An ideological diet

The meaning of smaller government

By Alexander Marlow
From the February 2006 Print Edition

My favorite part of the semester is the very first month. We have no work due, discussions are less pressured, and we can get an absence or two excused by telling our GSIs, “I have a conflict and I might drop this class.” During this month you may even, God forbid, have some free time on your hands. If you have a few minutes, I would like to offer up some literature that may interest many of you, especially Republicans: our party’s history.

It is refreshing to read the material the Republican National Committee provides us because it forcefully and eloquently answers the question “What is a Republican?” My favorite section is titled “I’m a Republican because …” For those of you who downloaded too many “Family Guy” episodes this week and exceeded your allotted bandwidth, here is a cheat sheet for the nine key principles outlined in this section:

I am a Republican because I believe: 1) in individual freedom, 2) in equal rights and opportunity, 3) in free enterprise, 4) in minimal taxation, 5) in minimal government, 6) the government should be close to the people, 7) in innovation, 8) in extending peace and freedom throughout the world, and 9) the Republican Party is the best way to translate these ideals into law.

In the RNC’s statement, the party professes an ideology akin to that of Henry David Thoreau, who said, “That government is best which governs least.” This party was established in order to preserve individuals’ rights and their ability to make decisions in the market and in the social sphere. The principals of personal responsibility and limited government make up the essence of the Republican Party and of libertarian ideology.

Although I am a Republican, I am also a lowercase-“l” libertarian. I maintain the basic libertarian political principles of economic conservatism and social liberalism. The Libertarian Party promotes a social structure that is borderline anarchistic and it espouses a naive foreign policy, so I have never considered registering as a member.

The core constituents of the Republican Party list themselves as “conservative,” an extremely vague label, assumed to mean both economically and socially conservative. However, is being a social conservative not reneging on those values set forth in Thoreau’s creed, and thus on true conservatism? Let’s examine.

The standard party line for conservative Republicans is the endorsement of a laissez-faire capitalist economy featuring a relatively low minimum wage; this is consistent with Thoreau. Yet they still insist on fighting the war on drugs, a war we lose more every day; seek to minimize abortion rights; and push for a constitutional amendment to prevent same-sex marriage. Larger government and extensive legislation are necessary for these social policies to be realized, and in the first two of these instances, even that is not going to stop the problems. It is inconsistent to laud minimal government while pushing for expansionist social policies.

When the Republican Party set out to define itself, it focused on minimal government, freedom of choice, and personal responsibility. The most idyllic elements of Republican philosophy are libertarian, and that is evidenced by the first statement of the Republican principles section of the GOP Web site: “I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.” It does not mention anything about a war on drugs, improved public education, restrictions on abortion, or prayer in schools.

The heart of the Republican Party is based on trust in the American people to make the best choices for themselves. Larry Elder, a leading libertarian Republican, said that his philosophy “believes Americans are smart enough, wise enough, mature enough, capable enough to manage their own affairs to the fullest extent possible.” The mantra set out by Elder is undeniably similar to the one that appears on the GOP Web site.

So what is the difference between a conservative Republican and a libertarian Republican? The libertarian Republican stays true to Republican ideals, while the “conservative” Republican compromises them. This is not such a bad thing, however, as conservative Republicans have been more successful at winning elections, which is one of the reasons why many libertarians align themselves with the Republican Party in the first place. At present, conservatives have accrued more political power, but they have done so often by pursuing policies that reach out to moderates and centrists.

The Bush family provides a poignant example of conservative’s inclination to move to the middle: President George H.W. Bush raised taxes, passed the Clean Air Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and complained that oil prices were too low; President George W. Bush, aside from expanding the government to the largest it has been in American history, once said, “the purpose of prosperity is to make sure that people aren’t left out.”

While conservative Republicans often run to the center to get elected, libertarian Republicans stand their ground: To quote Larry Elder again, “a libertarian says, stake out a persuasive, principled position, and the center will find you.” Perhaps our generation, the Reagan generation, will be the one in which the center does find us. Thanks to advances in technology, the principles of freedom and responsibility are all available online at the GOP Web site; I hope everyone gets a chance to read them.

Click here to read the counterpoint.

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