I’ve been thinking a lot about my political views lately. How they have changed. It’s not that I don’t believe the same things I did before, it’s just that I have come to realize that my views were almost wholly philosophical in that they were not based on the way our world is actually set up.
There is little practical use for a political ideology like that, which is why I often found myself disillusioned.
To sort of sum up, since many of you were not readers of “She’s Right,” and others of you had me all wrong anyway, I was (am) basically a libertarian – less government restrictions on personal and business choices, more freedom; what government we do have should be locally controlled to the greatest extent possible; and the primary function of the federal government should be limited to those things that the states can’t do (ie defense, disaster relief, infrastructure, printing money, etc.).
There’s nothing wrong with that political philosophy. I still believe that we need to always come down on the side of more personal freedoms and less government.
However, we do have a big government. That is just reality. I am not saying that we should resign ourselves to that fact, but we do need to operate within that framework in a sensible way.
For example, if we are talking about what to do about, say, welfare, it makes no sense to debate whether or not the federal government has a constitutional right to even have social programs, or to suggest that we get rid of government social programs and care for the poor through a network of private charities, or philosophize about the evils of forced benevolence – all things I have done in the past. It makes no sense because that is not where we are. The government does have social programs and the Supreme Court has not ruled them unconstitutional. A network of private charities large enough to take over the government’s role in caring for the poor does not presently exist.
I’m not saying that we should not work to make changes to our bloated government. I am not saying that we should not push back against any further expansion of government. I am not saying that we should not err on the side of freedom when considering new legislation. And I am certainly not saying that other libertarians should shut up.
We need all voices and perspectives on the table.
I am just saying that for me personally, I have started to take a more pragmatic view of government. I find it less maddening, for one thing, because I am not fighting against the currents of reality. For another, I can actually find candidates I support, rather than holding a fringe view that leaves me with no good choices on the ballot.
I will talk more about my evolving political views in the context of current issues in the coming weeks and months, as we head toward the fall elections. As always, I hope you will join me in the comments for discussion.
