Progressives and conservatives
By: William Mulgrew
Issue date: 5/4/07 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 5/4/07 at 3:00 AM EST
Last update: 5/4/07 at 3:05 AM EST
Originally published: 5/4/07 at 3:00 AM EST
Last update: 5/4/07 at 3:05 AM EST
In a society where no one plunders anyone, the role of government is merely an umpire that protects groups and individuals from coercing or harming others. To that end, capitalist republicanism is the highest form of social development and must be conserved. Capitalism relies on persuasion and voluntarily exchange, not coercion and force. It enables actors to enter into mutually beneficial relationships. I act in my self-interest, but I cannot profit at the expense of others, at least not for long, because I must convince them to pay for my good or service. This is why capitalism is not just economically but morally superior to socialism.
Progressives, on the other hand, are not satisfied with the government as a neutral umpire. Instead, as Milton Friedman writes, they want it "to serve as a parent charged with the duty of coercing some to aid others." Their blind rhetoric against the "selfish" profit of free markets distracts everyone from the fact that capitalism raises the standard of living for everyone, while giving most power and choice to the consumer.
In this sense, capitalism is guilty of its own success. By reducing the age old human problems of mass starvation and pestilence, progressives forget what it was like before. They forget the starvation of 1607.
They also forget the socialist bloodshed of the twentieth century. They disavow the totalitarianism of the Nazis, the Fascists, and the Bolsheviks, while embracing the same methods of collectivism-consolidating economic power to a centralized state. Conservative author David Horowitz writes with frustration, "In what sense can a bankrupt idea be called 'progressive'?" The conservative recognizes that our economic and political rights are commingled and inseparable. You cannot lose one without losing the other. The conservative recognizes, as F. Holderlin does, that "What has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that man has tried to make it his heaven."
But selfishness and self-interest are not synonymous. Conservatives reject the economic reductionism of socialism. There is more to life than economics. Most individuals seek profit not as an end but as a means to support their lives, families and communities. This brings us to the root of society. Unlike other animals, humans are not born independent. They are equally dependent after birth as they were before. They must be loved, raised, and educated. Conservatives recognize that it is not the individual who is the root of society, but the family. This is where they part company with libertarians. Conservatives recognize that keeping families intact prevents poverty, despair, and socialist redistribution.
Progressives, on the other hand, are not satisfied with the government as a neutral umpire. Instead, as Milton Friedman writes, they want it "to serve as a parent charged with the duty of coercing some to aid others." Their blind rhetoric against the "selfish" profit of free markets distracts everyone from the fact that capitalism raises the standard of living for everyone, while giving most power and choice to the consumer.
In this sense, capitalism is guilty of its own success. By reducing the age old human problems of mass starvation and pestilence, progressives forget what it was like before. They forget the starvation of 1607.
They also forget the socialist bloodshed of the twentieth century. They disavow the totalitarianism of the Nazis, the Fascists, and the Bolsheviks, while embracing the same methods of collectivism-consolidating economic power to a centralized state. Conservative author David Horowitz writes with frustration, "In what sense can a bankrupt idea be called 'progressive'?" The conservative recognizes that our economic and political rights are commingled and inseparable. You cannot lose one without losing the other. The conservative recognizes, as F. Holderlin does, that "What has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that man has tried to make it his heaven."
But selfishness and self-interest are not synonymous. Conservatives reject the economic reductionism of socialism. There is more to life than economics. Most individuals seek profit not as an end but as a means to support their lives, families and communities. This brings us to the root of society. Unlike other animals, humans are not born independent. They are equally dependent after birth as they were before. They must be loved, raised, and educated. Conservatives recognize that it is not the individual who is the root of society, but the family. This is where they part company with libertarians. Conservatives recognize that keeping families intact prevents poverty, despair, and socialist redistribution.
Ken
posted 5/04/07 @ 9:23 AM EST
"Unlike other animals, humans are not born independent. They are equally dependent after birth as they were before. They must be loved, raised, and educated. (Continued…)