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Flaws In Human Nature

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Flaws In Human Nature
Conservatism is a philosophy of imperfection in that it highlights a variety of flaws and failings in human nature, thus emphasising the limited prospect for social and political advancement. Human nature is flawed in at least three ways. First, human beings are limited and dependant creatures, who are drawn to the familiar, the tried and tested. People, therefore, recoil from change and seek reassurance in tradition. Second, human nature is morally imperfect in that people are driven by non-rational instinct and urges, amongst which are selfishness, greed and lust. The prospect of spontaneous social order and stability is thus dismissed as a utopian dream. Order can only be imposed from above in the form of authority, thereby limiting freedom.

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