Phillip Blond | |
|---|---|
 Blond in 2018 | |
| Born | 1 March 1966 Liverpool, England |
| Scholarly background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Doctoral advisor | John Milbank |
| Influences | |
| Scholarly work | |
| Discipline | |
| Sub-discipline | Political philosophy |
| School or tradition | |
| Influenced | David Cameron |
| Part of the Politics series on |
| Communitarianism |
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Phillip Blond (born 1 March 1966) is an English political philosopher, Anglican theologian, and director of the ResPublica think tank. [1]
Born in Liverpool and educated at Pensby High School for Boys, [2] Blond went on to study philosophy and politics at the University of Hull, continental philosophy at the University of Warwick, and theology at Peterhouse at the University of Cambridge. At Peterhouse, he was a student of John Milbank, founder of the radical orthodoxy theological movement [3] and a noted critic of liberalism, philosophically understood. Blond's first work, Post-Secular Philosophy: Between Philosophy and Theology, is very much in the radical orthodoxy line of thought and includes essays by many of that group's members. Blond won a prize research fellowship in philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York.[ citation needed ]. Blond is the step-brother of James Bond actor, Daniel Craig. [4]
Blond was a senior lecturer in Christian theology at the Lancaster campus of St Martin's College and after the merger with Cumbria Institute of the Arts in August 2007 he worked at the Lancaster campus the University of Cumbria [5] and was a lecturer in the Department of Theology at the University of Exeter. [6]
Blond was the director of the Progressive Conservatism Project at the London-based think tank Demos, but left due to "political and philosophical differences" [7] to establish his own think tank, ResPublica.
Blond gained prominence from a cover story in Prospect magazine in the February 2009 edition with his essay on red Toryism, [8] which proposed a radical communitarian traditionalist conservatism that inveighed against both state and market monopoly.
According to Blond, these two large-scale realities, while usually spoken of as diametrically opposed, are in reality the two sides of the same coin. As he explains it, modern and postmodern individualism and statism have always been connected of the hip, at least since the advent of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's thought, if not well before that in the work of Thomas Hobbes. [9] In a series of articles in both The Guardian [10] and The Independent he has argued for a wider recognition of the merits of civic conservatism and an appreciation of the potentially transformative impact of a new Tory settlement. [11]
In 2010, The Daily Telegraph called him "a driving force behind David Cameron's 'Big Society' agenda." [12]
Blond is a fellow of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. [6]
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, having won the 2019 general election. It has been the primary governing party in the United Kingdom since 2010. The party is on the centre-right of the political spectrum, and encompasses various ideological factions including one-nation conservatives, Thatcherites, and traditionalist conservatives. The party currently has 355 Members of Parliament, 260 members of the House of Lords, 9 members of the London Assembly, 31 members of the Scottish Parliament, 16 members of the Welsh Parliament, 4 directly elected mayors, 30 police and crime commissioners, and around 6,619 local councillors. It holds the annual Conservative Party Conference.
One-nation conservatism, also known as one-nationism or Tory democracy, is a paternalistic form of British political conservatism. It advocates the preservation of established institutions and traditional principles within a political democracy, in combination with social and economic programmes designed to benefit the ordinary person. According to this political philosophy, society should be allowed to develop in an organic way, rather than being engineered. It argues that members of society have obligations towards each other and particularly emphasises paternalism, meaning that those who are privileged and wealthy should pass on their benefits. It argues that this elite should work to reconcile the interests of all social classes, including labour and management, rather than identifying the good of society solely with the interests of the business class.
A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition; it is most predominant in Canada, but also has a presence in the United Kingdom. This philosophy tends to favour communitarian social policies, while maintaining a degree of fiscal discipline and a respect of social and political order. It is contrasted with "Blue Tory" or "High Tory". Some Red Tories view themselves as small-c conservatives.
The Tory Reform Group (TRG) is a pressure group associated with the British Conservative Party that works to promote "modern, progressive Conservatism... economic efficiency and social justice" and "a Conservatism that supports equality, diversity and civil liberties", values sometimes associated with Harold Macmillan's "Middle Way" or what the groups consider a moderate one-nation conservatism. Senior figures include Michael Heseltine, Douglas Hurd, Ken Clarke, and Chris Patten.
