Megan McArdle:McCain is not a classical liberal; he's the product of an intensely hierarchical honor culture that he seems to think would substantially improve the rest of us if we adopted more of its values. I have no shortage of respect for the military, and their willingness to place their own lives between the rest of us and war's desolation. But that doesn't mean I think America would be a better place if we had a more martial state. His record bespeaks little respect for spontaneous order and individual freedom. What free-market instincts he evinces seem to have come as part of the conservative ideas combo-pack he bought because it was cheaper than buying the parts individually--all he really wanted was the national greatness and the moderately conservative social structure.In a nutshell, a "classical liberal" is one who believes in individual rights, free-markets, small government, and rule of law. It's the political perspective I feel closely aligned to. That's why I'm concerned about McCain. Thomas Sowell has some concerns too.
Unfortunately, none of these choices look particularly appealing:
(HT Ezra Klein)
No comments:
Post a Comment