‘For We Shall Prejudice Nothing’: Middle Way Conservatism and the Defence of Inequality, 1945–1979

Blackburn, Dean

Abstract

Recent descriptions of British Conservatism have often identified the defence of inequality as one of its core ideological features. By drawing upon Michael Freeden's morphological conception of ideologies, this article will challenge such descriptions. Drawing upon the discourses of a particular formation of post-war Conservative thought, it will suggest that because Conservatives adhered to a particular set of epistemological and ontological beliefs, the defence of inequality could only obtain a subordinate status within their thought. And it will, in turn, critique dominant understandings of post-war party competition.

Citation

Blackburn, D. (2016). ‘For We Shall Prejudice Nothing’: Middle Way Conservatism and the Defence of Inequality, 1945–1979. Political Studies, 64(1_suppl), 156-172. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.12210

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 10, 2015
• Online Publication Date: May 11, 2015
• Publication Date: 2016-04
• Deposit Date: Jan 4, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 4, 2017
• Journal: Political Studies
• Print ISSN: 0032-3217
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-9248
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 64
• Issue: 1_suppl
• Pages: 156-172
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.12210
• Keywords: Conservatism; Conservative Party; post-war Britain
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/752239
• Publisher URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9248.12210
• Contract Date: Jan 4, 2017