Posted by
JDComments on Sunday, November 05, 2006 10:23:11 AM
Churchill said that if you are not a Liberal when you are 20 you have no heart, and if you are not a Conservative when you are 40 you have no brain. I don’t know where that leaves me, since I was a Libertarian at 20, but I have evolved into a Conservative over the years, and where once the differences between the two seemed small, I realize now that they are substantial, and that the two terms should never be used synonymously.
First, let me address the only true point of agreement between Conservatism and Libertarianism: an abiding distrust of big government. Both philosophies espouse small government [though in recent years many Conservatives in power have honored this more in word than deed] out of both fear of the tyranny that big government can lead to, and appreciation of the waste and inefficiency that are the hallmarks of any government.
Having located the point of similarity between the Cons and Libs, it is now time to see where they disagree, and here the chasm is probably wider than most might think. Libs are basically civilized anarchists, who believe in close to absolute freedom for the individual, whose desires and personal decisions are treated as almost sacrosanct. While understanding the need for some structure and restraints, they seek to minimize this as much as possible. They can be atheists, pro gay marriage, anti military, pro-pornography and much more [or less depending on your point of view] because their basic tenet is, everyone should decide for themselves with practically no restraints placed on them by government or other societal regulators. Their’s is a world where drug use is legal, all sexual activity is a matter of personal preference, and external authority is an anachronism which is fought , and only accepted grudgingly if ever. To get a feel for this, just take a look at “Reason” magazine [to which I had a subscription when I was 20].
Conservatives, on the other hand, believe in society as an organic whole, and that since men’s nature is flawed, restraints are needed to prevent his desires and instincts from destroying us. However, they look not to the government, which they see as an instrument of potential tyranny and incapable of harnessing man’s baser character, but rather to the institutions and processes that have evolved [yes a Conservative can use that word in a non-derogatory manner] over time, and which reflect our collective intelligence. Thus religion, marriage, the military, even to some degree, social classes are an integral part of a Conservatives world because they offer the counter weight to the very individual choices which a Libertarian encourages and values. A conservative never mistakes “liberty” for “license”, and while acknowledging and cherishing our individuality, understands that it includes undesirable aspects with which we must constantly struggle, or we are lost.
And so as Conservatives and Libertarians mix and mingle on this website and others, and their views tend to blur around the edges so that it is sometimes easy to confuse the two, it is important that we try to understand the very large differences between these philosophies so that we can choose that which truly fits our beliefs as we face the world with all its potential and pitfalls.