Conservatism in One Paragraph

Norman Tebbit's claim to fame was that he was Margaret Thatcher's rottweiler. Her enforcer, if you like. In fact, he was a skilled politician who just missed being Prime Minister. Now he's Lord Tebbit and sits in the House of Lords.

But in the run-up to the British General Election, which must take place before June, Lord Tebbit is blogging for the Daily Telegraph. In a recent blog he set down in one paragraph a succinct political philosophy about the powers of government which could be embraced by all conservatives.

A state must have a territory over which it is sovereign, and a people who owe it allegience. It must have the capacity (and the will) to defend its territorial boundaries and its people from aggressors. It must provide not only external but internal security, allowing its citizens to go about their lawful businees freely, and criminal and civil justice systems as well as a currency and the regulatory and legislative infrastructure needed for agriculture, industry and trade. Nothing else has to be provided only by the state. Health and education provision and physical infrastructure may be provided by or precipitated by the state or others, but they are not core functions of the state.

It really doesn't get any simpler than that. Let's do again, with bullets.

• A state must have a territory over which it is sovereign, and a people who owe it allegience.
• It must have the capacity (and the will) to defend its territorial boundaries and its people from aggressors.
• It must provide not only external but internal security, allowing its citizens to go about their lawful businees freely, and criminal and civil justice systems as well as a currency and the regulatory and legislative infrastructure needed for agriculture, industry and trade.
• Nothing else has to be provided only by the state.
• Health and education provision and physical infrastructure may be provided by or precipitated by the state or others, but they are not core functions of the state.

I think that this needs to be put up in lights. Certainly it will be soon put up in the roadtothemiddleclass.com tags.