tried to bring society together to form ‘one nation’, with the upper classes ruling, the middle classes making money and the working classes producing goods.

The Conservative Party was in government when women gained the vote in 1918 and 1928, which can be seen as an example of ‘change to conserve’.
Campaigns for suffrage were disruptive to social order.
The acceptance of women as voters reflected changing attitudes in society toward gender.

In the 21st century, David Cameron changed succession rules to the throne, allowing female heirs to be recognised for the first time.
This reflects present-day attitudes to gender but also meant that the institution of the monarchy remained important in British life.