Libertarian Conservatism: Difference between revisions

A few Libertarian Conservatives hold some socially liberal beliefs on issues like drug legalization or gay rights, but oppose most modern progressive movements and side with conservatives in the culture war. These types are most commonly referred to as South Park Republicans, named after the popular animated show that is said to have first popularized this mindset.

 

The term started to be known when a prominent contributor in the National Review, a conservative editorial, [[w:Frank_Meyer_(political_philosopher)|Frank Meyer]], described his ideology as a fusion of [[File:Libertarian.png]] [[Libertarianism|Libertarian]] and [[File:Conserv.png]] [[Conservatism|Conservative]] ideals in the 1950's<ref>Feser, Edward (December 22, 2001). [https://www.lewrockwell.com/2001/12/edward-feser/what-libertarianism-isnt/ "What Libertarianism Isn't"].</ref>.

In his most influential book, In Defense of Freedom, Meyer defined freedom in what Isaiah Berlin would label "negative" terms, as the minimization of the use of coercion by the state in its essential role of preventing one person's freedom from intruding upon another's.

 

|speaker= Barry Goldwater}}

Barry Goldwater was the [[File:RepubUS.png]] [[Conservatism|Republican]] senator of Arizona from 1953-1965 and 1969-1987. At the time he was considered to be on the "fringe right-wing" of the party for his opposition to the legacy of the [[File:FDRismF.png]] [[Social Liberalism|New Deal]] and support of [[File:Libertarian.png]] laissez-faire economics, as this had alienated the more moderate and liberal wings of his party. Despite being a member of the NAACP and a supporter of desegregation, Goldwater had reluctantly voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because he believed it partially violated the rights of businesses. He was selected as the [[File:RepubUS.png]] [[Conservatism|GOP]]'s presidential candidate in 1964, where he lost by a landslide against the [[File:Demcr.png]] Democratic President [[File:Neoprog.png]] [[Social Authoritarianism|Lyndon B. Johnson]], after being successfully portrayed as a [[File:Rpop-tinfoilhat.png]] [[Right-Wing Populism|far-right]] extremist by LBJ's campaign. Although losing, his campaign is credited for pushing the GOP to the right and helping inspire the rise of [[File:Reagan.png]] [[Neoconservatism|Ronald Reagan]]. Despite his stanchly conservative views, he advocated for desegregation in the US military. Goldwater's views on social and cultural issues grew increasingly more libertarian over time nearing the end of his career (he believed that they were an integral part of true conservatism) as by the mid-1980s , he had spoken out in support of [[File:Gay.png]] the LGBT+ people being able to serve in the military, [[File:Glibr.png]] [[Green Libertarianism|environmental protection]], abortion rights and the legalization of medical marijuana.

 

Then, in the year 1975, former President of the [[File:Cball-US.png]] United States, [[File:Reagan.png]] [[Neoconservatism|Ronald Reagan]], in an interview with [[w:Reason_(magazine)|Reason]], trying to appeal to Libertarian circles, declared to "believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism"<ref>[https://reason.com/1975/07/01/inside-ronald-reagan/]</ref>. Although he was later criticized by many Libertarians, including [[File:Rothbard.png]] [[Anarcho-Capitalism|Murray Rothbard]]<ref>Rothbard, Murray (1984). [https://mises.org/library/reagan-phenomenon]. Free Life: The Journal of the Libertarian Alliance. Libertarian Alliance. '4 (1): 1–7. Retrieved September 20, 2020 – via the Mises Institute.</ref> and [[File:Libcon.png]] Ron Paul, who was previously a supporter of Reagan.

Ron Paul later declared being disillusioned with Reagan's administration and expressed his disgust on many policies, such as the 1981 budget bill, and apologized for supporting the former President Ronald Reagan and resigned as congressman.<ref>Kutzmann, David M. (May 24, 1988). "Small Party Battles Big Government Libertarian Candidate Opposes Intrusion into Private Lives". San Jose Mercury News: 12A.</ref>.

 

Radically influenced by [[File:Clib.png]] [[Classical Liberalism]] and [[File:Regulationism.png]] anti-[[Regulationism|regulationism]] along with being a big advocator of anti-war policies, Rothbard who had become the most influential figure on [[File:Libertarian.png]] [[Libertarianism|US Libertarianism]]<ref>Raimondo, Enemy 372-83.</ref> strongly influenced and re-shaped the Old Right movement, after his departure from his alliance with the New Left (Especially within [[File:Anmark2.png]] [[Left-Wing Market Anarchism|Market Anarchist]] circles), which he helped to shape as well and used to build relationships with other Libertarian sectors.

 

Rothbard then, regarding these critiques, suggested that Libertarians needed to appeal and make themselves look 'more acceptable' to [[File:Conserv.png]] [[Conservatism|socially and culturally conservative people]], who are a big portion of the American population.

