TY - JOUR
T1 - Existential Conservatism
AU - McPherson, David
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2019 The Royal Institute of Philosophy.
PY - 2019/7/1
Y1 - 2019/7/1
N2 - This essay articulates a kind of conservatism that it argues is the most fundamental and important kind of conservatism, viz. existential conservatism, which involves an affirmative and appreciative stance towards the given world. While this form of conservatism can be connected to political conservatism, as seen with Roger Scruton, it need not be, as seen with G. A. Cohen. It is argued that existential conservatism should be embraced whether or not one embraces political conservatism, though it is also shown that existential conservatism imposes constraints on our political thinking. In particular, it is argued that Cohen's 'luck egalitarianism' stands at odds with his existential conservatism and that one should be a sufficientarian rather than an egalitarian with regard to economic justice.
AB - This essay articulates a kind of conservatism that it argues is the most fundamental and important kind of conservatism, viz. existential conservatism, which involves an affirmative and appreciative stance towards the given world. While this form of conservatism can be connected to political conservatism, as seen with Roger Scruton, it need not be, as seen with G. A. Cohen. It is argued that existential conservatism should be embraced whether or not one embraces political conservatism, though it is also shown that existential conservatism imposes constraints on our political thinking. In particular, it is argued that Cohen's 'luck egalitarianism' stands at odds with his existential conservatism and that one should be a sufficientarian rather than an egalitarian with regard to economic justice.
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U2 - 10.1017/S0031819119000214
DO - 10.1017/S0031819119000214
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85068016525
VL - 94
SP - 383
EP - 407
JO - Philosophy
JF - Philosophy
SN - 0031-8191
IS - 3
ER -