The Observer, February 1, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 15
Political Connection: Why I'm a conservative
In a very broad sense, I define myself as a conservative.
I say broad, because conservatism is not easily defined. Many people prefer to think of conservatives as simply the 'Religious Right,' evangelicals who love church and guns and hate abortion and illegal immigrants. This overlooks the multifaceted nature of conservatism. George Nash, in his article "The Uneasy Future of American Conservatism," separated conservatives into libertarians, traditionalists, anticommunists, neoconservatives, and religious conservatives.
I call myself a conservative because I believe in individual strength and the right of self rule. Although I may be smarter or stronger than another, it does not give me the right to make decisions for him. Nor should government usurp individual freedoms because it believes it knows better how to educate one's children or spend one's income. There is no such thing as the social good, insofar as society is not some collective being with a discernable will. Society does not exist for its own sake; it exists for the benefit of individuals.
The national government's role should be limited to matters of national concern. This primarily means national defense, international relations, and interstate relations. Concerning general welfare, only those issues that require national attention, such as a national highway, should receive it. Healthcare, education, poverty, income disparity, and other social issues should be addressed either by state and local governments or families and communities, with emphasis on the latter.
Liberty must be given preference over equality. Equal rights must come before equal pay. Friederich Hayek put it best in The Road to Serfdom when he said that liberty is "the denial of all privilege, if privilege is understood in its proper and original meaning of the state granting and protecting rights to some which are not available on equal terms to others." Not only does this mean granting rights to the poor at the expense of the rich is immoral, the opposite scenario is just as bad.
Courts shouldn't be packed with more conservatives or more liberals. Instead judges and justices must seek to understand the law as it was written, not create their own meaning. Issues of morality, such as abortion, should not be decided by nine stodgy old people, but by the people in their legislatures.
Economic activity should be left to the free-market, not policy makers. Capitalism is what made the United States into the political and economic superpower it is today. Unless there is evidence of force or fraud, the economy works best when left alone. Regulation and taxation must be kept to a minimum so as not to hamper market forces. If Congress wants a stronger economy, it should quit taking money from it.
Conservatism isn't some single-minded school of thought and there is no strict doctrine to follow. What conservatives do share is the goal to limit the size and scope of government to that of pre-New Deal days and to protect democracy and capitalism at home and abroad.