David Linsay Willetts, Baron Willetts, is a British politician and life peer. From 1992 to 2015, he was the Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Havant in Hampshire. He served as Minister of State for Universities and Science from 2010 until July 2014 and became a member of the House of Lords in 2015. He was appointed chair of the UK Space Agency's board in April 2022. He is president of the Resolution Foundation.
Sir Roger Vernon Scruton was an English philosopher and writer who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views.
Maurice John Cowling was a British historian. A fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, for most of his career, Cowling was a leading conservative exponent of the 'high politics' approach to political history.
Conservatism in Canada is generally considered a movement which is primarily represented by the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada in federal party politics, as well as various centre-right and right-wing parties at the provincial level. The first party which called itself "Conservative" in what would become Canada was elected in the Province of Canada election of 1854.
Alasdair John Milbank is an English Anglo-Catholic theologian and is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham, where he is President of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy. Milbank previously taught at the University of Virginia and before that at the University of Cambridge and the University of Lancaster. He is also chairman of the trustees of the think tank ResPublica.
Radical orthodoxy is a Christian theological and philosophical school of thought which makes use of postmodern philosophy to reject the paradigm of modernity. The movement was founded by John Milbank and others and takes its name from the title of a collection of essays published by Routledge in 1999: Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology, edited by Milbank, Catherine Pickstock, and Graham Ward. Although the principal founders of the movement are Anglicans, radical orthodoxy includes theologians from a number of ecclesial traditions.
Green conservatism is a combination of conservatism with environmentalism. Environmental concern has been voiced by both conservative politicians and philosophers throughout the history of modern conservatism. The philosophical founder of modern conservatism, Edmund Burke, in his Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), quoted as saying: "The earth, the kind and equal mother of all ought not to be monopolised to foster the pride and luxury of any men."
Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain natural laws to which society should adhere prudently. Traditionalist conservatism is based on Edmund Burke's political views. Traditionalists value social ties and the preservation of ancestral institutions above excessive individualism.
Roger John Liddle, Baron Liddle is a British political adviser and consultant who is principally known for being Special Adviser on European matters to the former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. He also worked together with Peter Mandelson on books outlining the political philosophy of the Labour Party under Blair's leadership. He is the co-chair of the international think tank Policy Network and was Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lancaster until 2020.
Blue Labour is a British campaign group and political faction that seeks to promote blue-collar and culturally conservative values within the British Labour Party — particularly on immigration, crime, community spirit, and the European Union — while remaining committed to labour rights and left-wing economic policies. It seeks to represent a traditional working-class approach to Labour politics. Launched in 2009 as a counter to New Labour, the Blue Labour movement first rose to prominence after Labour's defeat in the 2010 general election, in which for the first time the party received fewer working-class votes than it did middle-class votes. The movement has influenced a handful of Labour MPs and frontbenchers; founder Maurice Glasman served as a close ally to Ed Miliband during his early years as Leader of the Opposition, before himself becoming a life peer in the House of Lords. The movement has also seen a resurgence of interest after the loss of red wall seats in the 2019 general election.
ResPublica is a British independent public policy think tank, founded in 2009 by Phillip Blond. It describes itself as a multi-disciplinary, non-party political research organisation, whose aim is to create bold solutions to enduring social and economic problems.
Neil John O'Brien is a British politician who was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Primary Care and Public Health in September 2022. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Harborough in 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he was previously a special adviser to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne from 2012 to 2016 and Theresa May during her tenure as Prime Minister.
Gavin Hyman is Senior Lecturer at the University of Lancaster. He read Theology at Peterhouse, Cambridge and the University of Exeter. He has published on postmodernism, philosophy and theology, radical orthodoxy, atheism, and ethics.
Progressive conservatism is a political ideology which combines conservative and progressive policies. The initial origins of progressivism come from Western Europe during the 18th century and the Age of Enlightenment when it was believed that social reform and progression in areas such as science, economics, education, technology and medicine were necessary to improve human living conditions.
Simon Andrew Oliver is a British Anglican priest, theologian, and academic. He was formerly Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of Nottingham, he is now the Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at the University of Durham. Oliver is also on staff with the Centre of Theology and Philosophy.
Daniel Rayne Kruger is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Devizes in Wiltshire since 2019.
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