Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Sabrdance ·
January 11, 2013 at 3:12pm
What is it conservatives want?
Low taxes aren't an end in themselves, they are a means. Low regulation isn't an end in itself, it is another means. Reducing the deficit and eliminating the debt aren't ends. Even regulating (or outright banning) abortion and gay marriage are means -- though they are closer to ends than the rest.
So what is a meaningful description of what conservatives want?
- Comment (28)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (15)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments:
Jul '10
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Fidelity to The Constitution.
Edited on January 11, 2013 at 5:38amMar '11
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Recognizing that the Constitution limits the reach of the federal government, allowing us to be left alone to pursue our own happiness.
Nov '11
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
I thought this was already established.
We stand athwart history, yelling, "STOP!!!"
Nov '11
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Freedom for ourselves and our children -- freedom to worship and live out our faith. Freedom to build lives for our families.
The rule of law and not of man. Equality before the law. Justice.
The endurance of the morality that preserves a stable and free society, because when the people are no better than the law liberty breaks down. Moral integrity in our own conduct and that of our nation among other nations.
Community ties and pride based on Burke's "little platoons," not government. Freedom to choose our connections and interactions among them.
Economic prosperity, last and least, and resulting from the others. Yet it is the one we talk about most today.
Sep '10
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
There are conservatives who think abortion should be legal, the same can be said for gay marriage. Low is a relative term. I don't call myself a conservative because the term has become more or less meaningless. Almost all Republicans refer to themselves as conservatives. That is the primary reason I am relatively sure I am not.
May '11
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Freedom.
May '10
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Ironically, Obama summed it up best in his third debate with Romney:
"You seem to want the values of the 1950's, the economics of the 1920's, and the foreign policy of the 1980's."
Pretty close. We want a marriage-centered society, thriving in a free-market economy, under the loving protection of a peace-through-strength foreign policy.
Edited on January 11, 2013 at 3:18pmRe: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
I'm not technically a conservative, but insofar as it overlaps with classical liberalism, I thought the idea was that everyone might have different end goals but that individuals and institutions (families, churches, civic groups) should be free to work toward those goals -- whether they're particular practicing of virtues, material gain, spiritual gain, etc.
May '10
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Limited, local government. That is the broad goal that the members of Ricochet can unite behind.
Is it a goal voters in general would unite behind? Apparently not.
Dec '10
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
I live in Washington State, so I'm all for limiting local government as well...
But seriously, we want an ordered liberty. We want to be secure in our lives and in our property. We want to pursue our own form of happiness peacefully along side our fellow citizens. We want a society capable of such an existence.
May '10
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Leave me alone.
Oct '10
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Allowing the most freedom possible.
Dec '12
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
A government that governs, not intrudes without probable cause, to protect and order under the rule of law.
Jan '11
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
The absolute maximum of individual liberty, recognizing that some limits are required for a functioning civilization.
Apr '12
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
A framework that defends those who are doing good as much as possible, while interfering with those who do evil as much as possible. (I say "framework" rather than "government," because government is one of those things that enables doing evil if it has too much power.)
May '10
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
I prefer to speak of free will. Freedom can be collective freedom. Free will is generally understood to refer to an individual person.
We are conservatives because we respect free will as the center of human existence. We are willing to sacrifice much security for freedom. We would risk life itself for freedom.
America represents a radical preference for freedom. Let's be radical.
Jan '11
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
(I won't attempt a shorthand definition; what follows is commentary, not a direct answer to the question.)
Modern conservatism, remember, was originally the antidote for communism. Reagan was a conservative against communism long before he ever heard of "supply side" economics. It helps to place conservatism in that perspective, because conservatism was originally a theory of government.
The theory of government began with the premise that individuals are free to make decisions, but individual liberty is not absolute. There are some legitimate limits that the community can impose on individual ... however, those limits are set by the specific consent of the governed.
That consent must be enumerated and decided specifically. It can never be assumed or implied. A government official has no power other than what has been specifically granted. It isn't for the government (or any officials within) to unilaterally decide what limits government can secure. Just because some bureaucrat or politician is convinced that he knows how we can "solve" a problem, that doesn't give him the right to impose that solution. The government can only do what it has been specifically empowered to do, and nothing more.
Oct '12
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Conservatives want what our founders wanted: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Apr '12
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
Protection of Rights with a minimum of wrongs.
Apr '12
Re: Free Men, Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Markets
The appropriate balance of freedom, security, and prosperity necessary to a meaningful and happy life, understanding that those three must often be traded off for each other. It is the meaningful and happy life that is the ultimate goal.