Article from the Royal Society of Arts, written by Nusrat Ghani MP in August 2017, in response to the question "what should conservatism look like in the future?"
The right amount of government blended with the right type of capitalism can set people free to prosper.
Conservatism as a political philosophy has always been, to my mind, a balance between freedoms and responsibilities. I grew up being told that the state had all the answers and that choice was what others decided for me. It was this that drew me to the freedom that the Conservatives had on offer, freedom to make of my life what I wanted, mistakes and all. But conservatism has always recognised that with individual freedom comes responsibility, towards each other, our communities, society and the state. I am sure few modern Conservatives would disagree with that essential premise.
But conservatism as an enticing prospect for voters has to offer more than that. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan understood that an essential optimism about the future is the key. An optimism that life would be better, wealthier and happier if people had more control over their incomes, their job prospects, their homes. Thatcher’s great ‘home-owning democracy’ embodied this idea.
“Conservatism must be brave, bold and ambitious”
The challenge today is to recreate that optimistic message while embodying freedom and responsibility. Arguably this was a message lost in the election just gone, where the Conservative Party did not sufficiently offer a post-Brexit vision of a better life and society.
I do not pretend this is an easy task. The global economy is still dealing with the aftershocks from the 2008 recession. More than ever before, intergenerational inequality is a conspicuous feature of the post-crash economy. Here in the UK the young and middle aged are wondering how they are going to be richer than their parents or have a stake in society by owning their own home.
Society has never been more fluid than it is now. Mass migration to Europe, the refugee crisis, population explosion in Africa, terrorism and conflicts in the Middle East, the rise of China and Russian posturing are all symptoms of an end to Western hegemony. At the same time, we are witnessing the failure to recreate a global political compact to replace what has held sway since the Second World War.
Meanwhile, technology has changed the way people relate to each other. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram allow people to present perfectly curated snapshots of their lives, creating a population who are more connected to one another, but also more isolated from the communities they live in.
But it is so easy for politicians to be pessimistic, particularly if you want to characterise your opponents as not caring about the problems facing society and individuals, as Labour does of the Conservatives. Let’s remember that in the UK we have record levels of employment, and job flexibility is a sign of choice and freedom in the labour market, which most people want. We have more working class students in university than ever before and we are investing more money in our essential public services, despite the pressures of the inherited budget deficit.
In pointing out that we have much to be proud of I am not being complacent, but I am challenging the lazy left-wing nostrum that Conservatives are uncaring, have no thought for society or public services and wish to undermine the role of government. These are straightforward lies, which we must call out. Instead, we need to make the case for what it means to be a Conservative in a contemporary United Kingdom. We need to demonstrate how we understand the country’s problems, what we think about the role of government in people’s lives and how we will use politics to solve everyday problems, using Parliament to ignite debate and push for policies that prepare both institutions and individuals for the future.
“The conservatism of the future must fully embrace conscientious capitalism”
To do this, conservatism must be brave, bold and ambitious. It must respect the realities of people’s concerns about their future and whether they can look forward to a better life than the previous generation, and show that it understands how to enable the opportunities and manage the threats of a changing, interconnected world.
Productivity is the key. Throughout human history, it is productivity that has driven human advancement; from the invention of the wheel through to the industrial revolution and the creation of the internet. Increased productivity has allowed people to be more efficient and effective, creating wealth and generating a feel-good factor, a sense that life is getting better.
Now, however, we are at a watershed moment. Automation and further technological advances have the potential to lead to a further leap in productivity. But for many, this progress has not provided hope and optimism, rather fear and mistrust in organisations, institutions and governments. Modern work patterns have left them behind, and the photoshopped and glittery lives played out by their metropolitan contemporaries on social media bring this point home. People feel they are running faster but standing still at the same time.
Self-driving cars, self-service checkout machines and the ever-increasing power of apps have led to fears about job security and mistrust at the idea that the jobs your children will end up doing do not even exist yet. Of course, fear of automation is nothing new, and there are countless examples throughout history of opposition to change. But modern conservatism must not patronise these fears as unjust or mistaken. It must listen, and take these concerns on board. It is then up to us to sell technological advancements and increased productivity. Make the argument that people will be wealthier if they are more productive, and that, yes, the jobs of tomorrow may be different and unknown, but this should not be something to resist. We must be clear that we believe the future for all will be greater and brighter than today.
