P&C relish Celebrator Dopplebock, one of the most amazing beers on the planet, then discuss Sir Roger Scruton and his view of conservatism.
Sir Roger recently died of cancer, and Pigweed and Crowhill have only just learned about the man. He was a barrister, musician, philosopher, wine critic, he spoke several languages, and he hunted foxes! Quite the man.
Scruton thought “the role of a conservative thinker is to assure people that their prejudices are true,” which sounds awful to modern ears, but it’s clearly right. We have to rely on our prejudices.
Conservatives believe in the wisdom of long-standing organizations that emerged organically. Laws and rules are discovered over time as we work our way through things. Hence the respect for tradition and precedent.
Life would be unlivable if we treated every situation from first principles rather than being guided by the wisdom of our ancestors.
Another Scruton principle is that a functioning, open society only works when people feel they have enough in common that the government will work for the benefit of everyone. This is in contrast, of course, to “diversity is our strength,” which is nonsense.