BlogBlurb - Who I Am: My Definition of a Conservative Minarchist

A friend recently challenged me to identify my political philosophy as succinctly as I could by answering some basic questions.

What is your political philosophy?

How do you think government should be run, and why?

Do you identify with a particular brand of politics (i.e., Conservative, Liberal, Libertarian, etc.)?

Why?

What's the issue that inspires you to hold your viewpoint and associate with that brand?

This is my political philosophy:

I have to identify myself as an idealist in principle, but pragmatic in philosophy. I am Conservative. But I jokingly refer to myself as a Conservative Minarchist, that is, minimalist in government control in almost anything other than infrastructure, policing of reasonable morality, and military protection.

The pragmatist in me recognizes the needs of a society with radical differences between Hartford, Connecticut and Mobile, Alabama. But in this respect, I still believe local needs should remain local, and the Constitution affords the powers and rights not given to the Federal Government to the individual States and to the people. If Massachusetts wishes to serve the poor through it’s varied tax base, New York shouldn’t have to pay for it. I believe government has a responsibility to equip and encourage, but not to facilitate or provide.

Through history I see countless examples of good intentions that end up replacing the original problem with a new one, or several. Welfare, unemployment and federal project grants are just a few of the examples I’ve seen gone awry.

The problem I have observed is that government programs inherently survive beyond their usefulness and perpetuate their intended audience rather than resolving the initial injustice once and for all.

Which serves another final point on my philosophy… government is to see to the defense of those suffering injustice. But natural, human tragedy is not the same as injustice. And in this regard, I believe private charity should always come before the compelled compassion of “government assistance”. Private enterprise, social services and charity have always been more successful than government attempts at the same.

So, in conclusion, I firmly, though sadly believe the society we have today is the result of a Church that has failed it’s other oft’ overlooked commission to both the world and to it’s own:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

- James 1:27

So, Church... What are we going to do about it? Your country and her people desperately need an answer. I believe faith in action within a local community and prudence in governing across a nation work together in perfect harmony and would revolutionize American culture. It would shrink the demand on government services, allow personal freedoms to flourish, and revive American churches for generations. True religion, or the lack of it, determines the rose and fall of nations. America was a unique experiment, and we are sadly losing it. This is why I've been shaped into the kind of voter, and layman I have. My goal is to change the church and community I serve and the government that serves me.

This is the life of a Conservative Minarchist.