Accusations of being stuck in past decades have long followed conservatives since the establishment of democracy. In many ways, this has been nothing more than fear-mongering by those on the left. However, in someways it is sadly correct. Conservatism is about conserving beliefs which are usually influenced by faith and tradition. It is those beliefs which have given us the modern day conservative positions on gay marriage, abortion, education, and the war on drugs. With their youth growing up in an increasingly liberal society, it seems that conservatism may be reaching a breaking point. The rise of Donald Trump, a left winger in a red tie, as the front runner for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination is the result of this breaking point. So the question is, how do conservatives move forward and bring a message that will resonate with the masses?
It’s actually simpler than you may think.
“If you analyze it, I believe the very heart of conservatism is libertarianism.” These were words spoken by President Ronald Reagan in 1975. While Reagan held many policy positions that stood in opposition to this quote, on the whole, Ronald Reagan was the original fusionist, or conservatarian (coined by the National Review’s Charles C. W. Cooke in his 2015 book, “The Conservatarian Manifesto”) president. Today, popular former congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul and his son, Senator Rand Paul, have embraced these same mixed values of conservatism and libertarianism. The Pauls have had something almost like a cult following amongst young Republicans. They embrace many of today’s modern social stances with classical liberal stances on the size of government and economics, guided by a deep respect for the constitution. As the Baby Boomer generation phases out, this younger generation of Republicans will continue to embrace these values. As the GOP evolves, if conservatives, do not begin embracing more of these values, abandoning traditional beliefs on some issues, it will result in a fracturing of the right, and near certain Democratic rule in the long term.
With all of the above said, where do conservatives go from here? The Conservative Party of Canada held government north of the US border for nearly 10 years (early 2006 – late 2015). Despite early fear-mongering from the Canadian Liberal Party (Canada’s equivalent to the Democrats) and New Democratic Party (a socialist party), the Conservatives did not backtrack on modern social views. Despite his own personal beliefs in social conservatism, Conservative leader Stephen Harper (himself an evangelical) ensured that Canadian policies on many of the aforementioned issues held true to libertarian values. Harper never once attempted to reopen debates on gay marriage or abortion, despite the fact that there are currently no abortion laws in Canada. He embraced legal immigration, resulting in record totals of new immigrants annually. At the same time, Harper worked hard on immigration reform, mandating that a thorough understanding of either English or French, Canada’s official languages, would be required. He also prioritized skilled immigrants in areas of need, and brought in a policy to strip convicted terrorists of Canadian citizenship. Sadly, most of these measures have already been abolished under the new Liberal government, but Harper’s legacy on immigration reform remains strong nonetheless. It was Harper’s libertarian social policies that ensured 10 straight years of Conservative government in Canada.
There are lessons to be learned from the Canadian Conservatives. If the GOP wishes to modernize itself at all, it must come to terms with modern libertarian social stances without abandoning its conservative roots on fiscal and constitutional issues. On gay marriage, the GOP must swallow old, outdated beliefs and support legality. Abortion is a trickier issue. Many in the GOP oppose abortion in any form at any point in a pregnancy. The highest levels of disgust are held for the barbaric practices of late term and partial birth abortions. Despite the stonewalled stances of many within the GOP, complete opposition to abortion will not win them the support of today’s youth, while complete support for abortion would alienate the GOP’s older base. How can the GOP compromise on this? They should embrace safe, legal abortion up to the end of the first trimester. Rather than having this covered by taxpayers, it should be covered explicitly under health insurance, except in the most extreme cases (when the mother’s health is at risk, or for mothers living in severe poverty). On immigration, reform is an absolute must. The current system isn’t working. Illegal immigration has been a very hot topic in the 2016 race for the Republican nomination. Current presidential candidates have a wide range of views on this, from Donald Trump’s expensive “kick everyone out, build a wall, then let everyone back in legally” to Ted Cruz’s “kick them all out and never let a single one return” and Marco Rubio’s “secure the border, kick out those who have broken the law, and give those with a chance to succeed in America a path to citizenship”. Rubio’s stance makes the most sense, and embraces the most modern values. By embracing these stances, closer to those of the more libertarian leaning Conservative Party of Canada, the GOP can modernize itself going forward, and even win over many undecided or independent voters in the future.
On topics such as healthcare and education, the solution is simple — return the power to the states. Barack Obama has made centralization and big government his ultimate legacy. Obamacare is a complete and utter disaster. The federal government also meddles in education through the Department of Education. On these issues, the states know best. By returning complete control of these issues to the states, expenses can be reduced as states put funding into the most necessary aspects of healthcare and education. This is a constitutional stance, as laid out in the 9th and 10th Amendments and very much in line with libertarian thinking. While some states may decide to go down a more liberal path on healthcare (which would be unpopular with many conservatives), the states know their needs best, and allowing them to make their own decisions would be wildly popular at the ballot box. The federal government has no place in education. This is a long held belief of both libertarians and conservatives. Again, the states know their needs best. They know which industries are in the most demand, and they know which methods of education will help them to prepare today’s youth to contribute to the local economy.
Then there’s the war on drugs, which may be one of the most divisive topics in politics regardless of party alignment. Both the Republicans and Democrats have embraced the war on drugs, pouring massive funding into what has amounted to an abysmal failure. Throwing millions of Americans in jail for simple possession of narcotics has caused overcrowding in American prisons. Meanwhile, the presence of drugs on the streets only continues to increase. The war on drugs can only be described as a complete disaster. The solution to this issue is as simple as any of the others I’ve spoken about. End the federal prohibition of marijuana and allow the states to make their own decisions on what to do about other illegal drugs. Some states, such as Colorado and Washington, allowed their residents to vote on the legalization of marijuana. This legalization has shown to have had massive benefits in Colorado, with taxation of legal marijuana raking in over $6M in revenues in the first two months of 2014 alone. ArcView Market Research found that the national legal marijuana market was worth $1.53 billion in 2013, and estimated that the number would reach as high as $10.2 billion by 2018. Within the first few months of legalization, the marijuana industry created 10,000 jobs in Colorado. On the flip side, a Harvard University study found that marijuana prohibition costs state and federal governments as much as $17.4 billion per year. Elimination of the federal prohibition of marijuana would reap massive economic benefits for the states that choose to legalize it, and eliminate the massive fiscal burden of the war on drugs. At the ballot box, this would prove to be very beneficial. This libertarian stance on drugs is more palatable to younger voters.
One thing is certainly clear: continuing with antiquated social beliefs is not going to serve conservatives well in the long term. The future of conservatism is fusionism. Embracing elements of both conservatism and libertarianism will ensure strength for the conservative movement for decades to come. On subjects such as gay marriage, abortion, healthcare, education, and the war on drugs, a shift is absolutely essential for the survival of the GOP. As society continues to evolve, conservatives can either keep up with the race or fall behind. The sooner that conservatives embrace some of these libertarian principles, the sooner conservatives can advance and cement the strength of our small government, free market, constitutionalist belief system.
The post The Future of Conservatism Lies in Libertarianism appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.
No comments:
Post a Comment