Thin Economics, Thick Moralising

Red Toryism and the Politics of Nostalgia

Authors

  • Roland Boer University of Newcastle

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/bsor.v40i1.004

Keywords:

Religion, Politics, Red Toryism, UK

Abstract

Locality, family, moral economy, virtuous elites, common popular customs – these are the buzzwords of what has come to be known as red toryism, which seeks to breath life into the conservative project in the UK. It valorises the local over the global, family over its discontents (gays, single parents, promiscuity), virtue over cynicism, common custom over bland commercial labels; in short, a return to the progressive, communal values of conservatism. The name most usually associated with red toryism – also known as communitarian civic conservatism – is Phillip Blond. Our brief in this paper is not a treatment of the whole red tory doctrine, but a critical examination of its economic policies and how they relate to theology, via morality.

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Published

2011-03-23

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Boer, R. (2011). Thin Economics, Thick Moralising: Red Toryism and the Politics of Nostalgia. Bulletin for the Study of Religion, 40(1), 26-43. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsor.v40i1.004