I don’t really consider myself to be conservative. I consider myself more of of moderate who can see some value in both ends of the political spectrum. However, I came across an article by Andrew J. Bacevich in the March 24, 2008 issue of The American Conservative where he lists his ideas of conservative ideals.
- “a commitment to individual liberty, tempered by the conviction that genuine freedom entails more than simply an absence of restraint;
- a belief in limited government, fiscal responsibility, and the rule of law;
- veneration for our cultural inheritance combined with a sense of stewardship for Creation;
- a reluctance to discard or tamper with traditional social arrangements;
- respect for the market as the generator of wealth combined with a wariness of the market’s corrosive impact on humane values;
- a deep suspicion of utopian promises, rooted in an appreciation of the sinfulness of man and the recalcitrance of history.”
Although I don’t agree with a lot of the rest of the article (although he is proposing support for Barack Obama who I really like – albeit for different reasons) I found this list of conservative principles very interesting. I do not agree completely with these ideals, but I come very close on most of them. Unfortunately I do not see many political leader who seem to espouse these principles. The Republican Party seems to have drifted far from these ideals. For at least some (but certainly not all) the Democratic Party seems to be closer (such as the first one). It made me think about what my list of political ideals would be. I think that this would be an interesting exercise to have and could lead to interesting discussion. I will have to work on this for the future but my first thoughts would be that I would include something very similar to the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th above. I would modify the 2nd because I am not sure limited government is an end of itself (although it depends on what is meant by limited government). I would not include the 6th as a major principle and I would add a principle of compassion and a sense of brother and sisterhood with my fellow citizens of the United States of America and the world as a whole. I might add more or consolidate as I think about this more.
It is a thought provoking mental exercise to think about my personal political ideals. It is useful to get beyond the traditional grouping of positions as described by the platforms of the Democratic and Republican Parties. There is no particular reason why abortion rights must be coupled with pro-environment positions or gun rights with fiscal responsibility, just as some examples. In addition, I believe that thoughtful and careful articulation of political ideals or principles, such as Mr. Bacevich provided in his article may lead us to recognize that there is more common ground then we may imagine (a major theme in Barack Obama’s book by the way, but that will have to wait for a future post). I would be interested in hearing your response to Mr. Bacevich’s list of conservative principles and any of your own that you care to share.
