Interesting:
I think conservatives have long been overly trusting of corporate and social power, usually assuming we'd be in control of it, so that we would be protected from any misuse thereof.
I think we are now suddenly discovering that was a terrible
assumption to make, and that we should have been asking ourselves, all
along: What if this power to gin up the forces of social conformity and
legal bullying were not in our hands, but in fact used against us?
Well, if any conservatives were previously unaware of the danger of
empowering scolds, busybodies, bureaucrats, and police to Make You
Behave As The Group Thinks Is Proper, surely none can still be ignorant.
And a reflection on his transformation:
This is a time for clarity, and this is a time for choosing. This is
a time to discover who it is who really supports Liberty and Freedom,
and who it is who is really all about Control and Conformity.
For many years, many conservatives have really been more about the
latter than the former. I have admitted, and I will continue to admit, I
was among them. I have long had pronounced authoritarian and statist
tendencies.
I fight against them now, like an alcoholic fights his lust for drink.
A long, but very interesting read.
Hmpfffff.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised by the conservative defection; I am considering it myself. But the libertarians don't have anything to offer an intelligent conservative. I am watching the so-called 'neo-reactionaries' with interest - they seem to make a lot more sense than the libertarians.
It's like conservatives are finally realizing the old adage, "Never entrust government with a power you wouldn't want your opponents to wield."
ReplyDeleteGiving yourself powers you'd like is great ... as long as you hold the reigns. But the party in power has changed so many times in this country's history, it's amazing conservatives are just now cluing in.
Good one, thanks for that link.
ReplyDeleteBetter watch out though, you might eventually turn into an anarchist. ;-)
(I never had the impression conservatives were interested in liberty, but only used it as a rhetorical flourish during elections. Could it be, that some conservatives might actually care about it?)