Writing at popecenter.org, Duke Cheston discusses the rise of libertarianism on college campuses. Here’s Cheston’s take:
Establishment conservatives are leery of the young libertarians for several reasons. Some, like Lindsey Graham and John McCain (who recently dismissed them as “libertarian kids,” much to the delight of YAL members), say they are naïve about world politics. Others, like National Review’s Jonah Goldberg, believe that a coalition of social liberals and fiscal conservatives–the kind the libertarians hope to build–would be disastrously ineffective in terms of actually limiting the size of government. In practice, Goldberg notes, strong social conservative credentials tend to coincide with effectiveness in lowering taxes. Social conservatives tend to vote for tax cutters and are crucial in efforts to limit government. Moreover, many people who describe themselves as socially liberal and fiscally conservative–those people that Kate O’Beirne dubbed the “jackalopes of American politics”–tend to vote Democrat, making it clear that they care more about social liberalism than fiscal conservatism.
As I see it, here’s the problem. Social liberalism — with its ‘live and let live’ approach to culture and mores — contributes mightily to the decline of society. Unless one is grounded in truth — that we as individuals must help others, that there IS right and wrong, that we must put limits on our behavior and reject temptations — then we are part of the problem. Look around. We are where are today thanks, in part, to social liberalism.
