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March 30, 2005
Jonah In The Zone
Jonah Goldberg is in mid-season form over at Opinion Duel. His column is in response to an article in The New Republic by Jonathan Chaitt (it's listed under Jonah's column). The topic, according to Jonah, is Chaitt's assertion "that liberals are demonstrably and obviously more 'reality-based' than conservatives are." Goldberg:
Let me explain what conservatives — or at least the ones Jonathan is referring to — do and don't believe. It's true that some — and I hope most — conservatives still believe that limited government is a good in and of itself. Smaller government — which I like very much, by the way — is a sloppy shorthand for the conservative's true desire for a government that has very defined responsibilities that it does not exceed without very good cause. Hence, conservatives who believe in limited government also believe in a government that protects us from foreign enemies, enforces contracts and civil rights, etc. A government that isn't activist in upholding the rule of law endangers freedom. I bring this up because it isn't accurate to say that all conservatives believe that merely "shrinking" the government increases freedom.
Emphasis mine. This comes very close to my own definition of conservatism. I just don't identify with the hard-core libertarians who would love nothing more than to shrink government (including the armed forces) down to a nineteenth century level.
I want efficient government, and efficiency can be achieved only through ruthless empirical evaluation. And notice: I am perfectly fine with that empiricism being driven by high ideals. It is the implementation that requires the reality check.
Chaitt's response is due tomorrow at Opinion Duel.
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