{"id":2099322,"date":"2023-11-15T08:51:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T13:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/libertarianism-had-its-moment-but-is-ill-equipped-for-the-task-of-saving-america\/"},"modified":"2023-11-15T08:56:27","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T13:56:27","slug":"libertarianism-had-its-moment-but-is-ill-equipped-for-the-task-of-saving-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/libertarianism-had-its-moment-but-is-ill-equipped-for-the-task-of-saving-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Libertarianism Had Its Moment But Is Ill-Equipped For The Task Of Saving America"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flibertarianism-had-its-moment-but-is-ill-equipped-for-the-task-of-saving-america%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2099322&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Shift \u2064Away from Libertarianism in the Republican Party<\/h2>\n<p>One \u2063item stood out at last week\u2019s Republican presidential \u200dprimary\u2063 debate: There was not \u2064an explicitly nor implicitly identified libertarian candidate. Ron\u2064 Paul represented \u2063the\u2064 libertarian faction in Republican debates\u200b in 2008 and 2012, and his son Rand\u2062 Paul assumed the mantle \u2063in 2016. Prior libertarian-leaning Republican primary candidates include\u200d Barry Goldwater in 1964, Jack Kemp in 1988,\u200d and Steve Forbes in 1996\u200c and 2000, yet\u200d no such candidate can \u200cclaim the position in this year\u2019s Republican primary. The lack of a libertarian candidate is emblematic of the right\u2019s shift away from free-market\u2062 fundamentalism and toward a more robust social conservatism.<\/p>\n<p>My own \u2062ideological evolution is \u2064demonstrative \u200cof the right\u2019s shift away from libertarianism. Eight years ago, The Federalist published my essay making the \u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2015\/12\/16\/the-christian-case-for-libertarianism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Christian case for libertarianism<\/a>. At the\u2063 time, libertarianism\u2063 seemed \u2062ascendant\u200d in contemporary politics.\u200c The New York\u200d Times wondered aloud\u200b if America\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/08\/10\/magazine\/has-the-libertarian-moment-finally-arrived.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">libertarian moment<\/a>\u201d had arrived, and <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/magazine\/us\/3512654\/october-27th-2014-vol-184-no-16-u-s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Time \u2062Magazine<\/a> featured Sen. Rand Paul on its cover describing\u200c him as \u201cThe Most\u2062 Interesting Man in Politics.\u201d But libertarianism\u2019s political triumph \u2064was short-lived.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-16446293\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f5c24fe9235f7cf36c4fde49baed27fc fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f5c24fe9235f7cf36c4fde49baed27fc\"><\/div>\n<p>There are \u2064many\u2063 possible reasons\u2062 for this shift away\u2064 from \u2064libertarianism,\u2063 but among the most decisive were the disruptive events of the Covid-19 pandemic. America\u2019s response to the\u200b pandemic exposed two fundamental \u2064truths\u2062 that libertarianism was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/why-elite-libertarians-failed-so-miserably-on-covid-5260850\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ill-equipped to answer<\/a>:\u200d First, our institutions\u200b have been seized by ideological\u200c activists who have weaponized them against core \u200bAmerican\u200d values; second, the\u200d left is on an\u200d evangelizing mission to impose its \u200cvalues across society unless resisted.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Institutions Are Broken<\/h2>\n<p>Covid exposed the deep moral rot of \u200ckey institutions, such as\u2064 academia, journalism, science and medicine, and \u2064corporations, among \u2064many others. In a liberal\u200b society, \u2063these institutions play a\u200d vital role in tempering concentrated political power\u200d by \u2062serving as neutral actors leveraging their unique expertise and\u200b interests to better society. During the\u200c pandemic, however, these \u200binstitutions revealed themselves as political activists weaponizing \u2062their unique positions of\u2063 authority to enact \u2062the left\u2019s political agenda.