A Conservative Consensus? by Peter King

Author:Peter King
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: New Labour, politics, public policy, housing, Thatcher, Thatcherism, conservatism, libertarianism, pragmatism, ideology
ISBN: 9781845408640
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2015
Published: 2015-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

The Proper Role of Government

This new consensus can be characterised as centring on the belief that the state’s resources cannot be called upon to solve all social problems. Indeed the view holds that, in some cases, the state might actually create the problem. This can be seen as a theme developing from the libertarian element within Thatcherism (Green, 1987). Yet as we saw in chapter one, it has a long history in conservative thinking. In particular, there is the view developed by Oakeshott (1962) of the unpredictability of government planning, of the impossibility of rationality in politics. In a similar manner to Austrian school thinkers such as Hayek (1978, 1988) and Mises (1981), Oakeshott believed this to be an epistemological failing: it is just not possible for a centralised planning structure to gain the requisite knowledge to plan effectively. Conservatives have therefore always seen too much government as a problem, and scepticism towards government has been a theme that runs through nearly all conservative thought. Even more traditional thinkers such as Scruton seek to limit the role of government and cavil at attempts to control many traditional activities.

Yet their view can still be distinguished from that of classical liberals such as Hayek and Mises. They do not believe that there should be no role for government, or indeed that the role of government should be limited. What is meant by this is that where it is proper for government to act, it should be able to act without restriction. Oakeshott, as we have seen, was scathing of the effects of vested interests, such as trade unions and the professions, which he thought were trespassing on the relationship between the state and its citizens (Devigne, 1994). According to this view, there should be nothing to clutter up this relationship which would prevent the proper actions of the state on behalf of society and its members. This implies a strong central government, which is precisely what the Thatcher governments sought to achieve, whatever their rhetoric on free markets might have stated (Gamble, 1988). Indeed, as Gamble suggests, it was only through a strong centre, able to clear away all obstructions, that the Conservatives thought that individuals could exercise their economic freedom. What is at issue here, therefore, is just what is the proper role for government. This is the second key theme that we can see in conservative thinking, and we need to demonstrate how it has been manifested in housing policy.

As I mentioned above, it was only in the 1950s that the Conservatives showed any concerted interest in housing as a policy issue. In the 1930s they had reformed building society finance with a view to encouraging owner occupation (Boddy, 1992) and had made some attempts to reduce rent controls. Yet it was only in the 1950s that the Conservatives came to terms with housing as an important social problem, albeit of a different nature from health and education (see below). The more libertarian supporters of the Thatcher governments have tried

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