I would think so Ernie. And this does get at the core disagreement.
Human nature tends toward central organization and consolidation of
leadership as systems evolve. So, healthy systems need to be in a constant
state of reform and reinvention in order to thrive and prosper. The danger
of a Progressive impulse is that it sets the stage for institutional
consolidation of power. Roosevelt's moral crusade opened the door for the
coming welfare state and the foreign policy expansionism that is oppressive
today.
I want government to ensure freedom and to protect an individual when
another assaults his rights. Laws should be minimal and should follow
community morality not the other way around.
To respond to your question about how far I'd like to roll back the clock in
the United States, I'd rethink the moral conclusions and the draconian
solutions derived therein during the Progressive Era orchestrated by
Roosevelt, Wilson, and later Roosevelt, et.al. When man decides he can fix
stuff by adding and regulating, he opens the door for abuse of power,
tyranny of the majority, and related unintended consequences.
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
On Nov 24, 2011, at 5:58, "Kevin Kervick" <[email protected]> wrote:
Technically speaking, you might be conflating libertinism with
libertarianism. The latter is concerned with freedom from the state while
the former is a looser freedom concept. If you listen closely to Paul,
for instance, he's not a libertine person necessarily but he is very much
libertarian, like the Founders etc. They were men of virtue who believed
in a community morality.
Can you clarify what you mean by "community morality"? Do you mean one
promulgated by non-state actors? Our view is that all governing has a moral
component, for better or worse.
I agree that Libertarians are usually great believers in personal morality,
but it often seems that they want the state to be amoral -- or at least
maximally agnostic about moral issues (beyond "natural rights" narrowly
defined). Is that a fair characterization?
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
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Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
<[email protected]>
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism
Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
