Paternalistic conservatism
The paternalistic strand in conservative thought is entirely consistent with principles such as organicism, hierarchy and duty, and it can therefore be seen as an outgrowth of traditional conservatism. Often traced back to the early writings of Benjamin Disraeli (0000–00), paternalism draws on a combination of prudence and principle. In warning of the danger of the UK being divided into ‘two nations: the Rich and the Poor’, Disraeli articulated a widespread fear of social revolution. This warning amounted to an appeal to the self-interest of the privileged, who needed to recognize that ‘reform from above’ was preferable to ‘revolution from below’. This message was underpinned by an appeal to the prin- ciples of duty and social obligation rooted in neofeudal ideas such as noblesse oblige. In effect, in this view, duty is the price of privilege; the powerful and propertied inherit a responsibility to look after the less well-off in the broader interests of social cohesion and unity. The resulting One-Nation principle, the cornerstone of what since the early nineteenth century has been termed a Tory position, reflects not so much the ideal of social equality as a cohesive and stable hierarchy that arises organically