British neoconservatism

British Neoconservatism is very different from its US counterpart, but shares a rejection of the social liberalism, moral relativism, and New Left counterculture of the 1960s.

There is a suspicion in British public life of 'philosophy', which has meant that politicians in the UK rarely refer to any overarching theories. In "The Centre-left and New Right Divide?: Political Philosophy and Aspects of UK Social Policy in the Era of the Welfare State", for example, [ The Centre-left and New Right Divide?: Political Philosophy and Aspects of UK Social Policy in the Era of the Welfare State, author: Steven Smith, published in 1998, ISBN: 1840143274) ] Steven Smith argues that academic explanations of the resilience of the welfare state in the face of the New Right reforms have focused on the social, political and economic processes that tend to bolster the activities of state welfare provision, rather than the underlying philosophies.

Spinwatch describes Douglas Murray as 'the 'enfant terrible' of British neoconservatism. Murray is typical of the movement in arguing that that the 'innate flaws of liberal democracy' leave Europe vulnerable to domination by Muslim immigrants and that strong armed forces prepared to go to war are essential to the survival of what he sees as Conservative values. As head of the Centre for Social Cohesion, he claims to have influenced UK Government policy, and that his ideas have been influential in some NATO circles. Philosophically, he claims to be influenced by the authoritarianism of Leo Strauss, and the concept of dhimmitude coined in 1982 by the Lebanese Maronite militia leader Bachir Gemayel, in reference to perceived attempts by the country's Muslim leadership to subordinate the large Lebanese Christian minority [ http://www.ukwatch.net/article/the_039enfant_terrible039_of_british_neoconservatism accessed July 3 2008]

Murray 's keynote book, "Neoconservatism: Why We Need It" was published by the Social Affairs Unit in 2005. An inspiration for Murray, who he frequently praises in the book, is the academic philosopher, Roger Scruton, who advocates variously the right to hunt foxes and animal rights, was part of a group of right-wing Cambridge University intellectuals under the influence of Maurice Cowling, an historian. In 1978 Cowling helped found the Salisbury Group [ The Salisbury Group publishes the Salisbury Review] of conservative thinkers (named after the earlier British Prime Minister). In the same year Cowling published "Conservative Essays" which states baldly:

"If there is a class war - and there is - it is important that it should be handled with subtlety and skill. ... it is not freedom that Conservatives want; what they want is the sort of freedom that will maintain existing inequalities or restore lost ones". [ Cowling, Maurice (1978). "The Present Position", in Cowling, Maurice (ed.): Conservative Essays. London: Cassell, p. 1, p. 9]

The original Cambridge group however also included John Vincent, another historian, and Edward Norman, a theologian and historian. As Scruton says in his semi-autobiographical book, "Gentle Regrets: Thoughts From a Life" [Gentle Regrets: Thoughts From a Life by Roger Scruton, Continuum 2005 ISBN 0826471315 ] , it influenced a new generation of neo-con thinkers including Charles Moore, former editor of "The Daily Telegraph" and the Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks. Scruton himself offers the French post-war President Charles De Gaulle as a model because the General defined the French nation in terms of its high culture, while detesting the philosopher Michael Foucault, who (he moans) was 'one the gurus' of his students, for shallow relativism and for teaching that `truth' requires inverted commas.

In "The Meaning of Conservatism" Scruton says that Conservatism [which here means neoconservatism] is 'fundamentally opposed to the ethic of social justice, to equality of station, opportunity, income and achievement, and to the attempt to bring major institutions of society such as schools and universities under government control' [ The Meaning of Conservatism' Roger Scruton, Palgrave Macmillan; 3Rev Ed edition (14 Feb 2001) ISBN-10: 0333912446]

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