9/12/11
The Mad Doctor. He was a Republican, then a Libertarian, then a Republican again. There is somewhat of an overlap between conservative thinking and libertarianism. When libertarians talk about abolishing this department or that, many Republicans get verklempt, even tear up a little. We shouldn’t.
Why? Libertarians aren’t conservative. Their core message only sounds identical to ours. The problem is that our core message isn’t really our core message. Conservatives only want to cut central government. Libertarians want to obliterate it. Here is a lame-brilliant metaphor for political philosophies. The big three are like Starbucks. Liberals love mocha coconut frappes with extra whip cream, extra coconut, extra sprinkles. The loons would add some sugar. Conservatives like regular coffee with sugar and cream. George Will might like a French Press. Sarah Palin might like Folgers Instant. It’s still the same product. Libertarians just want a spoonful of raw coffee grounds. To them, anything less would be unmanly.
Libertarian philosophical roots are actually closer to Marx’s than to Reagan’s. The utopian libertarian believes that if government goes away and man is left alone, all will be well. This is every bit as radical as the communist’s belief that if all are forced to be equal, all will be happy. Both believe in the goodness of man. Both obsess over power: One over the self, one over others. The conservative rejects both.
Our founders knew the danger of weak government and many of the Federalist Papers described the evils of the feeble Confederacy. Alexander Hamilton
Libertarians believe there is no problem that can’t be solved by an individual, a family, or a company. Well, modern life is safe, clean, and well organized. It was not always so and regulation is partly responsible for this. A century ago, our country was energetic but also dirty, chaotic, and dangerous. Arguably, private railroads did more than anything to foster expansion and development. However, poor tracks, faulty trestles, broken signals, and exploding boilers were commonplace, causing untold numbers of accidents. By 1890, railroads were causing 10,000 deaths and 80,000 injuries a year[3]. In the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911, 146 people were burned alive or jumped from the top floors because managers had locked the exits. This led to legislation requiring improved safety standards. While OSHA surely would have slowed the growth of the west, we don’t know how many countless lives basic standards could have saved. Are we really willing to go back to the days of Typhoid Mary?
Libertarians, like conservatives, love the free market. They say if a company doesn’t perform, customers will leave for a better, faster, safer one. Largely, this is true. Largely but not completely. Like everyone, businessmen often take short term gain over long term stability. Case in point: the recent economic collapse. Government policy is to blame but so is deregulation. After parts of the Glass-Steagall Act was repealed, some companies began borrowing over 30 times their own value. Also, executives from Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and other firms created investment products they aggressively sold to clients while simultaneously betting against them. Capitalism works but businessmen lie and cheat like everybody else. Yes, regulations hurt economic growth (see my last blog). But the founders recognized the need for checks and balances. Companies need them too.
Our federal government is a bloated, incompetent mess. Yes, some federal agencies should be abolished. But weak government can be worse. It can even lead to mass murder and rape. Virtually the whole continent of Africa is a prime example of the horrors of weak government*. What conservatives really want is strong government but with severely limited and enumerated powers.
Do you still like Ron Paul? He wants to legalize heroin, cocaine, and prostitution. He voted against requiring internet providers to report child porn and his foreign policy is indistinguishable from Code Pink. He thinks Iran
Ron Paul: Crazy like a fox? No. Just crazy.
* Read Michael Gerson’s fantastic Washington Post column on the Congo
