Instincts for day-to-day survival have to kick in. When chaos reigns, the social conservatives are the ones with the guns.
I don’t like to be pigeon holed into one term or another.
My small l libertarianism is strongly influenced by my conservatism and common sense.
for instance....gay marriage...I personally dont care who is sleeping with whom...BUT.... if we allow this form of marriage, we are inviting in, ultra repressive groups like Islam....as nature abhors a vacuum, they will pick up more converts than ever and take over the country from within, as they are doing in Europe...so if you want a free country, dont even think of letting groups like Islam into the country....by definition, they’re goal is to conquer either from without or within...why give them the opportunity to take over from within...I prefer a straight fight from without...Molon Labe.
Conservatives adhere to proven practices which are known to make a society successful. The family. Rule of law. Property rights. Personal responsibility. Rooted in Western civilization and the Judaeo-Christian tradition, Conservatism deals with the reality of human nature, and not ivory tower ideals of what man "ought to be" or "could be".
do not know who this guy is, and after reading his article, probably never will....makes as much sense as an orange garbage can...
Likewise, the pure libertarian (as opposed to those of us who have some libertarian leanings) sets up liberty as the highest good. Liberty is the end goal of all policy. The conservative looks to the libertarian and asks, "Why does that idea become valued over all others?" Liberty is obviously a great good, but as the highest end goal, it can also lead to devastating consequences.
The conservative argues that the greatest instructor on what laws should exist in a civil society is human experience. So, it would seem libertarianism hits its own walls when it ventures out of its world of make-believe theories and steps into the world of reality.
What a fascinating morning read. Thank you, rightwingintelligentsia.
I would venture to comment further, but I'm quite sure someone would misinterpret my meaning.
Utopian Libertarianism is just as bad as Utopian Statism. Neither speak well to the realities of Human Nature.
But I despise Federal Governance
It magnifies the consequences of
Megalomania an Narcissism
And if I had to choose between a Liberal Libertarian
And a Conservative Statist, it would be a tough call
There are libertarians who think everything should be legal, and some conservatives who think nothing should be legal. Between those two extremes, there is a lot of common ground.
John Adams’ rejoinder that the Constitution was meant for a “moral people” and would not work for any other proved true. If “conservatism” is in “turmoil” or even “dead” it is ONLY because the Constitution was abandoned by liars and grifters who took the reigns of power through the ballot box—and that started happening long ago.
We’re not going to get back to something worth really having without morality being central to the cause. Name a secular poltiican of our time who was not a liar. Exactly, you can’t.
Whereas, so-called “social conservatives” have the distinction of being trustworthy. And that is vital if you are taking an oath to uphold the values of a document like the Constitution.
However I find the following incongruent:
This...
Alternatively, traditional conservatives believe the rise and success of Western society was not merely a lucky accident or the result of a couple Enlightenment period thunderbolts, but rather the product of diligent work, trial and error, and human experience -- and in may ways the result of Christian civilization.
As such, they argue that preserving a strong moral order -- an order that took shape over millennia -- is vitally important to a functioning society (including a functioning economic system).
Does not agree with this...
In some ways, this is humbling, inasmuch as it argues that Western civilization is not great because its people were inherently superior but that it evolved over centuries because its ideas were based on recognizing the realities of human nature.
It IS the people, in no small part, that made it what is was and what it can be. Call it/us whatever you want 'superior', different or our own but it works and works for US. It is not some 'universally' accepted nor practiced social order and/or government and never has been. Different peoples define, accept and practice ideas and concepts such as our ideals in different ways. So called 'universal ideals' and concepts are not always so universally defined in the same ways. It is in part organic, a part of us and who we are at our core. Take us away and it no longer exis. It is way more than just 'ideas' and ideals'. They are attempting to rip that way. Destroy it all. And they destroy it all by destroying us. They destroy us by trying to make us believe we are all Borg. "Equal". They say it is because of 'racism' and all kinds of isms that we must change/destroy it. There are no distinctions & no preference to anyone or anything except 'equality'.