Conservatism is uniquely placed to do just that. While the left moralise and preoccupy themselves with the idea that the best way to help the disadvantaged is through state monopoly and redistribution, conservatism recognises that wealth cannot be redistributed before it is created. We are the enablers that support measures and institutions to create wealth, from building business confidence and attracting investment in innovation, to lower, flatter, simpler taxes, secure property rights, effective regulation and having a skilled workforce to hand. Conservatism offers a real world view that there are no shortcuts to removing the gap between the rich and the poor, as it is only achieved through continued economic freedom, creating jobs and individual empowerment.
Technological advances rarely come from the public sector or a government committee. The iPhone, Tesla and Netflix would not have been invented by government. By emphasising the positive aspects of competition, innovation and, yes, capitalism, conservatism can lift some of the clouds that darken the acceptance of new technology as a method to generate wealth for everyone.
The conservatism of the future must fully embrace conscientious capitalism. It must embrace capitalism because we believe and trust in markets to allocate resources efficiently and to deliver improved outcomes, lifting people out of poverty and providing opportunity. But it must be conscientious, and to that end government will have a role to play.
Conservatism needs to be an enabler for progress. It needs to free up every individual to live to their full potential without barriers or exploitation. In a multicultural Britain with a flow of people and talents, conservatism will have a crucial role to play, because creating one prosperous nation from many cultures requires good, pragmatic and conscientious government that does not get in the way of the individual.
Conservatives must make sure that government is there to ensure that every individual has access to every opportunity. For example, it is a Conservative government carrying out an audit of racial disparities in public services, requiring larger companies to be transparent with their gender pay gap, and asking independent schools to do more to help the disadvantaged.
This must be added to, expanded and sold to the public. Government can be a force for good, when used effectively and appropriately. Too much government holds businesses and individuals back, too little will not create the infrastructure, services and safety net that they need to thrive. By striking the right balance, people can be free to dream, create and prosper. This is the message that conservatism must present.
In pushing for policies that prepare individuals for the future, conservatism starts with education and training. By ensuring that every child gets the best education and that the skills people have match the jobs that are available, we can extend opportunity to everyone, no matter their background. Academies have demonstrated that this can be delivered. As thousands of schools across the country have converted to self-governing academies, we are seeing record numbers of pupils in good or outstanding schools, while the government has committed to delivering three million apprenticeships in the private sector.
As we leave the EU, conservatism must seize its moment and with Brexit we have an open door. Throughout the 1980s, foreign policy was led by the Conservatives and it was an electorally charged issue. Our place in the world was at stake, and throughout the 20th century it was Conservatives who had a vision for that, through world wars, the Cold War and the end of empire. We now have an opportunity to pursue foreign policy that is distinct from the EU and builds on the diverse and multicultural communities we have here at home. Conservatism must exert British soft power back onto the world stage and continue to build alliances with English-speaking, common-law countries. Take India, for example; 70 years on from partition and the question is which way India will go. Will it become an Asia-oriented superpower or, with our encouragement, continue as an English-speaking, western-friendly, common-law democracy?
Finally, we Conservative politicians need to rethink our relationship with the people we seek to serve. Technology means that people expect both a personal relationship with politicians and participation in something bigger than themselves, an emotional experience that mass movements offer. With a positive, outward-looking vision, we should further embrace new technology to sell our ideas to the British public. To great effect in the Indian elections in 2014, Narendra Modi used holograms to appear at multiple rallies all across the country. As a result, Indian voters felt they were part of something bigger, part of a movement.
Through the use of innovative technology and social media, we can sell our idea of conservatism to the public. By demonstrating that we have a clear understanding of what we believe the role of government should be, as well as effective and relatable polices both at home and abroad, we can ensure that the new brand of conservatism answers the concerns and worries that exist up and down the country, allowing us to respond to the ever-changing and increasingly volatile 21st century.