CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY AND

CONSERVATISM

P R E S E N T A T I O N F O R K D U N

B Y D A V I D H A N S E N

The difference between Christian Democracy and Conservatism

and what defines Nordic Christian Democracy.

“Sometimes I'm liberal,

sometimes I'm conservative

and sometimes I'm Christian

Social.”

"Mal bin ich liberal,

mal bin ich konservativ,

mal bin ich christlich-sozial."

YOUR REQUEST

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CD

Cons

Lib

SD

CD

Cons Lib

SAME, SAME BUT DIFFERENT?

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CD

Cons Lib

Borgerlig?

SAME, SAME BUT DIFFERENT?

CD

Cons

Lib

SD

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Borgerlig?

LIKE A HORSE AND CARRIAGE?

1.Defining Conservatism

2.Defining Christian Democracy

3.Nordic particularities

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Christian Democracy

Conservatism

CONSERVATISM

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CONSERVATISM

1.Tradition

2.A realistic view of man

3.An organic (and realistic) view

of society

4.Authorities and natural

hierarchy

5.Property rights and other "first

principles" among human

rights (civil rights).

6.Rule of law and liberal

democracy

7.Nation and the value of the

national

8.Free enterprise

9.Limited government (*)

10.Individual freedom and

personal responsibility

11.Sedentary particularities

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“There is such a thing as society, it’s just not the same thing as the state (…) At the heart of what I believe are two simple principles: Trusting people and sharing responsibility. I believe that if you trust people and give them more power and control over their lives, they become stronger, and society becomes stronger too.”

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“For Labour there is only the state and the individual, nothing in between. No family to rely on, no friend to depend on, no community to call on. No neighborhood to grow in, no faith to share in, no charities to work in. No one but the Minister, nowhere but Whitehall, no such thing as society – just them, and their laws, and their rules, and their arrogance. You cannot run our country like this”

CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY

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CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY

1.Christian (humanist) view of

Man

2.Love your fellow

3.Principle of stewardship

(sustainability)

4.Pluralism and a pluralistic

understanding of society

5.Solidarity

6.Subsidiarity

7.Personalism / relational

approach to self-actualization /

communitarianism

8.Fraternalism,

supranationalism or federalism

(multi-level democracy)

9.Conciliatory shared values:

The People’s Party ideal /

Centrist / “Third Way”

10.Politics to serve for common

good

11.Social Market Economy

(ordoliberalism)

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FROM SOCIAL APPEAL TO PEOPLE’S PARTIES

• Christian Democracy is a popular oriented and democratic ideology, created

as a reaction among socially committed Christians that were upset by the

irreconcilable conflicts between interests that characterized the political life in

general and the role of party-political organizations in particular.

• The idea of conciliatory shared values

Two different tracks of Christian Democracy:

• Value-led popular parties

(Catholic and thus Continental and South European)

• Interest-oriented “pillar structure” or “confessional”

(Reformed/Calvinist and Nordic Protestant)

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ACCORDING TO K M BONDEVIK:

1. Emphasis on small societal units such as family and community

2. A proactive policy on environment and resource management

3. An active policy for regional development,

4. Promotion of voluntarism / civil society,

5. Respect for the so-called counter-cultures

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«CENTRIST» AND «THE THIRD WAY»

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ACCORDING TO G. HÄGGLUND

“For us, Christian Democrats, one thing is clear: We are a value-oriented party, an idea, party.

We are different from others. When communities are working at their best, among them family being the most important, they form an embankment of values against the continuous pressure from legislative and regulatory power. Without ethics - a mass of laws. When we leave the state of suspicion, bans and politicizing, we see a free and confident Sweden outlined."

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ACCORDING TO G. HÄGGLUND

“Certainly, we too have had our times

marked by a leftist urge to legislate.

Yet in our roots we never doubted

the force of personal responsibility.

There is now a process of renewal

within our party, which I hope will

lead to fulfillment of my image of the

Christian Democrats as the boarder

guards of politics - those who

cherish to protect the spheres where

politicians or ideologists should not

be allowed to micromanage.”

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES

1) Lack of vision Who are the most conservative: Christian Democrats or Conservatives?

2) Particular interest party or people’s party?

3) Self-inflicted belittling

4) Refrain from totalitarian aspects of policy-making and mathematical politics

5) Rediscover the true nature of politics and the value of freedoms

6) Revive supranationality, international fraternization and solidarity

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Q&A / DEBATE

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CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY AND

CONSERVATISM

Thank you for your

kind attention!

David Hansen

@dhansentwitt

+47 90523113

Presentation for KDUN

Oslo, October 5th, 2013

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