The Beltway-types are always crying about a (perceived) lack of intellectual firepower on the Right. Yet, these supposed intellectuals, never make the case for anything!
Well, sure … They make feeble attempts to convince conservatives that they should love the State, but they NEVER make the case for any true conservative values, like freedom. Instead, they just cry and moan because Glenn Beck has a bigger audience than they do.
Each of the following articles (and video), make the case that freedom is not only more productive than socialism, but of higher moral calling too.
Conservatism and Freedom: A Libertarian Comment
Modern Age is to be warmly congratulated for its articles on “Conservatism and Freedom” in the Fall, 1960 issue. Certainly, there is no more important intellectual task than launching a dialogue toward a synthesis of the two most important intellectual currents on the American “Right” today: the conservative and the libertarian. Modern Age can make, and has begun to make, a notable contribution toward that dialogue. As a libertarian, I have been aware for some time of the importance, not only of converting authoritarian conservatives to the cause of freedom, but also of convincing the libertarians of the great importance of recognizing the existence of an objective moral order. As both Messrs. Meyer and Evans point out, there can be no truly moral choice unless that choice is made in freedom; similarly, there can be no really firmly grounded and consistent defense of freedom unless that defense is rooted in moral principle. In concentrating on the ends of choice, the conservative, by neglecting the conditions of choice, loses that very morality of conduct with which he is so concerned. And the libertarian, by concentrating only on the means, or conditions, of choice and ignoring the ends, throws away an essential moral defense of his own position.
I was particularly impressed by Frank Meyer’s admirable article. I pass over reluctantly the temptation to quote extensively from his essay. I don’t think there is anyone in the “conservative” camp who has as great an understanding of, or sympathy with, the libertarian, or “classical liberal” tradition. In contrast to Mr. [M. Stanton] Evans, for example, who chides the libertarian for believing that liberty is the highest moral end for man, Meyer sees that the best libertarians have realized, with Lord Acton, that liberty is the highest political end, i.e., the highest end that is proper for government, the organized arm of coercion, to achieve …
Realizing Freedom (video)
Last month, [Tom G. Palmer] talked with Reason senior editor Michael C. Moynihan about my latest book Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History, and Practice, why we are living in the freest time in human history, and the necessity of libertarian compromise.
Now that our country is expected to be the foremost champion of the “free world” (for how long and at what cost nobody knows), it has become more important than ever for Americans to think clearly about American freedom. It should be quite obvious to us that our freedom is indivisible.
Since most of us must devote much of our fleeting lives to “getting and spending,” it ought to be abundantly clear that economic freedom is an integral part of our personal liberty. And yet, like Benjamin Jowett, accused of asserting that “what I don’t know isn’t knowledge,” we are actually behaving as if economic freedom either is not freedom at all or else is so trivial that we need not give it serious thought. A review of the most rudimentary facts about the nature of economic freedom and what is happening to it in the United States will show that this is the case.
Like any form of personal liberty, economic freedom means freedom to choose. Of course it is limited. Practically, we can choose only between real alternatives — and perfection is never one of the alternatives.
Morally, we are bound by the very old principle that a man is his brother’s keeper. For the consequences of our choices we are responsible not only to ourselves and our families but to our fellow men in general. Individual freedom would be social nonsense if the strong did not protect the weak from invasion of their liberty, and if the fortunate did not help the unlucky.
Economic freedom, then, lies in the area where real and responsible economic choices are made. Why should we want this area to be large rather than small? Partly because free choice can regulate an economy far more efficiently than any conceivable set of officials …
The Economic Foundations of Freedom
Animals are driven by instinctive urges. They yield to the impulse which prevails at the moment and peremptorily asks for satisfaction. They are the puppets of their appetites.
Man’s eminence is to be seen in the fact that he chooses between alternatives. He regulates his behavior deliberatively. He can master his impulses and desires; he has the power to suppress wishes the satisfaction of which would force him to renounce the attainment of more important goals. In short: man acts; he purposively aims at ends chosen. This is what we have in mind in stating that man is a moral person, responsible for his conduct.
Freedom as a Postulate of Morality
All the teachings and precepts of ethics, whether based upon a religious creed or whether based upon a secular doctrine like that of the Stoic philosophers, presuppose this moral autonomy of the individual and therefore appeal to the individual’s conscience. They presuppose that the individual is free to choose among various modes of conduct and require him to behave in compliance with definite rules, the rules of morality. Do the right things, shun the bad things.
It is obvious that the exhortations and admonishments of morality make sense only when addressing individuals who are free agents. They are vain when directed to slaves. It is useless to tell a bondsman what is morally good and what is morally bad. He is not free to determine his comportment; he is forced to obey the orders of his master. It is difficult to blame him if he prefers yielding to the commands of his master to the most cruel punishment threatening not only him but also the members of his family.
This is why freedom is not only a political postulate, but no less a postulate of every religious or secular morality …
It’s time for conservatives to dump the Beltway-types, because they refuse to accept the roots and heritage of the conservative movement – freedom and liberty.Similar Posts:
- What is Conservatism?
- The Truth About Neocons: Introduction
- Chicken Liver Republicans Case #1
- The Revolution Begins with a Spark
- We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Libertarians!