Chilean conservative thought, 1866-1904

This dissertation proposes a new approach to studying Chile’s conservative political tradition in the second half of the nineteenth century. The liberal-conservative dichotomy that characterised nineteenth-century politics has proved insufficient as a historical framework to capture conservatism’s nuances. Accordingly, I argue for a recontextualisation of conservatism in its own terms. As this work demonstrates, conservative letrados developed an eclectic formulation of conservative progress that becomes essential to understand the conservative political tradition. This practical definition of progress included various elements. Drawing from liberal ideas, they defended public liberties—including freedom of education, association, press, professions, municipalities, and elections. It also encompassed a social economy element, shared with Catholic social teachings, which advocated for the welfare of impoverished classes. Finally, their approach to achieving progress emphasised gradual reformism while preserving customs and habits. Accordingly, having a unified and standardised language was essential to achieving their idea of “conservation by progress”. However, this conservative idea of progress contained inherent tensions. These appeared regarding their ideas of liberalism and the role of the Catholic Church. On the one hand, conservatives advocated for broad public liberties and sought to free the church from state control. On the other, they simultaneously maintained that Catholicism should remain as the state’s official religion, rejecting freedom of worship. This study examines the main elements of the conservative idea of progress. First, it analyses the relation among conservatism, liberalism, and Catholicism. Second, it explores how language was used for gradual reform rooted in traditions and customs. Third, it looks into how concepts of social economy, influenced by Catholic social teachings, shaped their approach to addressing social issues. Fourth, it analyses municipal autonomy as a fundamental public freedom supporting conservative progress. These case studies provide a comprehensive representation that enables this work to draw broader conclusions about their conceptualisation of progress. Consequently, through this approach, this dissertation offers new insights into Chilean conservative thought by revealing how conservatives articulated and pursued their vision of progress within their own intellectual and political context.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• De Solminihac Sierralta, Ignacio

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Meckstroth, Christopher

• Conservatism
• Global Intellectual History
• History of Political Thought
• 19th Century
• Progress
• Language
• Social Economy
• Municipal Freedom
• Chile
• Latin America

Licence

• https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/eeb7a05d-7c35-4b33-8055-9ec439959f28/download
• https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.113681

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/376448