<\/p>\n<p>This rot was evident when public health officials <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/05\/health\/health-care-open-letter-protests-coronavirus-trnd\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published a public letter<\/a> \u2062 during the height of the pandemic insisting that\u200c the George Floyd riots did not \u2064violate their previously asserted guidance \u2063against mass \u200bgatherings because the rioters were rioting for a supposedly virtuous cause. This letter exposed those bureaucrats as mere \u2064political activists rather than the neutral experts \u200cthey\u2064 claim to be.<\/p>\n<p>When critical race\u2062 theory (CRT) became \u200ba polarizing, mainstream issue, many libertarians claimed CRT was protected by academic freedom. But that\u2019s not true. Public \u2064school curriculums\u200d are inherently political because public officials\u200c ultimately decide what is taught in\u200b a public \u2063school.\u200b But for decades, curricula have been developed by progressives leading to a left-wing indoctrination of students evident in declining civic knowledge and patriotism.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9d7ee1c8e6a7e1dce4da487b3b876156 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9d7ee1c8e6a7e1dce4da487b3b876156\"><\/div>\n<p>The activist \u2064takeover \u2064of institutions \u200dallows leftists\u2063 an additional avenue to exercise political power without ever \u200dexplicitly enacting legislation. Therefore, conservatives must be willing to cripple their ability to exercise power\u2063 by either externally \u200cdismantling\u2063 these institutions or through their own hostile takeover. Neutrality toward these corrupt \u200cinstitutions will only allow the left\u200d to continue to subvert conservatives\u2019 \u200bpolitical interests.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Left Won\u2019t Leave You Alone<\/h2>\n<p>Recent years have also made it clear that the \u200cleft won\u2019t leave\u200c you alone. \u2064Leftists have\u2063 a missionary zeal to \u2064impose \u2064their mores upon society. \u2062Again, the George Floyd riots are demonstrative. In their aftermath, the left demanded\u2062 that you demonstrate your solidarity with leftist social causes or else you\u2019re complicit in systemic racism.<\/p>\n<p>Lavishly funded \u201cdiversity, equity, and \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/libertarianism-had-its-moment-but-is-ill-equipped-for-the-task-of-saving-america\/\" title=\"Libertarianism Had Its Moment But Is Ill-Equipped For The Task Of Saving America\">inclusion\u201d consultants infiltrated corporate boardrooms<\/a> to \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brooklyn-nets-forward-kevin-durant-dunks-on-spoiled-entitled-clickbait-media-following-tampa-bay-bucs-giovani-bernards-botched-fake-punt\/\" title=\"Brooklyn Nets Forward Kevin Durant Dunks on \u201cSpoiled, Entitled Clickbait Media\u201d Following Tampa Bay Bucs\u2019 Giovani Bernard\u2019s Botched Fake Punt\">inject racial identity politics<\/a> into the workplace. Then the\u200b left came for \u2063your children, secretly \u2064using public schools \u2062to compel children into experimental mutilation under the \u2063guise of gender theory.\u200c Parents who\u2064 objected to this radicalism were deemed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/about-those-domestic-terrorists-national-school-boards-association-merrick-garland-memo-fbi-11635285900\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">domestic terrorists<\/a> \u200cor threatened by\u200b Child Protective Services. There is nowhere to hide. Leftists insist on your acquiescence.<\/p>\n<p>The left\u2019s cultural aggression is a product of the right\u2019s refusal to\u2062 assert our own cultural values. Adherence to a neutral public sphere under the guise of secularism only creates a vacuum \u200bfor the left to leverage the powers of the\u200b state to promote \u200ctheir own values. When the state stopped promoting traditional Christian values, the left filled the \u2063void by \u2063promoting cultural\u2063 Marxism.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b65ecfda6b0b192509da686943e41675 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b65ecfda6b0b192509da686943e41675\"><\/div>\n<p>A\u200d less\u200c libertarian conservatism must leverage tools such as public \u2062school curricula, public television, military ethics training, and other professional\u2064 training\u2064 in the bureaucracy, etc. to educate Americans \u2064on traditional virtues.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Liberty Requires Virtue<\/h2>\n<p>Institutional rot and the left\u2019s \u2062missionary zeal thus \u2063resurface a timeless wisdom: Liberty requires virtue. Absent said virtue, institutions\u200b and culture will inevitably culminate in tyranny and social disorder. In recent years, conservatives have\u200d relearned that a culture cannot sustain degradation\u200b without catastrophic effects to individual liberty. By contrast, libertarianism is \u2063at\u200b best\u200d agnostic on the \u200cneed for a state to cultivate individual \u200dvirtue.