Introduction
Roger Scruton proposes a conservative vision of freedom based on the triad: Person–Law–Institutions. In an era of growing ideological disputes, his thought provides a foundation for a stable society, opposing linguistic manipulation and the dismantling of traditional bonds. In this article, you will learn how the rule of law, individual responsibility, and local communities protect us from utopian social engineering, and why returning to the "prose of responsibility" is crucial for the future of the state.
Newspeak and the Category of the Person: Foundations of Responsibility
Newspeak, according to Orwell and Scruton, is an ideological weapon used to narrow the scope of thought. Its goal is to make "thoughtcrime" impossible by eliminating words that describe reality. In this universe, concrete individuals disappear behind a screen of "forces," "classes," and "processes," allowing the apparatus of power to enjoy impunity. Scruton calls this the "nonsense machine" or Parisian nonsense—a hermetic jargon (Foucault, Lacan) that dissolves meaning in the acid of terminology, making the denial of facts redundant.
The antidote to this state of affairs is the category of the person. In conservative philosophy, a person is a subject to whom an action, a claim, and guilt can be attributed. This distinguishes agency from misfortune. While the intelligentsia often succumbs to the allure of the planned society, wishing to manage it, Scruton reminds us that civilization requires asking boring questions: who made the decision and who will bear the consequences? In the struggle against authoritarian language, laughter and irony are also helpful, as they loosen ideological straitjackets.
The Rule of Law and the Role of Intermediate Institutions
The rule of law should not be a tool for social engineering, but a channel for responding to lawlessness. Scruton, supported by institutional economics (Douglass North), points out that predictable norms lower transaction costs and build trust. Meanwhile, Elinor Ostrom proves that local communities can manage resources without a central "Leviathan," provided the rules are clear. Scruton’s conservatism is a defense of intermediate institutions—fire departments, cooperatives, or choirs—which Burke called "little platoons."
These "schools of freedom" build social capital and teach the rules of contract. However, public choice theory (Buchanan, Tullock) warns: when the state focuses on constructing privileges under the banner of "social justice," it turns into a mechanism for rent-seeking. In such a system, the winners are interest groups that can most effectively use newspeak to transform others' property into their own claims.
Reform vs. Ideology: The Limits of Conservative Change
Contemporary slogans of liberation seek to sever bonds, which, combined with social justice, paralyzes enduring institutions. Scruton analyzes national variations of these efforts: from the French cult of the difficult word to American judicial activism (Dworkin), where courts become "priests of morality" instead of guardians of procedure. Such activism destroys legal stability by introducing arbitrary rulings in the name of historical group accounts.
To distinguish real reform from ideological utopia, one must apply the common-sense test: who is the subject of the duty? What custom are we destroying irrevocably? What will remain once the enthusiasm evaporates? Polish practice requires the personalization of power and judicial restraint. The state must "get off the lawn" of intermediate institutions, allowing them to grow organically instead of stifling them with new regulations and ideological missions.
Summary
Let us build institutions that do not fear punishment because they do not evade responsibility, but also those capable of forgiveness, remembering the overarching goal—a return to the common game. In a world where language often loses contact with reality, it is the prose of responsibility, rooted in concrete decisions and consequences, that becomes the only chance to save the community. Moving away from ideological incantations in favor of pragmatic care for the foundations of our society is a difficult but necessary path to preserving true freedom.
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