Conservatism in its essence is complex – it does not adhere to one set of rationale, to a doctrine to a belief system. It has evolved and nurtured to be able to survive and to sustain a society – to enable the entrepreneur, the individual to flourish within a framework of solidity and natural order. It maintains that society is based on a system of “overlapping networks” and relationships that bind society together………………….

The liquidity of postmodernism protects the bourgeoise and their material interests – in essence, postmodernism underpins the new, neoliberal bourgeoisie.

"What distinguishes the liberal is that he respects the ideals of others as he does his own. This does not mean that he agrees with them ... nor does it imply that he lacks confidence in his own ideals . . . It is part of the liberal's ideal that a good society, whatever else it is, is one in which the ideals and interests of all are given equal consideration”.

John Stuart Mill

The death of Cicero and the rise of authoritarianism - a metaphor for our times?

“man is by nature a political animal”"

Machiavelli stares these realities in the face, he does not offer the balm of identity or equality, but the fierce and harsh realities of our lives. He searches and deals in the politics of truth and was the first realist we look at in this series: Realism, the politics of power. From the discovery of the first fresh water river bed, rice field and construction of a town, the realist's ontology is one of conflict – that fresh water, that field of rice is not yours, it's ours, and we will conquer, we will subjugate you to our will. Pessimistic, cynical, and yet a reality that we unfortunately observe every day of our lives  - the act of war and conquest. 

What is the role of the state in our lives?