A political party is a coalition of interests designed to convince a majority to trust it enough to let it govern. The Progressive Era in its aim to neuter the constitutional speed bumps to majoritarian democracy pushed for democratic primaries. Initially the parties retained some ideological commitment, but in the age of instant outrage media, they have descended into tribal warfare where emotions rule over ideas. The two sides do not share common information or common narratives that define us as a nation. There is no mere disagreement on how we arrive at common goals; we no longer agree on who we are.
Read More“Progressivism was exactly a doctrine of the elites, by the elites, and for the elites. They said–I mean, their objection to market society was that markets function so annoying well, without the supervision of intellectuals.”
Read More“Hence, there is such a thing as a human nature that is fixed and settled, not plastic to the touch of culture or government. That, we are more than culturally-acquiring creatures that take on the coloration of whatever social situation we are in. And third, from this flows the most important principle, which is separation of powers, to make government strong enough, to protect our natural rights, and not so strong that it threatens them. “
Read More“we are on a trajectory to increased sluggishness economically, which will mean increased ferocity politically as we use political power to allocate wealth and opportunity, which we used to assign to markets.”
Read MoreWhile politics dismisses ideology, it still underlies our differences. The belief in permanent human nature and governing principles is what distinguishes the conservative from the progressive.
Read MoreFounders considered the Electoral College their crowning achievement of the Constitutional Convention. The divisions by state make the system less corruptible; the hanging chad problem in Florida was limited to one area of one state. The system requires a candidate to appeal to a broad range of interests, not just the interests of a small if heavily populated area.
Read More“Therefore ameliorative government becomes a magnet for factions muscular enough, in money or numbers or both, to bend government to their advantage. When government embraces redistribution, it summons into existence factions eager to get in on the action.”
Read More“..the longer a successful society is stable, the more numerous are the successful factions—not the poor, or the unemployed, or the new entrepreneurial risk-takers who are trying to gain a foothold against established competitors—who become deft at gaming the political system for advantages.”
Read MoreThe essence of conservatism is the recognition and acceptance of the flaws in human nature, and the need to build a political structure that mitigates it. Once government accepts a mission to improve upon his nature, the moral threat of power is muted. Once democracy is in the hands of unlimited political power, tyranny is almost assured. The founders understood this. Progressives rejected the political nature of man and replaced it with a mythical general will, antithetical to individual rights.
Read More“When you hand power over to planners, technocrats, or commissars to substitute their judgement for the rule of law, you are behaving like an outlaw, because you are literally outside the law.”
Read Morefrom George Will at The Washington Post, Why ‘repeal and replace’ will become ‘tweak and move on’ In 2009, President Barack Obama ignited a debate that has been, for many members of Congress and their constituents, embarrassingly clarifying. Back then,…
Read MoreFrom The Washington Post and George Will, Progressives are wrong about the essence of the Constitution: The fundamental division in U.S. politics is between those who take their bearings from the individual’s right to a capacious, indeed indefinite, realm of…
Read MoreIn National Review George Will reviews the new dystopian novel, The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047, by Lionel Shriver Florence learns to appreciate “the miracle of civilization.” It is miraculous because “failure and decay were the world’s natural state. What was astonishing was…
Read MoreFrom National Review, George Will writes ‘Big Government’ Is Ever Growing, on the Sly In his 2014 book “Bring Back the Bureaucrats,” he argued that because the public is, at least philosophically, against “big government,” government has prudently become stealthy…
Read Morefrom National Review, Who Will Protect Americans from the Protectionists? by George Will The tiny print on the back of iPhones accurately says they are “assembled,” not manufactured, in China. The American Enterprise Institute’s James Pethokoukis notes that parts come…
Read MoreFrom George Will at National Review, Where Justice Scalia Went Wrong: There is no philosophizing in the Constitution — until the Founders’ philosophy is infused into it by construing the document as a charter of government for a nation that…
Read Morefrom National Review, Who Will Protect Americans from the Protectionists? by George Will Today’s Republican administration promises protection against the destruction of American jobs by the Chinese, Mexicans, and other foreigners. The really prolific destroyers are: Americans. As Reason’s John Tamny says,…
Read MoreI attended a Hillsdale College Free Market Forum in Atlanta last week. I was able to meet Don Boudreaux from Café Hayek, one of my daily go to blogs, and Ronald Pestritto, a history professor at Hillsdale. Ron authored three…
Read MoreGeorge Will wrote an excellent piece in National Affairs, The Limits of Majority Rule. My very brief summary and a few comments: The Progressive pivot of about 1890- but reached in full bore under FDR is when democracy superseded liberty…
Read MoreFrom National Affairs George Will writes The Limits of Majority Rule. It is an excellent summary of the history of the court as it has moved from judicial review to activism. The success of Progressivism has hinged on the court shifting from…
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