The Great Myth of Conservatism

[Galraedia]

To understand Conservatism, shall we read a few good Conservative authors - all fine men like the late William F. Buckley or George Will - and summarize the principles they explained to us? Shall we then organize our notes and write a nice little essay on Conservatism? Something creative and clever, with lots of footnotes? We could quote a few Conservative leaders like the late Senator Barry Goldwater (a good man with many admirable qualities), former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former President Ronald Reagan (whose place on some future Mount Rushmore of Conservatism is assured), and perhaps even President George W. Bush to (to understand “Compassionate” Conservatism) - thus capturing the expression of Conservative thought in its native tongue? Such an essay would have earned me a good grade from Professor Leonard in “POLS 3333 - American Political Thought” way back when. If I were to write such an essay and you were to read it, then we both would surely then understand Conservatism, wouldn’t we?

Unfortunately, no. Doing that research and writing that paper would actually mislead us. American Conservatism is a complex thing, and is not easily understood. However, a thoughtful Liberal can see Conservatism for what it really is if he or understands the following points:

1. Conservatism is not a coherent philosophy of government. It has no goals. It cannot describe the ideal society. Its policies are contradictory rather than coherent or consistent. For example, when Conservatives are out of power, they argue for a balanced budget and lower taxes on themselves so they can oppose any spending by their victorious opponents. When Conservatives are in power, they support unlimited break-the-bank spending combined with lower taxes on themselves so they can reward Conservative constituencies with federal dollars and generous corporations with enormous un-audited, noncompetitive contracts. Do Conservatives support deficit spending or a balanced budget? The correct answer is that Conservatives support everything and anything that increases their wealth and power at the moment. Conservatism is not a philosophy of government; it is simply a path to power for the groups that espouse it. Conservatism is a set of talking points designed to gain public support for policies that will enhance the power and wealth of Conservatives by persuading you to vote for the Conservative candidate.

Read more: http://liberalandproudofit.com/html/conservative_myths.html

[1StrongBlackMan]

1. Pretty Good Piece ...

particularly the part describing Goldwater Conservatism.

[supernova]

2. I've thought for a while now

that the Repubs don't have a POV for governing, just a set of marketing slogans that play well with their demographic. But this article expresses it better than I could and goes a lot further.

What tipped me off was their insistence on budget cuts when they are out of power and running up the bills when they are in power. The whole budget-responsibility thing is a sham. It just got incredibly more blatant under W*.

It further underscores by belief that Repubs really are a bunch of spoiled children, except they can vote.

[Kablooie]

3. Clear explanation of conservative hypocrisy here:

Conservative rhetoric is based on marketing, not on veracity. Conservative rhetoric is designed to persuade you, not to inform you.

With Conservatives, their words say nothing meaningful; but their actions - and only their actions - speak the Conservative truth.

Conservatives support everything and anything that increases their wealth and power at the moment.