There's no improving upon the way it expresses the full breadth and depth of our worldview:
Although Russell Kirk's six canons, here summarized by Smith, are pretty good, too:We, as young conservatives believe:
- That foremost among the transcendent values is the individual’s use of his God-given free will, whence derives his right to be free from the restrictions of arbitrary force;
- That liberty is indivisible, and that political freedom cannot long exist without economic freedom;
- That the purpose of government is to protect those freedoms through the preservation of internal order, the provision of national defense, and the administration of justice;
- That the Constitution of the United States is the best arrangement yet devised for empowering government to fulfill its proper role, while restraining it from the concentration and abuse of power;
- That the market economy, allocating resources by the free play of supply and demand, is the single economic system compatible with the requirements of personal freedom and constitutional government; and that it is at the same time the most productive supplier of human needs;
- That American foreign policy must be judged by this criterion: Does it serve the just interests of the United States?
(1) A divine intent, as well as personal conscience, rules society. (2) Traditional life is filled with variety and mystery, while most radical systems are characterized by a narrowing conformity. (3) Civilized society requires order and hierarchy. (4) Property and freedom are inseparably connected. (5) Man must control his will and his appetite, knowing that he is governed more by emotion than reason. (6) Society must change but slowly.
Of course, the LITD articulation of The Three Pillars is a worthy contribution to the conversation as well:
1.) Free-market economics, which begins with the premise that a good or service is worth what buyer and seller agree that it is worth - period. No other party has any business being involved in that agreement - certainly not government.
2.) An understanding that Western civilization has been a unique blessing to humankind. (Judeo-Christian morality, Greco-Roman model of representative democracy, the great scientific and artistic achievements.)
3.) A foreign policy based on what history tells us about human nature. This plays itself out as our allies knowing we have their backs, our adversaries respecting us, and our enemies fearing us.And they all fit together seamlessly. A fully matured conservatism understands why transcendence, the right to own things, and vigilant protection of the American experiment are each and all indispensable elements.
That's all LITD is or ever has been defending. Dragging a particular brand over the finish line for the sake of tribal gotcha has nothing to do with what we're about.
This is who you say you are. From a young age I was disappointed in the Viet Nam war you perpetuated (change came slowly but looking up to the clouds spouting fire on man and nature alike kind of made it look like hell to man and nature alike and death indeed still comes slowly to many exposed to that malevolent agent-Orange. And the legalization of a relatively benign high, turned into a deadly Schedule I drug by a conservative President(of course you'll suspect his purity) despite the conclusions and recommendations of his own commission has taken more than half a century to be overturned. Ask the dead, the maimed (physically, socially and occupationally) and the jailed. They'll tell you what slow is. And why are Netanyahu's interests ours if the world will blow over them? And when it comes to working your will, you rely on the most socialistic outfits on earth to execute it.
ReplyDeleteNorth Vietnam was violating the 1954 Geneva agreement. By 1960, when William Colby arrived in Saigon as station chief, he reported that the South was full of Communists.
ReplyDeleteThere are pros and cons to loosening marijuana laws. It's childish to take an absolutist stance on it until more is known, such as how its working out in states where it's perfectly legal. And certainly during administrations of the mid-20th century cannot be faulted for reluctance to to loosen those laws.
Netanyahu is the prime minister of Israel, the only Western nation in the Middle East.
Bringing up these specific issues is a failed attempt to play gotcha with a worldview that has never been applied in anything like a pure form.
Never been applied in it's pure form? What great thinker are you getting that from?
ReplyDeleteNot trying to play gotcha so there's nothing to fail at. Just explaining my observations and why I cannot buy into your bull shit.
ReplyDeleteOh, so the Sharon Statement and Russell Kirk's canon are bull shit?
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily. Not talking about anyone but you.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, you've gone off-topic. The topic of this post is the philosophical underpinnings of conservatism, not me and my "bullshit."
ReplyDeleteAre you the unknown here or is that someone else?
ReplyDeleteThat's me. Sometimes Blogger just puts up my comments without having me sign in. I don't understand it, unlike conservatism, which I thoroughly understand.
ReplyDelete