"Conservatism is about freedom, yes. But it is also about the institutions and attitudes that shape the responsible citizen, and ensure that freedom is a benefit to us all. Conservatism is therefore also about the limits to freedom."
Roger ScrutonTiny Panda Quotes
Quotes by Roger Scruton
Roger Scruton (1933-2020) was a distinguished British philosopher, writer, and political commentator, celebrated for his profound contributions to aesthetics, conservative thought, and cultural criticism. With a career that spanned over five decades, Scruton authored more than 30 books, advocating for the importance of beauty, tradition, and the moral fabric of society. His insights into art and culture challenged prevailing postmodernist views, leaving an indelible mark on contemporary philosophy and conservative discourse. Scruton's legacy continues to inspire thoughtful discussions on the role of tradition in a rapidly changing world.
13 quotes found
"The Scottish desire for independence is, to some extent, a fabrication. They want to identify themselves as Scots but still to be part of a, to enjoy the subsidy they get from being part of the kingdom."
Roger Scruton"Cameron's resignation really was the death knell of the Conservative Party as we knew it because that's something a proper Conservative politician cannot do: renounce leadership at the moment when it's needed."
Roger Scruton
"Whether it is a garden gnome, the sound of Bing Crosby launching into 'White Christmas', the blinking innocent eyes of Bambi or the words of Patience Strong, the kitsch phenomenon is there as strong and recognisable as your mother's face. You seldom if ever have the question, whether this is kitsch or not. If you think it might be, then it is."
Roger Scruton"Environmental degradation has one cause above all others: the propensity of human beings to take the benefit and leave the costs to someone else, preferably someone far away in space or time, whose protests can be safely ignored."
Roger Scruton
"My main argument is that environmental destruction comes when people externalise their costs and pass them on to future generations. That is obviously something that large enterprises do and they become large by doing it."
Roger Scruton"Like every other viable environmental policy, the search for clean energy begins at home."
Roger Scruton
"Abstract ideas like equality and liberty have a spurious transparency, and can be used to derive pleasing theorems in the manner of Jean-Jacques Rousseau or John Rawls."
Roger Scruton"The world of art, I have suggested, is full of fakes. Fake originality, fake emotion and the fake expertise of the critics - these are all around us and in such abundance that we hardly know where to look for the real thing. Or perhaps there is no real thing?"
Roger Scruton"A high culture is the self-consciousness of a society. It contains the works of art, literature, scholarship and philosophy that establish a shared frame of reference among educated people."
Roger Scruton"Conservatives hold on to things not only because they are attached to them, but also because they do not see the sense in radical change, until someone has told them what it will lead to."
Roger Scruton
"Coming close to death you begin to know what life means, and what it means is gratitude."
Roger Scruton"For two centuries the English countryside has been an icon of national identity and the loved reminder of our island home. Yet the government is bent on littering the hills with wind turbines and the valleys with high speed railways."
Roger Scruton