hide
Free keywords:
conservatism; (neo)liberalism; nationalism; social democracy; Brexit; xenophobia; egalitarianism
Abstract:
The three great Western political traditions (conservatism, liberalism, social democracy) incorporate three of the four possible combinations of the core political axes: traditional, unchanging authority versus the challenge of change, and egalitarianism versus inegalitarianism. The fourth possibility—egalitarian conservatism—has appeared in various guises, but has usually become submerged within the right, including its most authoritarian forms. Current xenophobic movements claiming to represent those suffering from excessive change—for example, those involved in the UK's EU referendum and Donald Trump's victory in the USA—are seeing an apparent resurgence of this neglected tradition. What are its implications for politics in general?