Pragmatic Conservatism Research Articles

Analysis of the British National Characters From a Historical Perspective

This essay discusses the intricate formation of the British national character through a historical lens, and put forwards a view that it is combined by two contradictory elementsconservatism and radicalism on the basis of adequate historical facts and personal reflection. By illustrating with historical facts, the essay reveals the lasting traits of British conservatism, which is evident in steadfast attachments to monarchy and deep-seated respect for legal traditions. Despite periods of upheaval, such as the Glorious Revolution, the British have showed a resilience in preserving established norms and structures, which reflect a pragmatic approach to social evolution. On a contrary, the essay also demonstrates radical impulses that have propelled transformative movements for political and social equality in British history, from the Peasants' Revolt to the suffragette campaigns. Through this dialectic, British national character emerges as a dynamic synthesis of tradition and transformation, conservatism and radicalism, where ruling elites navigate change with pragmatic conservatism while social masses champion radical progress.

The Ideological Evolution of the Official: the Path of the General of the Infantry N.A. Maslakovets from Youth Liberalism to Pragmatic Conservatism

The Ideological Evolution of the Official: the Path of the General of the Infantry N.A. Maslakovets from Youth Liberalism to Pragmatic Conservatism

The Difficult Relationship between the Kosovo Political Parties and Conservatism

The presentation of various party / program stances in the Kosovo political scene, tells us about the parties’ level of orientation in favour or against conservatism. Therefore, the aim of this article is to analyze and discuss the empirical validity, respectively the relations of Kosovo political parties with the pragmatic conservatism. In what areas, Kosovo parties have similarities or differences with pragmatic conservatism, such as Religion, patriotism and property.In order to find an answer for this research article, different qualitative methods will be used, such as comparative, content and document analysis, as well as interviews. All this with the sole of collecting and analyzing the data found.The findings of this article are very significant because, based on substantive analysis and party documents, we can conclude that the attitudes or approaches of Kosovo political parties regarding pragmatic conservatism are only "Partially pragmatic conservative” or "Beyond - Pragmatic Conservator". This means that the parties take the ideology of conservatism into account only partially or only within the program points that suits them.In this regard, the importance of this research has to do with the facts and with a realistic situation to understand the complexity, the issue and the importance of pragmatic conservatism as well as the idea of social transformation by curbing destructive tendencies. In this context, the stances of Kosovo political parties go beyond party ideology, because they include social transformations, religion, tradition and nation / patriotism. So in this way, through such attitudes, political parties convey / transmit into the society of Kosovo a social awareness and inter-religious tolerance.

Seth Vannatta’s Justice Holmes

Seth Vannatta identifies the common law as a central feature of the jurisprudence of former United States Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Holmes treated the common law as if it were an epistemology or a reliable mode for knowledge transmission over successive generations. Against the grand notion that the common law reflected a priori principles consistent with the natural law, Holmes detected that the common law was historical, aggregated, and evolutionary, the sum of the concrete facts and operative principles of innumerable cases with reasonable solutions to complex problems. This view of the common law is both conservative and pragmatic. Vannatta’s analysis of Holmes opens new directions for the study of conservatism and pragmatism—and pragmatic conservatism—demonstrating that common-law processes and practices have much in common with the form of communal inquiry championed by C.S. Peirce.

Erratum to: Originalism, Pragmatic Conservatism, and Living Document Judicial Philosophies: Explaining Variation in U.S. Supreme Court Votes in Criminal Procedure Cases for the 1994–2014 Terms of Court

Erratum to: Originalism, Pragmatic Conservatism, and Living Document Judicial Philosophies: Explaining Variation in U.S. Supreme Court Votes in Criminal Procedure Cases for the 1994–2014 Terms of Court

Originalism , Pragmatic Conservatism, and Living Document Judicial Philosophies: Explaining Variation in U.S. Supreme Court Votes in Criminal Procedure Cases for the 1994–2014 Terms of Court

