PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

According to Max Horkheimer, the core dilemma of capitalist ideology is that it promotes egoism and contempt for egoism at the same time. This basic contradiction translates into belief in an organically structured society consisting of needs satisfying individuals and groups. This can be made out as a principle that prevails across all conservative schools and psychological differences. Conservative parties in the ‘West’ have started to adopt an unprecedented openness to the diversity of contemporary pluralistic societies. In doing so, they do what conservatives always did – they conform to actual social conditions. Conservatism is far from being anti-diversity, as long as the core belief remains untouched. The transformation of ‘Western’ conservatism we witness today is moulding conservatism into a form that has since long been established in India, where plurality and multiculturality have never been absent. This new development brings to the fore the key elements of a universal conservatism independent of cultural contexts.