How to be a Conservative audiobook cover - Conservative Ideology for Contemporary Times

How to be a Conservative

Conservative Ideology for Contemporary Times

Roger Scruton

★ 3.7 / 5(178 ratings)
Start ListeningDownload App
Categories:
PhilosophyPolitics

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

Listen to How to be a Conservative — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from How to be a Conservative

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from How to be a Conservative

Mind Map

How to be a Conservative
Scruton's Journey+
Organic Society+
Civil Associations+
The Nation-State+
The Free Market+
Human Rights+
Multiculturalism+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
What pivotal event contributed to Roger Scruton's shift toward conservatism by making him view middle-class intellectuals as ungrateful for their societal privileges?
  • A. The suburban sprawl in inner-city Manchester
  • B. The May 1968 student rioting in Paris
  • C. The election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979
  • D. The 2008 subprime mortgage crisis
Question 2 of 8
How does a true conservative view the formation of a healthy society, according to the text?
  • A. It must be carefully planned and molded by a central authority to ensure equality.
  • B. It is best structured by reducing citizen interactions to pure market data and economic efficiency.
  • C. It develops organically from the bottom up through civil society, affection, and loyalty.
  • D. It requires tearing down centuries of tradition to build a more rational, egalitarian system.
Question 3 of 8
How does the conservative approach differ from the Left's approach regarding private schools that confer unequal advantages?
  • A. Conservatives advocate for shutting them down to create a perfectly egalitarian education system.
  • B. Conservatives believe private schools should be strictly regulated by the central government.
  • C. Conservatives argue for opening them up through bursaries and vouchers rather than destroying decades of educational expertise.
  • D. Conservatives suggest wealthy parents should exclusively use home tutors to avoid public resentment.
Question 4 of 8
Why does Scruton argue that the secular nation-state is essential to a healthy, diverse society?
  • A. It enforces a single, mandatory religion to unify the population.
  • B. It creates a shared, inclusive 'we' that allows people of different backgrounds to compromise and coexist.
  • C. It promotes extreme nationalism and ethnic identity to protect borders from outside influence.
  • D. It ensures that all citizens share the exact same political and ideological beliefs.
Question 5 of 8
According to the text, what is the primary reason socialist economies fail to distribute resources accurately compared to free markets?
  • A. Socialist economies lack the 'price mechanism,' which naturally contains vital information about consumer wants and needs.
  • B. Socialist central authorities are generally corrupt and hoard resources for themselves.
  • C. The free market relies entirely on government subsidies to regulate the supply chain.
  • D. Socialist economies produce too many luxury goods and ignore basic necessities.
Question 6 of 8
What caveat does Scruton add to his defense of the free market?
  • A. It must be occasionally paused by the government to prevent gluts and empty shelves.
  • B. It requires a central authority to set a baseline price for essential goods.
  • C. It must be constrained by the rule of law and grassroots moral values so people bear the costs of their reckless actions.
  • D. It should only apply to international trade, while domestic markets remain heavily regulated.
Question 7 of 8
How does traditional liberalism's concept of rights (as championed by John Locke) differ from modern human rights, according to Scruton?
  • A. Traditional liberalism focuses on positive duties like the right to work, while modern rights focus on negative freedoms.
  • B. Traditional liberalism guarantees protection from external coercion, whereas modern rights demand positive claims that compensate for inequalities.
  • C. Traditional liberalism argues that rights are granted by the state, while modern rights argue they are granted by international conventions.
  • D. Traditional liberalism applies only to property owners, whereas modern human rights apply to all citizens.
Question 8 of 8
What does Scruton identify as the foundation that makes successful multiculturalism possible in the West?
  • A. The repudiation of historical Western imperialism and systemic racism.
  • B. The deconstruction of objective truth by modern philosophers like Foucault and Derrida.
  • C. The strict enforcement of non-judgmentalism regarding all international cultural practices.
  • D. The Enlightenment traditions that created a secular, civic culture open to all backgrounds.

How to be a Conservative — Full Chapter Overview

How to be a Conservative Summary & Overview

How to be a Conservative (2014) presents the case for traditional conservatism in a world that seems inhospitable to its existence. In this short volume, English philosopher Sir Roger Scruton lays out the case for the nation-state, a free market, and a more sensible approach to multiculturalism and human rights.

Who Should Listen to How to be a Conservative?

  • Those who walk on the right side of politics
  • Anyone interested in political philosophy
  • Leftists looking for an alternative perspective

About the Author: Roger Scruton

Sir Roger Scruton was an English philosopher and writer, who sought to further traditionalist conservatism. He wrote on art, music, culture, politics, sexuality, and religion, among other things, and was a regular contributor to popular media like the Times, the Spectator, and New Statesman.

🎧
Listen in the AppOffline playback & background play
Get App