<\/p>\n<p>Social righteousness as a prerequisite for liberty is an insight our Founding Fathers understood. In his farewell address, George Washington implored that America \u200cmust be a virtuous nation for the republic to endure.\u2063 He wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><em>\u2026 And let us with caution indulge the supposition\u200b that morality can be maintained\u2064 without\u200c religion. \u2063Whatever may be conceded \u2062to the influence of refined education \u2062on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that \u200dnational morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Of course, \u2062libertarians and the left \u200bwill accuse conservatives of wanting to enact a Christian theocracy, but that\u2019s a lazy \u2064smear. Again, \u200cGeorge Washington \u200bis\u2064 illustrative. In his first annual address to Congress, President Washington wrote that Americans must\u200c understand \u200bthe difference between order \u2063and oppression, and also\u2063 liberty and \u2062licentiousness. He wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><em>\u2026 by teaching the\u200b people themselves to know and to value their own rights; to discern \u200dand provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority; \u2064between burthens\u2063 proceeding from a\u2063 disregard to their \u200bconvenience \u2063and those resulting from the inevitable\u200c exigencies of\u2064 Society; to discriminate\u200c the spirit\u200c of Liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing the first, avoiding the last\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Libertarianism fails to heed Washington\u2019s advice by mistaking all encroachments on\u2064 personal behavior as oppression. On \u2064the \u2062contrary, the conservative appreciates \u200dthat in a free society,\u2064 the\u200c state must proactively promote social virtue to \u200dprevent society from descending into cultural degradation. Disorder and licentiousness inevitably result in \u200ctyranny.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A New Libertarian-Conservative Fusionism<\/h2>\n<p>Despite these \u200dcritiques, libertarianism still offers\u2062 a\u2063 lot to the right. \u200cThe free market remains the greatest path toward material prosperity, and the right\u2019s \u2063ability to promote wealth \u200bcreation is among our biggest political advantages\u200d that should not be ceded. \u2064But of course, conservatism\u2019s goal \u2064is about\u2062 more than material wealth. \u200bRather, it\u2019s about \u2062shaping the conditions for human fulfillment. Any such new \u200dfusionism between libertarians and \u200cconservatives requires\u200b finding\u2062 libertarian solutions to conservative objectives.<\/p>\n<p>For\u2063 example, among the \u2062right\u2019s policy priorities is to rebuild the natural family. While this can\u2062 be\u200d done via the tax code \u2063through an expanded\u2062 earned income tax \u2062credit, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analysis-america-grapples-with-plummeting-fertility-rates\/\" title=\"America faces a challenge with declining fertility rates.\">paid family leave policies<\/a>, \u2062libertarians might help deregulate\u200d childcare services to drive down the cost of childcare.<\/p>\n<p>Surely there are plenty of ways libertarians and conservatives\u200b can and should\u2063 find common\u200d cause,\u2063 but any shared \u200dagenda\u2064 between libertarians and conservatives\u2064 must aim toward retaking institutions, restoring social\u200b virtue, and\u200b rebuilding the \u200bfamily.\u2064 Absent those objectives, libertarianism offers little to the right in our current political moment. America\u2019s current state is characterized by cultural decadence and institutional rot \u2062that\u200b can only be remedied by \u2062an aggressive conservative agenda\u200c unafraid \u2062to \u200bassert its\u200d values throughout \u2064society.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> In what ways did the Covid-19 pandemic reveal the left&#8217;s mission to evangelize its values and beliefs across society, and \u2062how has \u2063this affected individual freedoms and the erosion of religious \u200cliberties<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u200c Given\u2062 area. The adoption \u2064of\u200b CRT in schools is a clear example of how ideology has infiltrated educational \u200binstitutions,\u2062 turning them into tools for indoctrination rather than places for open\u200d inquiry\u2063 and learning.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the\u2062 pandemic revealed the hypocrisy\u200d of\u2063 corporations that claimed to prioritize social justice but \u2062willingly \u2062engaged in business practices that \u200dviolated individual rights. Companies that pushed for mask mandates and vaccine passports while also censoring\u200c certain viewpoints on their platforms showed that they were more interested \u200bin advancing\u2063 a particular political agenda than\u2062 in protecting individual liberties.