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Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

Britain’s Crunchy Con Moment?

OK, not really, but as Tim Stanley writes, Britain desperately needs a middle ground between extremes of capitalism and of lifestyle liberalism, because the individualistic insistence on Freedom is tearing apart the fabric of British society. Excerpt: In the midst of all the Thatcher remembrances we forget that one of the great failings of the […]

OK, not really, but as Tim Stanley writes, Britain desperately needs a middle ground between extremes of capitalism and of lifestyle liberalism, because the individualistic insistence on Freedom is tearing apart the fabric of British society. Excerpt:

In the midst of all the Thatcher remembrances we forget that one of the great failings of the Conservative Party in the last thirty years was its inability to develop a coherent, non-preachy line on the importance of social cohesion. Arguably, that’s because the narrative of social solidarity got lost in the rush to liberalise the economy and make money: the capitalist dimension of Mrs Thatcher’s politics eclipsed her Christian message. When social conservatism did rear its head, it was in reaction to events and often seemed prudish – Section 28, Back To Basics etc. It’s in response to the political fallout of Back to Basics that the latter-day Tories prefer not to talk about morality at all. There are old fashioned puritans like Iain Duncan Smith who acknowledge the importance of family, but liberals like David Cameron prefer to redefine marriages rather than try to save them.

It ought to be second nature for the Labour Party to talk about the importance of a healthier culture. After all, they supposedly represent the more vulnerable communities and individuals who don’t have the kind of cash that can soften the blow of family break-ups. But Labour, too, is stuck on a 1990s reading of moral politics that sees any attempt to debate lifestyle as an effort to restrict choice and individual freedom. Abandoned due to the Tories’ embarrassment and Labour’s uninterest, British social conservatism has become an orphan without a home.

Isn’t this true in the US as well, or at least increasingly true?

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