The Fam.
Written by Mark Harris on February 25th, 2005There has been a lot of talk recently on the coming divorce between Libertarians and Conservatives., as Instapundit noted here. As a conservative, well very conservative, blog I think this is something worth weighing in on.
First, being at CPAC I would not say Libertarians were poorly recieved. The ACLU, Libertarian Party, and others libertarian groups were there, as well as “conservatives for peace.” The problem really is on your definition of liberatrian. The problem is that libertarians particularly on college campuses, which is what many on the right judge libertarianism, is viewed as libertine, which is not just that all should be legal, but it should be socially approved. Drugs, prostitution, and other “vices” are the key issues to these folk, and the fact is that it is a highly immature philosophy. As these libertines grow up they quickly become either social conservatives also or apolitical for the most part. True libertarians, instead, are those who view government as damaging in all that it does.
What does this mean? Well for example, a more conservative libertarian will admit that prostitution is a moral evil, but that the situation is actual made worse by government intervention. The split between libertarians and conservatives is well overstated, because in the end both know they come to the dance only through the centre-right alliance. Libertarians would be foolish to think they could make common cause with liberals, because in the end even on “social liberalism” Liberals are about big government. It isn’t just about abortions, its about government funded abortions, not just about gay marriage, but federal bennefits, not just about soddomy laws as it is about the usurpation of federalism. In the end, libertarians have little recourse, and for the most part have rightly judged the centre-right coalition as their best hope.
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The problem I see with this whole debate is that most people don’t frame their final decisions about politics within the context of “is this enlarging or shrinking government”. Even a hardcore liberal will support states rights if it means that abortion can remain legal in Vermont when it is banned across the nation. A libertarian is an odd creature who forgets that the entire reason to support a limited government isn’t an end in and of itself, but a path towards a greater good. I don’t see any true patriots abandoning the GOP for the Democratic Party (or even a third party) over an issue as banal as prostitution. The proof? The Nevada GOP isn’t trying to end prostitution and the rest of us don’t really care if they do or don’t (excepting the Christian Coalition). Libertarians will never split the GOP because conservatives have already assimilated their best ideas into our own ideology. When the only difference between a libertarian and a conservative is that one wants to legalize weed and the other doesn’t that’s not much of a choice. I don’t fear libertarians, every time they think up something useful we use it and every time they think up something crazy we laugh, it’s a win-win situation.
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It comes down to the role or purpose of government. Government establishes order out of chaos. I believe government is a necessary evil and that its purpose should be to protect “individual” liberty and freedom, but also to keep order that would ensue from a mob rule mentality that would take place if everyone did what ever they wanted.
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