High Tory

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High Toryism is a term used in Britain, Canada, Australia and elsewhere to refer to a traditionalist conservatism which is in line with the Toryism originating in the 17th century. High Tories and their worldview are sometimes at odds with the more liberal and cosmopolitan elements of the Conservative Party in these countries at present. Historically, the late eighteenth-century conservatism derived from the Whigs Edmund Burke and William Pitt the Younger marks a watershed from the earlier and "higher" or legitimist Toryism that was allied to Jacobitism.

High Toryism has been described as neo-feudalist[1] in its preference for a hierarchical organisation of society over utopian egalitarianism, as well for holding the traditional gentry as a higher cultural benchmark than the bourgeoisie and those who have attained their position exclusively through commerce. Economically, High Tories tend to prefer a paternalistic corporatism over the neo-liberalism which took ahold in the 1980s.

Views and values

Historical

Pettie, John, Jacobites : romantic view of Jacobitism

The High Tory view in the eighteenth century preferred low taxation and deplored Whig support for a standing army, an expanding empire and commerce. This changed later in the century and many of their privileges were reduced by the Reform Act 1832. By the reign of Queen Victoria High Tories supported the empire and were personified by the Prime Ministers Lord Derby and Lord Salisbury.

Modern

High Tories prefer the values of the historical landed gentry and aristocracy, with their noblesse oblige and their self-imposed sense of duty and responsibility, to those of the modern commercial business class. Their focus is on maintaining a traditional, rooted society and way of life, which is often as much threatened by modern capitalism as by state socialism. A High Tory also favours a strong community, in contrast to Whig, liberal and neoconservative individualism. One Nation Conservatism, as influenced by Disraeli and epitomised in leaders such as Baldwin, favoured social cohesion, and its adherents support social institutions that maintain harmony between different interest groups, classes, and (more recently) different races or religions.

Examples of English High Tory views in the twentieth century would be those of the novelists Evelyn Waugh and Anthony Burgess, poet T. S. Eliot, Members of Parliament such as Enoch Powell, John Biggs-Davison,[citation needed] Julian Amery,[citation needed] John Heydon Stokes,[citation needed] Alan Clark,[citation needed] and the philosopher Roger Scruton.[citation needed] The leading pressure-group of High Toryism was possibly the Conservative Monday Club, described by Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson as "The Conscience of the Tory Party"; however, since the early 1980s, the group have been dominated by the Thatcherite wing which is opposed to the traditionalist High Tories.[citation needed]

Positioning

A "High Tory" bears some resemblance to traditionalist conservatives in the United States. In Canada the term Red Tory used to mean something like a High Tory. It is difficult and unreliable to make comparisons between High Toryism and other political dispositions internationally.

"High Tory" is more than just a political term, it is also about culture and a way of life. A "High Tory" must have an appreciation of High Culture and is generally either a High Anglican or traditional Roman Catholic, a gentleman, and an agrarian.

References

  1. ↑ Heywood, Andrew (2000-10-17). Key concepts in politics. Google. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 

See also

References

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