Prior research on U.S. Supreme Court justice votes and case outcomes has examined a variety of hypotheses to explain variation in voting and case decisions in criminal procedure matters. Largely ignored by prior work, however, is the notion that the effects of the measures used to examine these prior hypotheses may vary for the justices based on the judicial philosophy espoused and followed by the justice. This article identifies three distinct overarching judicial philosophies of law interpretation that have guided the justices for much of the Rehnquist Court and the entirety of the Roberts Court: Originalism, Pragmatic Conservatism, and Living Document. It contextualizes the Information, Affected Groups, and Legal Issue hypotheses in a framework that considers their potential effects across Originalist, Pragmatic Conservative, and Living Document justices on the Court for the 1994 through 2014 terms. The study finds that enhanced activity by special interest organizations (the Affected Groups Hypothesis) in support of the non-government other party impacts vote direction among Pragmatic Conservative and Living Document justices but not for the Originalist justices. It also finds more case type (Legal Issue) effects for Originalist justices than for Pragmatic Conservative and Living Document justices in that for Originalist justices a vote for the government is less likely in cases that concern statutory meaning (relative to constitutional meaning). Implications are discussed.

Psychological Subscales of Liberalism and Conservatism as Related to Political Party, Race, Education, Religion, Geographical Region, and Gender

The Psychotemporal Survey of Ideologies (PSI) was completed by 1,000 adults in a nationwide U.S. poll. On the PSI subscale measuring “visionary liberalism focused on the future,” atheists scored higher than everyone else, and racial minorities scored collectively higher than other racial groups. On the subscale measuring “dread-ridden conservatism focused on the future,” Tea Party affiliates scored higher than everyone else, and “born again” Protestants scored significantly higher than other religiously defined groups. On the PSI subscale measuring “pragmatic liberalism focused on the present,” people with a graduate school education scored significantly higher than those with less education, and on the subscale measuring “pragmatic conservatism focused on the present,” Whites scored significantly higher than other racial groups. On the PSI subscale measuring “guilt-ridden liberalism focused on the past,” agnostics scored significantly higher than other religiously defined groups, and on the subscale measuring “nostalgic conservatism focused on the past,” high school dropouts scored significantly higher than better educated groups.

Differing Psychological Definitions of Liberalism and Conservatism: Their Statistical Association with Personality and with Racism

One-hundred-thirty-seven participants were administered the Psychotemporal Survey of Ideologies (PSI), which yielded scores on six scales: a “visionary liberalism focused on the future” scale, a “pragmatic liberalism focused on the present” scale, a “guilt-ridden liberalism focused on the past” scale, a “dread-ridden conservatism focused on the future” scale, a “pragmatic conservatism focused on the present” scale, and a “nostalgic conservatism focused on the past” scale. These six PSI scores were correlated with “big five” personality dimensions on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R); plus, scores on the Sexual-Racial Double-Standard Test (S-RD-ST) were regressed over the six PSI scores. A significant positive correlation between PSI “guilt-ridden liberalism focused on the past” and NEO PI-R neuroticism indicated that neuroticism is associated not with liberalism in general but with “liberal guilt”. A significant negative correlation between PSI “pragmatic conservatism focused on the present” and NEO PI-R openness indicated that openness is not positively correlated with liberalism but is negatively correlated with one definition of conservatism. A significant positive correlation between PSI “nostalgic conservatism focused on the past” and NEO PI-R conscientiousness indicated that conscientiousness is associated not with conservatism in general but with one definition of conservatism. S-RD-ST-measured prejudice disfavoring African-American women and favoring white men was associated with PSI “dread-ridden conservatism focused on the future,” whereas prejudice favoring African-American women and disfavoring white men was associated with “visionary liberalism focused on the future.” These findings show that surveying and scaling the PSI“s three psychotemporal definitions of liberalism and its three psychotemporal definitions of conservatism, instead of simply treating liberalism and conservatism as opposite ends of an ideological continuum, constitute a fruitful approach to understanding political ideologies and their relationship to other variables such as personality dimensions and racial biases.

