Within the past decade or so in America there has emerged a term that many formerly-known-as-Republicans identify with: Conservative. Those who do not identify themselves as such almost certainly have an incorrect definition of what a Conservative is. It's not their fault - most of the mainstream media are not merely non-Conservative, but anti-Conservative. One way to confirm this statement is to pick up the front page of the New York Time, L.A. Times or any other major newspaper and see which side of the issue the paper sides with regarding gun control, abortion, taxation, health care or virtually any other social issue that has a clear Conservative or Liberal position. I would be thrilled if the results were even 7 out of 10 times that the Liberal position were presented. It's far more skewed than that. When you go to a major news outlet other than the Wall Street Journal or Boston Herald, you are receiving only one perspective of social issues, and it's not the Conservative perspective. So what is the Conservative perspective?
One core Conservative belief is that the trend toward higher government control over decisions that used to be left to the individual undermines important American values. The California law that states that motorcycle riders must wear helmets is an example of this trend toward higher government control. This does not mean that Conservatives are anti-helmet. We just want society to have the choice back to make the decision. Why is this so important? The more laws that a society has, the less individual decisions there are for it's citizenry to make and therefore the greater the expectation that "the government will take care of it". The end result of this can be seen in France where in 2006 there were large protests against a bill entitled "Loi pour l'égalité des chances" ("Equal Opportunity Law") which would give employers the ability to fire workers under 26 within the first two years of employment without any judicially contestable reason. If you are American, you are probably thinking - Huh?...they can't fire workers who are under 26 within the first two years of employment now due to non-performance?! That's correct, and this is one of the reasons why in France the unemployment rate for those under 26 is 23% - if they can't be fired, they won't be hired. The Conservative position? laissez-faire. But even more important is whether the Conservative position on this issue actually fixed the problem. You can see from the chart an immediate, and dramatic decrease in unemployment in 2006 when the law was passed, up until the global recession kicked in in 2008.
Another core value of Conservatives is that the value system of an individual regulates behavior far more than their economic or racial make-up. The Liberal position is that poverty causes crime and that blacks are disenfranchised simply because of the color of their skin. The Conservative position is that bad values causes crime. If it were true that poverty causes crime, it would by definition also mean that affluence causes goodness. It actually is an insult to the vast majority of poor in the world who are not criminals to say that poverty causes crime. There are bad poor people and bad rich people. The person's value system is what Conservatives believe drive behavior. Descartes, the French Philosopher believed that culture and example influenced behavior more than any other factor. Conservatives believe this as well. Culture is not the same as race - culture is the embodiment of the behavioral characteristics of a group regardless of their race.
Regarding racial issues, Conservatives believe that it is the underlying cultural elements of a racial group not the genetic makeup of that group that influences their behavior. Conservatives believe that the major reason for the breakdown in the moral fabric of blacks in America has to do with young males abandoning their responsibilities to be fathers, not due to their economic circumstances. Fifty years ago, the nuclear family in black America was intact, and the crime rate among blacks was vastly lower than it is today, despite the fact that on a percentage basis, black families were far poorer than they are today. It's not the money - it's the values. Conservatives applauded President Obama when he noted that lack of fathers was a major driving factor in problems with black America. I can't think of a single instance of Liberals applauding George W. Bush for anything.
One core Conservative belief is that the trend toward higher government control over decisions that used to be left to the individual undermines important American values. The California law that states that motorcycle riders must wear helmets is an example of this trend toward higher government control. This does not mean that Conservatives are anti-helmet. We just want society to have the choice back to make the decision. Why is this so important? The more laws that a society has, the less individual decisions there are for it's citizenry to make and therefore the greater the expectation that "the government will take care of it". The end result of this can be seen in France where in 2006 there were large protests against a bill entitled "Loi pour l'égalité des chances" ("Equal Opportunity Law") which would give employers the ability to fire workers under 26 within the first two years of employment without any judicially contestable reason. If you are American, you are probably thinking - Huh?...they can't fire workers who are under 26 within the first two years of employment now due to non-performance?! That's correct, and this is one of the reasons why in France the unemployment rate for those under 26 is 23% - if they can't be fired, they won't be hired. The Conservative position? laissez-faire. But even more important is whether the Conservative position on this issue actually fixed the problem. You can see from the chart an immediate, and dramatic decrease in unemployment in 2006 when the law was passed, up until the global recession kicked in in 2008.
Another core value of Conservatives is that the value system of an individual regulates behavior far more than their economic or racial make-up. The Liberal position is that poverty causes crime and that blacks are disenfranchised simply because of the color of their skin. The Conservative position is that bad values causes crime. If it were true that poverty causes crime, it would by definition also mean that affluence causes goodness. It actually is an insult to the vast majority of poor in the world who are not criminals to say that poverty causes crime. There are bad poor people and bad rich people. The person's value system is what Conservatives believe drive behavior. Descartes, the French Philosopher believed that culture and example influenced behavior more than any other factor. Conservatives believe this as well. Culture is not the same as race - culture is the embodiment of the behavioral characteristics of a group regardless of their race.
Regarding racial issues, Conservatives believe that it is the underlying cultural elements of a racial group not the genetic makeup of that group that influences their behavior. Conservatives believe that the major reason for the breakdown in the moral fabric of blacks in America has to do with young males abandoning their responsibilities to be fathers, not due to their economic circumstances. Fifty years ago, the nuclear family in black America was intact, and the crime rate among blacks was vastly lower than it is today, despite the fact that on a percentage basis, black families were far poorer than they are today. It's not the money - it's the values. Conservatives applauded President Obama when he noted that lack of fathers was a major driving factor in problems with black America. I can't think of a single instance of Liberals applauding George W. Bush for anything.
2 comments:
... which says something about George W. Bush, not about liberals.
You might find the economic writings of Belloc and Chesterton interesting and challenging. The efforts at distributism have created more socially just, more libertarian societies than anything the right or left have been able to do.
"Too much capitalism does not mean too many capitalists, but too few." -- GK Chesterton
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