The Decline and Challenge of Contemporary Conservatism...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Universal truth... If there is any such thing mankind has been searching for it throughout the millenniums. With each new scientific discovery old, and oftentimes cherished paradigms are laid open and bare. Stripped of the cover of ignorance that only new knowledge and understanding is capable of exposing. Habits are a hard thing to break and more often than not new and enlightened thought is resisted in order to retain the old. It matters not the evidence that rationally argues for change. More often than not it is met by resistance.
Had all of mankind chosen to turn away from new knowledge to retain the the old we would still be living in caves as in pre historic times. Diseases such as the bubonic plaque, malaria, polio, tuberculosis, scurvy, pneumonia, smallpox, mumps gonorrhea, syphilis, just to name a few would still be exacting ravaging consequences on humanity. And the world would still be believed to be flat as well as the center of the universe. There are still some that no doubt believe aids is God's punishment for promiscuity and or homosexuality.
Knowledge, combined with a active and reasoning mind (describing the majority of individuals here) is precisely why the human race has been able to experience such amazing growth. Because of the natural inquisitiveness of the active human brain mankind has been able to tap what seems to be the unending potential of the human mind. Human inquisitiveness coupled with logic, reason, and ingenuity has been responsible for the exponential growth in human knowledge and achievement. Such is the core of Ayn Rand's Objectivism.
As this site has noted on several prior posts labels can be misleading, misunderstood, and unrepresentative of what a person or group believes and represents. Conservatism in the modern lexicon is one of those concepts that has ceased to have any real meaning. Thus the conservative movement has fractured and has become a movement lacking in philosophy and defining principles. This has resulted in stagnation and a paralysis of ideas. Such paralysis is a sure path to irrelevance and obsolescence.
Conservatives should be questioning in earnest the movement they support. In large part modern conservatism is a sham as well as a trap. Designed specifically to insure the power in America remains invested in the hands of the ruling class. Contemporary conservatives have been quite successful in leading the nation down a very statist path, one that is in fact contrary to a individual's rational self interest. One only needs to consider the trillions in cost to the nation in pursuit of senseless and groundless foreign engagements (wars) and the intrusion into the personal and business lives of American citizens. Think the Patriot Act, TSA, and the huge regulatory burden the state places on the individual and business.
If conservatism is to survive it will need to find the moorings of the classical liberalism it was once tied to. Which is to say limited yet responsive government as viewed by the majority of the people while insuring individual liberties are not snuffed out by the statist mantra that the government is all powerful and therefore knows best.
The ideals of classical liberalism that guided our founders remain valid today. It is the challenge of conservatives to take these ideals and make them relevant to the 21'st century. It has become glaringly obvious to this writer that conservatives of the 20'th and 21'st centuries have failed to do so. Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, as well as the rest of the hide bound so called conservatives are a testament to this fact. It is no longer the 18th century and the solutions of that era will not solve the problems of the 21'st century.
Via: Wikipedia
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Universal truth... If there is any such thing mankind has been searching for it throughout the millenniums. With each new scientific discovery old, and oftentimes cherished paradigms are laid open and bare. Stripped of the cover of ignorance that only new knowledge and understanding is capable of exposing. Habits are a hard thing to break and more often than not new and enlightened thought is resisted in order to retain the old. It matters not the evidence that rationally argues for change. More often than not it is met by resistance.
Had all of mankind chosen to turn away from new knowledge to retain the the old we would still be living in caves as in pre historic times. Diseases such as the bubonic plaque, malaria, polio, tuberculosis, scurvy, pneumonia, smallpox, mumps gonorrhea, syphilis, just to name a few would still be exacting ravaging consequences on humanity. And the world would still be believed to be flat as well as the center of the universe. There are still some that no doubt believe aids is God's punishment for promiscuity and or homosexuality.
Knowledge, combined with a active and reasoning mind (describing the majority of individuals here) is precisely why the human race has been able to experience such amazing growth. Because of the natural inquisitiveness of the active human brain mankind has been able to tap what seems to be the unending potential of the human mind. Human inquisitiveness coupled with logic, reason, and ingenuity has been responsible for the exponential growth in human knowledge and achievement. Such is the core of Ayn Rand's Objectivism.
As this site has noted on several prior posts labels can be misleading, misunderstood, and unrepresentative of what a person or group believes and represents. Conservatism in the modern lexicon is one of those concepts that has ceased to have any real meaning. Thus the conservative movement has fractured and has become a movement lacking in philosophy and defining principles. This has resulted in stagnation and a paralysis of ideas. Such paralysis is a sure path to irrelevance and obsolescence.
Conservatives should be questioning in earnest the movement they support. In large part modern conservatism is a sham as well as a trap. Designed specifically to insure the power in America remains invested in the hands of the ruling class. Contemporary conservatives have been quite successful in leading the nation down a very statist path, one that is in fact contrary to a individual's rational self interest. One only needs to consider the trillions in cost to the nation in pursuit of senseless and groundless foreign engagements (wars) and the intrusion into the personal and business lives of American citizens. Think the Patriot Act, TSA, and the huge regulatory burden the state places on the individual and business.
If conservatism is to survive it will need to find the moorings of the classical liberalism it was once tied to. Which is to say limited yet responsive government as viewed by the majority of the people while insuring individual liberties are not snuffed out by the statist mantra that the government is all powerful and therefore knows best.
The ideals of classical liberalism that guided our founders remain valid today. It is the challenge of conservatives to take these ideals and make them relevant to the 21'st century. It has become glaringly obvious to this writer that conservatives of the 20'th and 21'st centuries have failed to do so. Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, as well as the rest of the hide bound so called conservatives are a testament to this fact. It is no longer the 18th century and the solutions of that era will not solve the problems of the 21'st century.
Via: Wikipedia
Sign me up, I'm tired but philosophically ready for the fight. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tim. Sadly it seems to me far too many are willing to accept "that which is" because it is easier.
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