| From the MOLP@yahoogroups.com
list on 12/22/2001
Feser's statements about different arguments for libertarianism are
in fact interesting and worth reading.
But his stance on conservatism is weak, as are his criticisms of
certain libertarians. He views conservatism as a monolithical
philosophy while criticizing different libertarians for not being
monolithical themselves. However, conservatism is NOT
monolithical, which is especially noticable if you look at the
conservatism, say, of Barry Goldwater and that of John Ashcroft -- or of
George Will. The majority of today's conservatives seem to have
abandoned the idea that government should be limited, and instead argue
that it should be powerful so that it can impose
"conservative" values on society. THIS is the
conservatism that we have to deal with today, not his idealized view of
conservatism that only existed in the distant past, if ever. He
says that libertarians view "traditionalists" (conservatives)
as "a force on the political Right that libertarians ought to
oppose as staunchly as they do the socialists to their Left".
He thinks we should NOT view John Ashcroft that way????? Sorry.
His apparent hopes to win libertarians "back" into a dying
conservative camp are delusional.
Gordon Rogers |
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