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The\u200b Left\u2019s Evangelizing Mission<\/h2>\n<p>The\u2064 Covid-19 \u200dpandemic also highlighted the left\u2019s mission \u2064to evangelize its values and beliefs\u200b across society. The lockdowns, restrictions, and mandates imposed by governments \u2064were justified in the \u2064name \u2064of public health,\u200b but they also served as a vehicle for imposing a particular\u2064 worldview\u200d and eroding individual freedoms.<\/p>\n<p>During\u2064 the pandemic, we saw the expansion of government power and the erosion of religious freedom. Churches and religious gatherings\u2064 were deemed non-essential while liquor stores and abortion \u200cclinics remained open.\u200d This blatant disregard\u2064 for religious liberties was a clear example of the left\u2019s willingness to prioritize its agenda over constitutionally protected rights.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the left\u2019s push for social justice \u2064and equity became more pronounced during\u2062 the \u2063pandemic. Critical race theory, \u2063cancel culture, \u2063and calls for reparations gained traction, and any dissenting opinion\u2064 was\u200b met with swift and severe backlash. The left&#8217;s \u200bintolerance for differing viewpoints and its insistence on ideological conformity revealed the danger of its mission to reshape society according\u200b to its own values.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Shift Towards Robust Social Conservatism<\/h2>\n<p>In \u2063response to these developments, the right has \u2063shifted away from libertarianism towards a more \u2063robust \u200bsocial conservatism. The emphasis is now \u200bon preserving and protecting traditional values,\u200d institutions, and individual \u2062freedoms that \u200bhave\u200d been under\u2063 attack.<\/p>\n<p>This shift is evident in the Republican party&#8217;s focus on issues such as religious liberties, parental rights, and cultural \u200bpreservation. Candidates\u2064 who champion these causes are gaining support \u200cand becoming the \u200bface of the party.<\/p>\n<p>While libertarianism still has its place within the\u200b right,\u200c it\u2063 no longer holds the dominant position it once did.\u2064 The events of the past year have revealed the limitations of\u200c a purely libertarian ideology in \u200baddressing the challenges and threats\u2063 posed by an\u2062 increasingly ideological left.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The absence of a libertarian candidate in the current\u200b Republican primary reflects a broader shift away from libertarianism within the \u2063party. The disruptive events of the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the flaws \u200dof a purely libertarian ideology and led to a reevaluation of priorities and values.<\/p>\n<p>The right&#8217;s focus has shifted towards \u200ddefending traditional values, institutions, and individual freedoms that have come under \u200cattack. The emphasis is now on resisting the left&#8217;s ideological agenda and preserving the core American \u2062values that have made this nation prosperous and \u2062free.<\/p>\n<p>While libertarianism still has its\u200c place and can contribute \u2064valuable insights to the conservative movement, the \u200bshift towards robust \u2063social conservatism reflects a recognition of \u2062the need for a more multifaceted approach to address the challenges of our time.<\/p>\n<p>As the Republican primary \u200cunfolds, it will be \u200dinteresting to observe how this shift plays out \u2064and \u2062which candidates emerge as\u2064 the standard-bearers of the new conservative movement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One item stood out at last week\u2019s Republican presidential primary debate: There was not an explicitly nor implicitly identified libertarian candidate. Ron Paul represented the libertarian faction in Republican debates in 2008 and 2012, and his son Rand Paul assumed the mantle in 2016. Prior libertarian-leaning Republican primary candidates include Barry Goldwater in 1964, Jack<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2560,"featured_media":2099323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2099322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2560"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2099322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2099323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2099322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2099322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2099322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}