One nation conservatism (also known as one nationism, or Tory democracy) is a form of British political conservatism that views society as organic, and values paternalism and pragmatism. The phrase "One-nation Tory" originated with Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), who served as the chief Conservative spokesman and Prime Minister after 1852. He devised it to appeal to working class men as a solution to worsening divisions in society. As a political philosophy, one nation conservatism reflects the belief that societies exist and develop organically, and that members within them have obligations towards each other. There is particular emphasis on the paternalistic obligation of the upper classes to those classes below them.
The ideology featured heavily during Disraeli's terms in government, during which considerable social reforms were passed. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the party moved away from paternalism in favour of free market capitalism, but fears of extremism during the interwar period caused the revival of one nation conservatism. The philosophy continued to be held by the party throughout the post-war consensus until the rise of the New Right, which attributed the country's social and economic troubles to one nation conservatism. David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, named Disraeli as his favourite Conservative and some commentators and MPs have suggested that Cameron's ideology contains an element of one nationism.
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Famous quotes containing the word nation:
“And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today? But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children...”
—Bible: Hebrew, Deuteronomy 4:8,9.