Comments on: The Varieties of Conservative Collectivism

By: I Like Glenn Beck Because He’s Fun to Watch - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

I Like Glenn Beck Because He’s Fun to Watch - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:49:48 +0000

[...] It’s not enough to call him a bigot, a religious undesirable, a gay marriage lunatic, a closet collectivist, a Marxist/Alinskyan or blind; rejecting Beck has now become shorthand for "I’m a libertarian [...]

By: CD rates

CD rates — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:20:21 +0000

I think you are going to have to take economic externalities like Global Warming more seriously. I know you oppose carbon tariffs and I think I actually agree with you. Rich countries should bear the costs of global warming.

By: SquareRootofSarah

SquareRootofSarah — Sat, 23 May 2009 05:40:10 +0000

This reminds me of Hayek's “Individualism and the Economic Order”. Quite often, people who consider themselves both allies and enemies of 'individualism' are quite unclear what they mean by it – Rousseau considered himself an individualist, after all.

This is the first thing I've read by you. Interesting, though I'm not sure I agree with everything.

By: Steve Wells

Steve Wells — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:19:30 +0000

The facts of our contingent evolution have also resulted in our being composed of cells. Being composed of cells is at least as necessary to our existence as is our being social creatures and perhaps even more so.

Down with collectivism, up with cellism.

Read your Nicomachean Ethics Mr. Brooks. Aristotle had that one right. What makes us us is our ability to be cognizant, the fact that as individuals we are cognitive loci. Ultimately, that is why rights accrue to individuals and not collectives. Collectives cannot legitimately possess rights or exercise powers not delegated by individuals to the collective.

Further, individuals cannot delegate rights they do not possess.

By: Grodge

Grodge — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:44:40 +0000

“And individualism works. As Brooks himself notes, individualistic societies tend to be wealthier than collectivist ones. And studies show that individualistic societies, which emphasize choice and personal fulfillment, tend to produce happier people than do collectivist societies, which are anchored by conformity, honor, and inherited obligations. By almost any measure, individualism is a success.”

Are you implying that there is a cause and effect relationship? And if so, which causes which? I'd be interested in the empiric evidence.

By: Diabetes Supply

Diabetes Supply — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:16:25 +0000

I prefer the variety you guys have in the states where you can find either someone liberal, middle of the road or conservative.Should I just accept the fact that conservative girls will always be a minority in Europe?

By: Mario Rizzo

Mario Rizzo — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:51:01 +0000

I am reminded of a story I have heard about Ludwig von Mises at a Mount Pelerin Society meeting in the late 1940s or early 1950s. After a discussion of taxation and redistribution, Mises said to the largely conservative group, "You are all socialists." In the appendix to The Constitution of Liberty Hayek says that conservatives have more in common with socialists (collectivists) than they have in common with classical liberals. The collectivism of the two former groups gets manifested in different ways depending on the circumstances. But collectivism it is. Permit me to advertise my recent blog on a similar subject:
http://thinkmarkets.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/wh...

By: anon

anon — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:58:34 +0000

trying to limit government while embracing social liberalism.

No, social liberalism is also collectivist.

The areas where individual liberty overlaps with liberalism and conservatism are not areas where libertarians have "embraced" those collectivist ideologies.

By: Craig McGillivary

Craig McGillivary — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:17:51 +0000

At one time libertarians allied themselves with racists and nationalists like Glenn Beck because it is impossible to have a robust welfare state in a country deeply divided by race. It is nice to see that you reject this sort of thing and are trying to limit government while embracing social liberalism. I think there are a lot of areas where progress can be made in this respect, from better crime policy to means testing certain programs. That said I think you are going to have to take economic externalities like Global Warming more seriously. I know you oppose carbon tariffs and I think I actually agree with you. Rich countries should bear the costs of global warming. That said even if rich countries are bearing the costs we need poor countries to cooperate. The cheapest ways of reducing these emissions are in poor countries and so rich countries wanting to prevent global warming's worst effects see China as a great opportunity. This could be good for both rich countries and poor countries.

By: H.

H. — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:53:41 +0000

“What about Scandinavia?”

Scandinavian societies are highly individualistic.