The Conservative Party is founded on the idea that individuals ought to have as much freedom as possible, and that the state may only legitimately intervene when it has to.
In the Victorian era there was widespread agreement about the concept of the ‘night watchman state’, but with the advent of socialism and Labour MPs in the 20th century, that idea has withered, if not entirely perished. Instead, the state has become the behemoth we now know it to be, free to intervene at any stage in people’s lives, apparently for their own good.
The provision of cradle to the grave welfare has reinforced this dependency, which was made even worse by covid. It is especially apparent in the bloated welfare system, which is making ‘being out of work’ a lifestyle choice rather than a necessity, with others picking up the bill.
This is not the leisure advocated by Aristotle, where men seek the higher things. It is an idleness of ineluctable sloth. It is, in fact, a misery for those who are caught in it. It is a web, more akin to the life of the lotus eaters, and it needs to be changed for their benefit as well as those of wider society.
In terms of the Tories’ belief in freedom of the individual, it is clearly reasonable not to pay benefits to people who live in idleness. The liberty is a negative one, not a positive one. The Conservatives do not believe that freedom from the state includes the liberty to do nothing and to get other people to fund it. Instead, it is the view that the state ought not to tell people how to use their own money, and that if they wish to live without work, they are free to do so as long as they can afford it.
