Comments on: Barack Obama and the “Leap to Socialism” http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2009/05/13/barack-obama-and-the-leap-to-socialism/ Conservative and Libertarian Intellectual Philosophy and Politics Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:00:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Patrick Mulligan http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2009/05/13/barack-obama-and-the-leap-to-socialism/comment-page-1/#comment-78174 Patrick Mulligan Sat, 16 May 2009 10:00:08 +0000 http://www.intellectualconservative.com/?p=5982#comment-78174 The author can keep his self-defined and self-crafted "classical conservatism", which he has already articulated in previous articles, as well as his caricatures of what he sees as competing types of conservatism. The actual foundation for modern so-called "conservative" philosophy is <a href="http://www.ncpa.org/pub/what-is-classical-liberalism" rel="nofollow">classical liberalism</a>. Properly understood, the application of reason and rational egoist ethics to derive a set of fundamental individual rights does not imply a natural affinity for socialism or collectivism. The altruistic moral code which guides most Western European people's decision making, owing largely to the influence of Christianity on Western culture for the past thousand years, may give them a greater sympathy for socialist ideology, but it is not because socialist ideology shares a belief in reason with classical liberalism. Reliance on reason to derive an ethical and moral framework from which we may derive a conception of rights is no more damnable because it may be co-opted to support collectivist ideologies than belief in God is damnable because it may be co-opted to support suicide bombings or sexual exploitation of children. The author can keep his self-defined and self-crafted “classical conservatism”, which he has already articulated in previous articles, as well as his caricatures of what he sees as competing types of conservatism. The actual foundation for modern so-called “conservative” philosophy is classical liberalism. Properly understood, the application of reason and rational egoist ethics to derive a set of fundamental individual rights does not imply a natural affinity for socialism or collectivism. The altruistic moral code which guides most Western European people’s decision making, owing largely to the influence of Christianity on Western culture for the past thousand years, may give them a greater sympathy for socialist ideology, but it is not because socialist ideology shares a belief in reason with classical liberalism. Reliance on reason to derive an ethical and moral framework from which we may derive a conception of rights is no more damnable because it may be co-opted to support collectivist ideologies than belief in God is damnable because it may be co-opted to support suicide bombings or sexual exploitation of children.

]]> By: LI Mike http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2009/05/13/barack-obama-and-the-leap-to-socialism/comment-page-1/#comment-78145 LI Mike Thu, 14 May 2009 00:36:34 +0000 http://www.intellectualconservative.com/?p=5982#comment-78145 I hope you don't mind questions from the freshman class. How do you bridge from allowing for equal opportunities for individual pursuits to equal outcome? It seems that education is of the former, whereas forms of redistributionism are most certainly and blatantly of the later, and how are these shared by conservatives? Isn't 'leadership' to a conservative dismantling the problem which is too much government, as did Reagan? I don't see how that, for example, would be rationalism, or arrogance, or trying to remake the universe. It seems like it's rather the antithesis. May it rather be a combination of the philosophy of pragmatism, deliberate efforts by a left-leaning education system and media, and the hijacking of our traditional terms (newspeaks) by those groups that progressed us to this point? I hope you don’t mind questions from the freshman class.

How do you bridge from allowing for equal opportunities for individual pursuits to equal outcome? It seems that education is of the former, whereas forms of redistributionism are most certainly and blatantly of the later, and how are these shared by conservatives?

Isn’t ‘leadership’ to a conservative dismantling the problem which is too much government, as did Reagan? I don’t see how that, for example, would be rationalism, or arrogance, or trying to remake the universe. It seems like it’s rather the antithesis.

May it rather be a combination of the philosophy of pragmatism, deliberate efforts by a left-leaning education system and media, and the hijacking of our traditional terms (newspeaks) by those groups that progressed us to this point?

]]> By: nick adams http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2009/05/13/barack-obama-and-the-leap-to-socialism/comment-page-1/#comment-78143 nick adams Thu, 14 May 2009 00:21:50 +0000 http://www.intellectualconservative.com/?p=5982#comment-78143 But we do have God-given inalienable rights? That would be on top of, in addition to, and in spite of whatever intellectual tradition you may propose. It is the authority by which American's maintain liberty. But we do have God-given inalienable rights?

That would be on top of, in addition to, and in spite of whatever intellectual tradition you may propose. It is the authority by which American’s maintain liberty.

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