Isn't this just basic on Goldwater conservatism with a touch of realpolitik in foreign policy?
Here is my basic philosophy. I generally like Goldwater conservatism. He was the guy who said that if the Christian Right ever took over the Republican party and turned it into a religious organization, we'd have a big mess on our hands. Domestically, I believe in limited government, but I do think that government has a duty to create a level playing field for people. I hate the idea that within a couple of decades a huge chunk of our GDP is going to be spent transferring wealth from one segment of the population to another. It's insane. In foreign policy, I don't adhere to realpolitik. I believe we have a duty to help people living under tyranny to be free. Spreading democracy, slowly, gently, is the best way to ensure peace in the world. That doesn't mean we start planning to invade the next tin-pot dictactorship that causes trouble. The danger in this so-called neo-con philosophy is that it can inspire a quixotic belief that we can and should "fix" all the evils of tyrannical government in the world. We must maintain a sense of perspective regarding our capacity to act, and we must keep in mind the perception (and reality) of legitimacy when we do act. As for international order, I have absolutely no faith in the U.N. to be anything other than a debating society where it concerns our security. How ridiculous is it that Mohamed El-Baradei, an un-elected bureaucrat, can single-handedly stall the process of referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council? What a joke. We have this complete nutter sitting in Iran predicting a "final showdown" between the West and Muslims, and we can't even get a freaking referral to the Security Council? >So, Larry laid out his beliefs, and I figured I would try and do the same. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:194017 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
