5/19/2005
Come on in, the water’s lovely
One of the difficult issues facing libertarians and even those conservatives with a strong individualistic bent is, how do we foster a culture of liberty in a country in which that culture has been under relentless attack? I often find myself coming up in discussion forums against the sort of “pragmatists” who argue that there is no point trying to foster such a culture and the best we can do is smuggle in policies under cover of something else. We must appeal to the soggy mainstream, whatever that is. I smell a rat about this way of thinking since it boils down to little more than a rationalisation for defeatism.
Charles Moore, former editor of the Daily Telegraph, thinks as I do in what is probably one of the best articles I have read in that publication for a long, long time (apart from anything by Mark Steyn, of course). He addresses head-on the idea that there is a “fear of liberty” in Britain, and asks how we address it. Above all, he says politicians need to offer a lead rather than chase focus groups, and show that by giving people more choice in their lives, they will acquire the confidence, happiness, and security they crave. Whether it is school vouchers, greater choice in health, control over pensions, voting for police chiefs or fostering greater wealth ownership, Moore argues that spreading liberty works in a virtuous upward circle. Even in small steps, it is possible to spread the freedom habit. The more liberty one has, the more one can face the challenges of life, and the more one can draw pride from achievement. He also relates his insights to the current worry about youthful loutish behaviour and the culture of yobbery and nihilism that is all-too common on our streets.
It is not a new argument, of course. The late Shirley Robin Letwin (mother of the current Tory politician, Oliver Letwin), made a rather similar point in her book, The Anatomy of Thatcherism. So, to a similar degree, has James Bartholomew in his The Welfare State We’re In, and Ferdinand Mount in another book about British society and culture.
I get the impression that in the fag end of the Blair years, we are starting to see the crystalisation of a libertarian-conservative approach to sorting out the consequences of the Welfare State and decades of trying to micromanage social ills. If the Tories are clever, they should spend the next few months sitting in the garden and doing some serious reading and thinking.
As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.
Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.
6 Comments
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Leave a comment
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
While it is important not to frighten voters with radical ideas they don’t understand, that makes it even more important for those on the side of freedom to offer a coherent critique of Labour and start making and winning the arguments now. By the time of the next General Election the arguments will be so well rehearsed that they won’t appear new, therefore newsworthy and will have no shock value. The Conservative Party has only won election in recent times when it has credibly offered lower taxes. Once people had experience of a few years of Kenneth Clarke as Chancellor, nobody could believe anything the Tories promised about lower taxes. Now they have a chance but should not blow it by pandering to authoritarianism. That would make them appear nasty and lose some of their residual middle class support. To win, they have to emulate George W. Bush and win the votes of working class, hard working people and those ordinary people who want to see politically correct values swept out of government.
Comment by Wolfie — 5/19/2005 @ 10:07 pm
Instead of being “pragmatic", it’s more a question of counter-Fabianism. Roll back one freedom-limiting policy after another, one by one. Mount and Bartholomew have some great suggestions, and if these sorts of ideas gain traction, we could see, like you say, the crystallisation of a libertarian-conservative approach…
This sort of thing is not going to get achieved standing on the sidelines and sneering like the Comic Book Shop guy from the Simpsons, either. And fringe political parties only go so far. As much as I hate to say it (as I’m not the party joining type), I’m beginning to think that the only place those sorts of changes can get any true political traction is within the grass roots of the Conservatives.
Comment by James — 5/21/2005 @ 11:12 pm
I hope you’re right about the libertarian-conservative approach to reforming the welfare state. I’m not yet convinced that I see it myself, apart from on the blogosphere where libertarian views are probably more prevalent than in the population as a whole.
Comment by Bishop Hill — 5/22/2005 @ 8:48 pm
Submitted for Your Approval
First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… here are all the links submitted by members of the Watcher’s Council for this week’s vote. Council li…
Trackback by Watcher of Weasels — 5/25/2005 @ 7:52 am
Carnival of the Vanities #140
Hello and welcome to the Carnival of the Vanities #140. My name is Karol, you can read more about me here. Two plugs I have to make while I have your attention: 1. I co-host a weekly talk show called…
Trackback by Alarming News — 5/25/2005 @ 5:28 pm
The Carnival of the Capitalists for May 30th ‘05
Welcome to the May 30, 2005 volume of The Carnival of the Capitalists, Capitalism meets Satisficing and welcome to the Slacker Manager. “Slackers are opportunists. They’re very good at seeking out and doing what they enjoy. Problem is, the
Trackback by Slacker Manager — 5/30/2005 @ 1:51 am