What Conservatism Means

Twice in the last month, I’ve read liberals describe conservatism as a political philosophy that seeks to hold on to the past. I have no idea where that comes from, or if it’s a widespread misunderstanding, but I’d like to clear that up right now.

Conservatism is a philosophy grounded in freedom. Every other belief or tenet flows from and to freedom, which is what the United States Constitution attempted to maximize. Perhaps the musing that the “past” comes from the fact that the Constitution was signed in 1778. If that is as strenuous as liberals’ thought gets, then perhaps we should not be shocked that they come up with a lot of unsound ideas.

Conservatives believe that when the government leaves us alone, we are free to spend our money the way we want to, protect ourselves and our home, and engage in fair, free enterprise. When the government becomes involved in any transaction, the transaction becomes more expensive, and we are essentially outsourcing our responsibility and our self-reliance to an entity that has no more empathy or understanding than a robot. This isn’t a criticism of bureaucrats, though bureaucrats surely deserve criticism. It is an observation that in an attempt to be fair, governments establish rigid policies. Those who implement the policy are incapable of using their own judgement to solve the problem the citizen brings to them. Instead of relying on the government to do something, it is easier, more productive and cheaper to do it ourselves.

Conservatives believe the Constitution means what it says. Some amendments are great and some are repugnant (16th Amendment, for instance, is socialist, and the 17th is merely annoying.)

Another thing that I’ve read several times in the last few days, and indeed my whole life, is that the rich “want to preserve their place in the power structure.” This is usually said in a sneering way and seems to refer to wealth. But I don’t understand how someone can “preserve their place” at all. Do these people believe that all citizens are ranked, that nobody moves up or down the success ladder? And how would one preserve one’s space? Having money does not automatically give one a political voice. Millionaires don’t automatically become lobbyists in Washington, D.C. I am starting to suspect that the people who use this kind of talk have no idea what they’re actually talking about either.

Conservatism is the belief that the United States government has one purpose: to protect us from foreign invaders. Everything else is unconstitutional.

President Obama had a great quote from, I think, 1998 or so when he said that the Constitution constrains us, and that it is a document of negative rights – meaning it only says what the government can’t do, not what it must do on the people’s behalf.

Exactamundo, moron. Self-respecting people do not want the government to breastfeed us all our lives. We want to be free to engage in capitalism and manage our daily lives, and let the government keep us safe from, oh, perhaps terrorists flying over from Yemen.

Liberals seem to believe that people are helpless, and can not manage in the world without a daddy figure to guide us and hold our hands. I simply do not understand this mindset. Nor did our founders, who understood that freedom was more important than security.

Conservatism is the belief that the individual is powerful. It is the belief that the state is submissive to the individual. Now think back, and try to remember the last time you felt that the world was working correctly – when the individual was in control, and the state was in the background.