The Weight of the Moment: J. G. A. Pocock's Politics of History

Summary One of the great intellectual productions of the postwar period, J. G. A. Pocock's The Machiavellian Moment was also an intervention in the American polity of the 1970s. The book's content, its rhetorical style, its methodology, and even its physical printed form were all designed to effectuate a political gesture. The crises of 1968 to 1973 invalidated the optimistic liberalism of Pocock's academic circle. The history of political language offered a refuge and a programmatic foundation for Pocock's pragmatic conservatism. The Machiavellian Moment was designed to reinforce the weight of tradition in contemporary political debate.

The Reagan Presidency: Pragmatic Conservatism and Its Legacies. Edited by W. Elliot Brownlee and Hugh Davis Graham (Lawrence, University Press of Kansas, 2003) 404 pp. $39.95

<i>The Reagan Presidency: Pragmatic Conservatism and Its Legacies</i>. Edited by W. Elliot Brownlee and Hugh Davis Graham (Lawrence, University Press of Kansas, 2003) 404 pp. $39.95

The Reagan Presidency: Pragmatic Conservatism and Its Legacies

Some call him the great communicator and many even credit him with ending the Cold War. Others even consider him the greatest president since Roosevelt. Ronald claimed several distinctions as 40th president, but he will be most remembered by admirers and critics alike for his lasting conservative legacy. This comprehensive and archivally grounded assessment of the presidency offers balanced second generation evaluations of the ideas and policies that made up the so-called Reagan revolution. Drawing on previously unavailable records, 17 scholars from history, political science and economics focus on important areas of national policy during the administration. James T. Patterson, Hugh Heclo, David M. O'Brien and others look closely at Reagan's ideas and rhetoric, foreign policies, economic agenda and social policies, building a foundation for future interpretations of the years. In tackling this legacy, these contributors do not necessarily agree on what it is and while there is consensus regarding Reagan's ideas, personality and leadership, there is both doubt and debate about actual achievements. In chapters covering such topics as national security, taxation, environmental policy, immigration reform, and federal judgeships, the authors tend to see his accomplishments as less dramatic than first generation proponents have maintained - that there was actually no Reagan revolution. Nevertheless, they also agree that his administration accomplished much of its mission in foreign policy and domestic economic policy - success attributed to his conservative idealism and pragmatic politics - and had a lasting effect on the transformation of American conservatism. While less successful in advancing the social agenda of the New Right, nevertheless shaped politics and policy in ways that extended beyond the years of his administration. Whether or not changed America and the world as much as Roosevelt did remains in dispute, but this volume aims to advance our understanding of his presidency and allow us to better assess its accomplishments and legacy.

The Reagan presidency: pragmatic conservatism and its legacies

The Reagan presidency: pragmatic conservatism and its legacies

'In overeenstemming met onze zeden en gewoonten.' De intellectuele context van de eerste Belgische constitutie (1815-1830)

'In keeping with our customs and traditions.' The first Belgian constitution (1815-1830) in its intellectual context In 1830, the National Assembly, Belgium's constitutional assembly, did not attempt to create the best possible constitution for the new state, but rather to draw up a constitution that would take the existing order into account on the one hand and that would be best suited to Belgian customs and traditions on the other. The works of Montesquieu played an important role in inspiring this 'pragmatic conservatism'. Many concrete arguments were drawn from his 'Esprit des lois' during the debates about the monarchy as well as those about the senate. Therefore, indirectly, the debates in the National Congress also serve to illustrate the enormous influence that 'Esprit des lois' had on political thinking during the Restoration period.

A pragmatic conservatism. Montesquieu and the framing of the Belgian constitution (1830–1831)

In 1830, members of the Belgian National Congress asserted that they would not attempt to create an ideal constitution. Rather, they wanted to frame a constitution which would take the existing order into account, which would be adapted to Belgian manners and customs. Their ‘pragmatic conservatism’, as it can be described in distinction to Burke's juridical conservatism, was to an important degree inspired by the writings of Montesquieu. Both the discussion on the monarchy and the debate on the senate were influenced by the Esprit des lois. Indirectly, the debates in the National Congress give evidence of the enormous influence of the Esprit des lois on political thought in the Restoration period.

