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Sir Roger Scruton Profile Series Profile of: Sir Roger Scruton “Conservatism starts from a sentiment that all mature people can readily share: the sentiment that good things are easily destroyed, but not easily created.” No.25 / March 2020 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY Conservatives around the world were sad ideology of liberalism, he argued, was that to hear that a valued intellectual mentor, people were bounded together by a social the philosopher Sir Roger Scruton, died contract in which the state guaranteed of lung cancer on Sunday, January 12. He them individual human rights. Otherwise, was 75 years old, and had been suffering liberals thought that people should be free for about six months. to pursue their own interests. Socialism, on the other hand, embraced an ideolo- Sir Roger was a university professor and gy that society is basically an economic public intellectual who published over 50 system in which the state is responsible books and hundreds of articles and essays for distributing resources so that equality on art, aesthetics, morality, music, politics, among people is achieved. and religion. He also wrote four novels and two operas. Conservatism is, in Scruton’s mind, closer to liberalism than to socialism. Both ide- ologies value freedom, but conservatism holds that freedom must be constrained by responsibility. For this reason, he argued that markets, the bane of the socialists’ ideology, are not necessarily the result of selfishness and greed. Both competition and regulations enforce responsibility into markets. Sir Roger was often critical of conserva- tive parties for allowing socialists to depict them as greedy and unflinchingly support- ing the rich. Obviously, to keep customers loyal in a competitive market place, busi- Roger Scruton taught at the University ness people must be responsible to both of London from 1971 to 1992. He then their customers and their employees with resigned, but he held a string of visiting written and unwritten contracts of respect professorships at a number of universities and fairness. Of course, many news re- in Britain and the U.S. As a result of his ports illustrate that respect and fairness prodigious and high-quality work, he had are not always exhibited with bold titles many honours. He was knighted in 2016, like “Harvey Weinstein charged with sexu- and he was a fellow of the British Academy ally abusing young women.” and a fellow of the Royal Society of Litera- ture. Scruton recognized the problem of en- forcing regulations and being watchful In the 1980’s, Scruton smuggled books for abuse even for conservatives. Human into Communist Czechoslovakia on sub- nature was an issue he became interested jects that were banned and he offered in as he grew older. He noted, for example, secret courses to dissident academics. In that modern communications, especially fact, he was awarded a Medal of Merit after social media, has seriously disrupted what the fall of communism. He was revered had been known as common human de- in Eastern Europe for supporting the dis- cency, especially in personal relationships sidents during the time of their greatest and the political process. With the rise of need. social media, Scruton noted that people know less, think they know more, and tell In many essays and books, Roger Scruton many what they think they know with- distinguishes between liberalism, social- out really knowing what they are talking ism, and conservativism. The guiding about. 2 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY In his mind, this trend has resulted in a 2. Individuals are, by nature, attached to culture war which, for conservatives, is others; human beings are social. First, of largely about defending freedom of speech course, individuals are attached to their against socialists who want to restrict mothers, but they are also attached to fa- what people say. He noted that freedom of thers, families, communities, nations, and speech is the very bedrock of civilization. humanity. Very few people, for example, In Conservatism: An Introduction to the live as hermits, isolated from social inter- Great Tradition (2017), Roger Scruton action. argued that human nature is fundamental to an ordered society. Conservatives are 3. People are not only intimately attached more likely than socialists to recognize five to groups, but they also compete both as features of an ordered society that must individuals and as group members. Within be considered for public policy to be suc- western societies, civilization is the way cessful even to a small degree. These five that this competition is regulated with both principles are important for think tanks, written and unwritten rules so that human like the Frontier Center, to keep firmly in competition is mostly peaceful. Nonethe- mind: less, certain sporting activities, Australian 1. People thrive in groups, which Scruton Rules Football, for example, seems to show says are of three kinds, tribal, religious, that peaceful competition is far from a uni- and political. This is a rough demarcation versal value. to help people think about the kind of groups that exist, and he does not imply 4. Human beings engage both their emo- that tribal and religious groups cannot be tions and their intellects in most inter- political. In fact, anyone involved in argu- actions, both individually and in groups. ments about Indigenous rights and respon- Rarely is human interaction purely an intel- sibilities certainly knows that there is con- lectual endeavor. Obviously, human inter- siderable overlap between these groups. actions, like love and war, draw upon both feelings and thoughts with the emotions 3 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY often over powering the thoughts. As if he had a premonition of his own death, medical advances kept him alive for a few 5. Finally, human beings strive for freedom months after his diagnosis. Thankfully, he even though the groups they belong to— finished a few more essays which will be their families, tribes, religious groups, and published. Even though Prof. Scruton was nations—try to shape their striving. In per- very ill, he went to Prague in November 2019 sonal interaction, consent is the way that the to participate in the celebration of the 30th freedom of one person is constrained, and in anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. His own formal organizations, contracts are the way contribution was formally recognized, and freedom is constrained. undoubtedly he was more highly appreciated in Eastern Europe than in his home country, Roger Scruton summed up his conservative Britain. philosophy in two short sentences: “Liberals seek freedom, socialists equality without re- Roger Scruton kept a monthly calendar on his sponsibility, and conservatives responsibility. web site, and the last paragraph was entered And, without responsibility, neither freedom about a month before he died. His mind was nor equality have lasting value.” still active as his body wasted away with can- cer. In 2016, Roger Scruton published Confes- sions of a Heretic, a short book of essays on Roger Scruton dedicated his life to giving a variety of topics include “Faking It,” “Gov- substantial intellectual substance to con- erning Rightly,” “Dancing Properly,” and “Dy- servatism. Conservatives have lost a valued ing in Time.” mentor and a fearless ally, a true fighter for freedom, responsibility, and justice. Heaven Now that Roger Scruton has died, it is in- has gained an angel whose light will shine teresting to re-read “Dying in Time.” At the well into the future, lighting the way for beginning of this essay, he says: “Many of young people who are trying to balance the the most pressing ‘end of life’ issues result competing and conflicting needs of their fam- from medical advances that have reshaped ilies, tribes, and nations. the human condition, while appealing to mor- al considerations is appealing to the human Roger Scruton has gone, but his ideas remain condition as it was, and not as it is. with us. 4 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Senior Fellow, Rodney Clifton, is responsible for directing the Frontier Cen- tre’s research program. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Manito- ba. He received his B.Ed and M.Ed. from the University of Alberta, his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and his Fil.Dr. from the University of Stock- holm. In addition, he has been awarded a Spencer Fellowship from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, a Rh. Award from the University of Manitoba, a R.W.B. Jackson Research Award from the Canadian Educational Researchers’ Association, and both an Edward Sheffield and a Distinguished Research Awards from the Canadi- an Society for the Study of Higher Education. He has written for numerous newspapers and journals, including the Canadian Journal of Education, Poli- cy Options,Sociology of Education, the National Post, and the Winnipeg Free Press. His books include Socioeconomic Status, Attitudes, and Educational Performances: A Comparison of Students in England and New Zealand, Au- thority in Classrooms, Crosscurrents: Contemporary Canadian Educational Issues, and Recent Social Trends in Canada, 1960-2000. His most recent book, What’s Wrong With Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them, was pub- lished in 2010 and was written with Michael Zwaagstra and John Long. Alexandra Burnett Research Assistant/Junior Research Associate Alexandra Burnett is a Research Assistant/Research Associate who gradu- ated from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy Internship Program in 2018. Ms. Burnett is currently studying for Masters in Public Administration at the University of Saskatchewan..
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