They lacked the former's sense of social obligation, of noblesse oblige, of what in the Old World emerged as a politically coherent "Tory socialism" that worked to quiet class antagonisms.
The Tory tradition showed traces of the deference and noblesse oblige of pre-modern hierarchy.
On the one hand, it celebrates the noblesse oblige of its well-spoken spy heroes in their Savile Row suits.
The idea of unilateral leadership — enlightened despotism, benevolent dictatorship, the noblesse oblige of "Downton Abbey" and its spinoffs — appeals to us when collective action seems impossible.
The noblesse oblige of the design was perfectly expressed in the lush green plantings around the buildings, there for the enjoyment of passers-by.
Both the reflexive, slightly shamed noblesse oblige of people like Edie and the social structures that perpetuate ignorance and brutality among families like the Ratliffs played a part, we learn, in Danny's inane childhood confession, which, years later, destroys him.
