The Tory Tradition

Abstract

THE word is in bad repute. It is commonly identified with a reactionary reverence for past and with resistance to any sort of change the mule of politics that engenders nothing.1 There are always representatives of this attitude in any conservative party, but a party dominated by it is moribund. Since a majority of present Churchill government is Tory, one of two conclusions follows: either that government is moribund, or there is something in Toryism more vital than mulishness. The first alternative, as recently as three years ago, seemed to be only one. The Chamberlain regime was Tory in name, though in fact its leaders were impoverished heirs of Gladstonian liberalism. True Toryism revived under impact of catastrophe. It produced a man to match hour, and through him is again working itself into fabric of history. Churchill embodies some of bad elements in Tory tradition and many of good. The latter are particularly worth attention; they account for vitality of tradition and determine its value for present and future world. It is a common assumption that Tories may be good for winning war but will be useless for winning peace. This is questionable. It depends on whether party succeeds in living up to best in its tradition. There is an ideal of Toryism. It is seldom achieved and often forgotten, but it may be as important for modern scene as ideal of liberalism. The Tory ideal was derived from an aspect of English thought in eighteenth century, underwent profound modification in nineteenth, and emerged in twentieth as a body of principles which are at once old and modern. Some of them are opposed to those of liberals while others are in accord; Toryism is less antithesis of liberalism than a way of thought which at one point joins liberal's, at another diverges sharply from it. The divergences are particularly worth a liberal's attention, because they challenge some of his conceptions of democracy; at a time when word must be understood if thing is to be kept, they force him to define his own position more exactly. The character of present Toryism can best be appreciated by a brief survey of its evolution. This will explain its vitality and justify a forecast of what party must do if it is to fulfill its tradition. The foundations of modern Toryism were laid in eighteenth century,