Tuesday, January 13, 2004

The Disenfranchised Conservative, Libertarian, And Moderate Republican

A large proportion of the political supporters of the Republican Party aren't really getting what they want. In essence, they are not being served. Libertarians, fiscal conservatives, and moderate Republicans - these people are not being politically served. They don't seem to notice this.

That they can't see this is epic. The vision of the Bush Administration is one of a giant and probing national security and surveillance state, in which the impetus behind the vision is failed policies of the past not being acknowledged as such and instead defended "come hell or high water" (crony capitalism and foreign policy).

What happened to the real conservatives? What happened to the real libertarians? Will the real patriots stand up and be counted in an age when American power and sovereignty is being concentrated centrally at the federal level or ceded to business interests at unprecedented and historic levels? Will we idle in the shadows as political neoconservatism and economic neoliberalism come to dominate our nation and world, and, if so, have we resigned ourselves to the end of the classical and successful vision of American constitutional republicanism and democratic federalism cultivated to date?

It's time we pull our heads out of the sand, show some courage instead of capitulating to fear, no matter our particular political persuasion, and realize what's at stake - our democratic and federalist and constitutional republic. Forget about the neo...it's time we bring back the classical. Why are we throwing it away? Do the wheels have to fall off before we notice our bearings being lost?

By my read, our form of government has demonstrated remarkable fitness through our history. Why are we burying it? Because of the acts of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden? If so, I have to question who's winning the war on terror. If these men and women want to gut our way of life, and our system of government, we should at least challenge them to justify it in contentious, open, and public debate.

That's why I'm here (since March 2003).

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I'll have more on this as time goes on. Be prepared for a serious challenge to the current radical neovision of America, keeping in mind that I'm defending the classical vision, against the neos challenging it, and not the other way around.

Also, take note that free market theory relies on the notion of perfect information (never quite so in practice), and that the more that information is restricted, filtered, and concealed behind closed doors of crony capitalists and state actors, the less that free markets work as advertised. There is no progress in going forward with economic liberalization when the prevailing trend in politics is the opposite and towards official secrecy and surveillance. For then the benefits of these expanding markets will be inordinately enjoyed by those already politically and economically positioned to do so, and more readily able to notice and capitalize on profitable developments, as capital inevitably dominates labor (since foreign capital and investment will be steered through crony domestic networks, increasing their ability to "lord" over and repress the rest of the people, by furthering their control of the political system and influence over the purse strings as far as who gets what contracts and jobs, and under which conditions), while any impetus or pressure to correspondingly open up political access and empowerment decreases, not increases.