From Keynes to Hayek: The Social Welfare Philosophy of the Liberal Party of Australia, 1983–1997

Abstract The Liberal Party has traditionally been a party of pragmatic conservatism blending three disparate ideological tendencies: the social liberal or ‘wet’ ameliorative tendency, the economic liberal or ‘dry’ individualist tendency, and a less organised social conservative tendency. The Menzies era and Fraser Governments reflected the influence of all three tendencies. However, since 1983, the Federal Liberal Party has arguably become dominated by classical liberal ideas of small government and rugged individualism. This dry takeover of the Liberal Party has been particularly apparent in the field of social welfare. Under the influence of the New Right, the Liberal Party has mounted a significant critique of the welfare state, comprising five related themes: 1) The alleged capture of the welfare state by vested interest welfare lobby groups; 2) the urgent need for labour market reform: 3) the proliferation of welfare dependency; 4) the importance of distinguishing between the deserving and undeserving poor; 5) The virtues of a return to private charitable welfare. The Liberal Party's espousal and implementation of these ideas, has however, been moderated on occasions by broader political and electoral considerations.

Conservatism and the rhetoric of rhetoric

There is currently a revival of the intellectual tradition of rhetoric as a reaction to modernism. Because of rhetoric’s links with conservatism, this revival’s own rhetoric needs to be examined. A revival of an aesthetic rhetoric could easily be backward-looking and draw upon the backward-looking, conservative traditions within the history of rhetoric. On the other hand, if the revival stresses the pragmatic features of rhetoric it might be seen either as an adornment to those skills of persuasive selling, encouraged today by pragmatic conservatism, or as a development of today’s science of persuasion. Despite the obvious links to romantic and to pragmatic conservatism, rhetoric does contain the possibility for a radical critique of modernism; this would unite aesthetics and pragmatism, form and style, and raise the image of free and unending argumentation.

Biomaterials entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial companies in biomaterials serve a valuable function in lowering the risk of developing new products and devices. In many cases liability considerations and a pragmatic conservatism make it difficult for established health-care products suppliers to develop new products directly. Biomaterials entrepreneurs encounter more difficulties in achieving commercial success than do entrepreneurs in other fields. For any reasonable profit to be made, the entrepreneur must be able to convert the biomaterial into a useful device. Safety and toxicity test data collection take a minimum of three years to collect, and it is often five or more years before a positive cash flow can be obtained. Start-up funding can be obtained from government agencies, charitable foundations, and private investment capital. A major health-care company can often be attracted once initial successes have been achieved. Biomaterials usage and device design is specific for each function or need. Specific devices that are currently needed are small (c. 4 mm) diameter artificial blood vessels, synthetic skin, and internal prosthetic devices which have better tissue compatibility, abrasion, corrosion, and wear resistance especially for flexing devices such as artificial joints, ligaments and tendons.

Pragmatic Conservatism in the White House

Pragmatic Conservatism in the White House

The Compromise of 1787

> On July 12, 1787, Constitutional Convention, meeting in Philadelphia, adopted three-fifths compromise regarding apportionnment of House of Representatives. On July 13 Continental Congress, meeting in New York City, adopted Northwest Ordinance. The three-fifths compromise sanctioned slavery more decidedly than any previous action at a national level.' The Ordinance, on other hand, was in Ulrich Phillips' words the first and last antislavery achievement by central government in period.2 The Ordinance has become a symbol of Revolution's liberalism, while compromise, if not a covenant with death and an agreement with hell, is at least a dramatic instance of its pragmatic conservatism. Why did Congress and Convention act so differently? The answer to this question, could it be found, would surely throw much light upon troubled relation between Founding Fathers and peculiar institution. Apart from coincidence of dates, two circumstances make this problem still more intriguing. One is that Continental