 

After some time of this alliance with the Paleoconservative movement some Libertarians, such as Lew Rockwell<ref name="Case">Rockwell, Lew. [https://web.archive.org/web/20180907144559/http://www.pericles.press/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Liberty_Magazine.pdf "The Case for Paleo-libertarianism" (PDF)] on September 7, 2018.</ref> or Jeffrey Tucker, started self-identifying with the term [[File:Paleolib.png]] [[Paleolibertarianism|"Paleolibertarian"]], more specifically a [[File:Christy.png]] [[Christian Theocracy|Christian wing of it]]. These Libertarians continued their opposition to all forms of government intervention, including cultural and social, while still upholding cultural conservatism in social thought and behavior. They opposed a Licentious Libertarianism which advocated for "freedom from bourgeois morality, and social authority."<ref name="Case"></ref>

Rockwell later stated to have dropped that self-description<ref>Kenny Johnsson, [http://archive.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/liberal-post-interview.html Do You Consider Yourself a Libertarian?], interview with Lew Rockwell, May 25, 2007.</ref> because people confused it with a form of "socially-right wing Libertarianism", definition which Libertarians such as Rockwell rejected, instead opting to define it in opposition to "Beltway/Establishment Libertarians". Rockwell also affirmed that Paleoconservatives could be seen as "reducing liberty, not increasing it, through a form of publicly subsidized right to trespass."<ref>Rockwell, Llewellyn H. (May 2, 2002). [http://archive.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/paleoism.html "What I Learned From Paleoism"].</ref>

 

More recently, and still worth taking note of on the topic of Libertarian Conservative thinkers, we have [[File:Hoppef.png]] [[Hoppeanism|Hoppe]], whose ideology is yet another form of [[File:Libcon.png]] Libertarian Conservatism and/or [[File:Paleolib.png]] [[Paleolibertarianism]]. Hoppe argues that property rights imply exclusion/discrimination, and property owners could establish what he calls private "covenant communities" and may (or may not) agree to exclude certain people, depending on what the owners in said community prefer.<br> He also regards ostracism towards certain people within certain community as a viable way of "peacefully relocating" in case the members of the community desire so, by which their relocation is directly advocated for yet does not employ the iniciation of force.<ref>Hoppe, Hans-Hermann (11 April 2005). [https://mises.org/library/my-battle-thought-police "My Battle With The Thought Police"]. Mises Institute. Retrieved 20 September 2020.</ref><br> Hoppe made the argument in favor of ostracism refering especially to certain groups such as [[File:Soc-h.png]] [[w:c:https://polcompball.fandom.com/wiki/Socialism|Socialists]], and [[File:Dem.png]] [[Democracy|Democracy advocators]], who he regarded as a threat to the [[File:libertarian.png]] [[Libertarianism|libertarian social order]] in the long run. But, although he's commonly believed that Hoppe hates [[File:Gay.png]] Homosexuals, he doesn't (directly) advocate for ostracism towards them (and similar groups), the quote used as proof of his homophobia are simply examples of people covenant communities could exclude. However, Hoppe has regarded them (homosexuals) as "higher-time preferenced people" and, as was already said, posed the possibility of them being excluded from [[File:Trad.png]] [[Traditionalism|family-oriented]] communities.<br> Hoppe also became even more controversial among Libertarian circles for his advocacy on restricted immigration<ref>[http://libertarianpapers.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/article/2016/06/lp-8-1-7-2.pdf Libertarian Papers Vol. 8, No. 1 (2016); Public Property and the Libertarian immigration debate] by Simon Guenzl.</ref> and his critiques to mainstream Libertarian movements, declaring that Libertarianism should become a culturally conservative movement in nature.<ref>Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Democracy: The God That Failed (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction 2001) 189.</ref><br> Hoppe also has argued for the superiority of government systems such as [[File:Monarch.png]] [[Monarchism]] or [[File:Arist.png]] [[Aristocracy]] above the such as [[File:Dem.png]] [[Democracy]]. Although he has stated that, though he believes these systems are superior to democracy, he is not an supporter of them.<ref>[https://mises.org/library/aristocracy-monarchy-democracy From Aristocracy to Monarchy to Democracy] by Hans-Hermann Hoppe (2014).</ref><ref>[https://mises.org/library/democracy-god-failed-1 Democracy: The God that failed] by Hans-Hermann Hoppe (2016).</ref>

 

The party has various factions within itself even if for the most part it is simply a [[File:Paleolib.png]] [[Paleolibertarianism|Paleolibertarian]] [[File:Minarchist.png]] [[Minarchism|Minarchist-leaning]] party. It counts with an [[File:Ancapf.png]] [[Anarcho-Capitalism|Anarcho-Capitalist]] faction, a [[File:Republicanismpix.png]] [[Republicanism|Republican]] faction, a [[File:Plcn2.png]] [[Paleoconservatism|Paleoconservative]] faction, a [[File:Conlib.png]] [[Conservative Liberalism|Conservative Liberal]] faction, among others.

 

Ron Paul Libertarianism is the political philosophy of former Texas congressman and 1988, 2008, and 2012 Presidential candidate, Ron Paul. According to some political scientists, Ron Paul has the most [[File:Conserv.png]] [[Conservatism#United_States|Conservative]] voting record of any member of Congress between 1937 to 2002.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul#Political_positions</ref> He gained the nickname "Dr. No" due to his insistence that he will never vote for any legislation unless the proposed measure is explicitly authorized in [[File:Consti.png]] [[Constitutionalism|The Constitution]]. Paul is a strong anti-interventionist, criticizing [[File:Necon.png]] [[Neoconservatism|Neoconservetive]] foreign policy in the Middle East arguing that meddling in the region inadvertently caused 9/11. On economic issues, Paul is a proponent of [[File:Austrobert.png]] [[Austrian School|The Austrian School of Economics]] and is a strong advocate of [[File:Fiscon.png]] [[Fiscal Conservatism]]. He promised to never vote to raise taxes and states he has never voted to approve a budget deficit. Furthermore Paul is a strong advocate of ending [[File:Bankocracy.png]] [[Financialism|The Federal Reserve System]]. On social issues, Paul himself is personally against drug use and same-sex marriage, however he also believes that the government should not have the authority to regulate drugs or marriage.

 

}}

 

===Friends===