How does a Conservative differ from an Authoritarian? Part 1

Josh Lewis, Politics Contributor

Opinion – “Authoritarian” is both a description of a political ideology and a pejorative as it has spawned some of the evilest dictatorships in recorded history. This is unfortunate because it makes discussing someone’s flirtations with authoritarianism akin to accusing them of the vilest acts of hatred imaginable. To say someone is an authoritarian isn’t to say they are the next Mussolini or Hitler; decent people can errantly wonder towards authoritarianism, unaware of the dark latency of the views they are advocating. You probably have a friend or relative who espouses—ahem—dubious political views on social media. The satire site The Onion hilariously illustrated this phenomenon in a brief article entitled “Aunt on Facebook Casually Advocates War Crime.”

The Art of Losing

This article originally appeared in The Millennial Review

Among the legions of hilariously audacious promisesTrump made during the 2016 elections came the assurance we’d be winning so much we’d “get so tired of winning.”

Now, what ordinarily follows an opening line like the one above is an emphatic statement from Trump supporters that he’s accomplished more than anyone since FDR or from Trump opponents that he’s passed no major legislation while squandering whatever political capital he had on useless Tweeter wars. And each side would come armed with an exhausting list of examples to support their claim. But I’d like to do something different; I’d like to focus not so much on the question of whether we’re “winning” but ask what “winning” means, and whether—perhaps you should sit down for this—whether winning is the most important thing we could be focused on?

How does a Conservative differ from a Libertarian? Part 2

Opinion – In Part 1 I argued that the famous Five Dimensional Political Compass and its related Five Dimensional Political Quiz is based on faulty principles that end up confusing more than clarifying the differences between conservatives and libertarians. Namely, the faulty principles of attempting to measure liberty by a series of political policy questions and the untruth that liberty is the complete absence of constraints. The difference between a conservative and a libertarian can be found in how the two approach the idea of liberty.

The libertarian understands liberty as an abstract concept derived from reason. This sentiment is beautifully captured in Jefferson’s famous declaration, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Jefferson is appealing to “reason” to argue for specific “liberties” for “all men”. The statement is both abstract and indiscriminate. Jefferson borrowed heavily from philosopher John Locke and many other Enlightenment thinkers who expressed liberty as a chiefly abstract concept.

How does a Conservative differ from a Libertarian? Part 1

In this series I’d like to explore some of the common misconceptions about the differences between conservatives and libertarians. In particular, misconceptions that arise from the famous 5 Dimensional Political Compass or the related 5 Dimensional Political Quiz.

We’ve probably all taken the “quiz” at some point that supposedly tells us where we fit on the compass: liberal, authoritarian, conservative, libertarian, or centrist. The quiz askes various questions designed to measure our preferences in the balance between freedom and security around the broad categories of social and economic issues. The libertarian-leaning Cato Institute even has a page that asks “Are You a Libertarian?” followed by the quiz. It is my belief that this quiz and the compass are based on two faulty principles which suggests to many right-leaning individuals that they are libertarians when, in fact, they are conservatives.

What Conservatives Believe: Bias is a Four-Letter Word – Part I

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The conservative adheres to CUSTOM, CONVENTION, and CONTINUITY.”  Russell Kirk – Ten Conservative Principles

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If we played a word association game around the word conservative I’ve little doubt some imaginations would conjure up a crotchety, elderly, balding, Caucasian male spouting derogatory obscenities while complaining about the minorities down the street.  Conservatism has an image problem.  The intellectual godfathers of the conservative movement were predominantly white males; even to this day the movement is dominated by wrinkly, white men.

To the Millennial generation—the most diverse generation in American history—this alone creates a significant barrier in adopting conservatism as a worldview.  It can be difficult for minorities to fit in with a group that looks so very different from themselves.  Generations have always found things to squabble about and occasionally a defining historical advent will highlight the different mindsets between them, such as the election of Donald Trump.  The majority of Millennials—conservative or not—were aghast that older generations would elect a candidate who—while not overtly racist—frequently said things that were cringingly bigoted.

What Conservatives Believe: Life, Liberty, & that Other Thing – Part IV

“Conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked.”  Russell Kirk – Ten Conservative Principles*

In Part I of this series we discussed capitalism as the ideal protector of an individual’s natural right to the pursuit of property.  We also touched on the competing economic system of socialism.  In Part II we discussed the allure socialism has over Millennials in particular.  In Part III we discussed the difference between the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of property, and the idea that people have a right to something as nebulous as free healthcare.  If you’re reading this series for the first time be sure and check out Part I, Part II, and Part III.

Some Objections to Private Property

Legions, volumes, mountains of books have been painstakingly written both extolling and condemning capitalism and the possession of private property.  I am under no delusion that this tiny post is up to the task of settling the matter once and for all.  Nevertheless, in this final post I’d like to offer some rebuttals to some common objections to capitalism.

What Conservatives Believe: Life, Liberty, & that Other Thing – Part III

“Conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked.”  Russell Kirk – Ten Conservative Principles*

In Part I of this series we discussed capitalism as the ideal protector of an individual’s natural right to the pursuit of property.  We also touched on the competing economic system of socialism.  In Part II we discussed the allure socialism has over Millennials in particular.  If you’re reading this series for the first time be sure and check out Part I and Part II.

Positive and Negative Rights

In part II, I quoted Bernie Sanders expressing his belief that everybody in this country should be entitled to health care as a right.  Former president Obama took this a step further in insisting Americans had a right to health insurance.  If this is the case—if healthcare and health insurance are aright—then a certain level of governmental intervention would be acceptable and necessary to provide for this right.  But is healthcare or health insurance a right in the same sense as the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of property conservatives uphold?