Monday, August 28, 2006
Where Have All the Conservatives Gone
I know many in left blogistan would disagree with me, but the worst problem with today's political discourse is not the lack of progressive voices -- although there is something dangerously unbalanced with a political discourse which labels the likes of me as beyond the left edge of the mainstream (compare where I stand, e.g. on Israel with the views of actual Israelis ... my views would hardly be considered extreme, even if they would be further to the left of Labor, in a country with parties like Me'eretz regularly getting seats in Knesset, but look at how even liberal Jews would construct my views in this country's political discourse) and misrepresents the views of my political ilk to be something more of a straw-ideology than our views actually are -- but the lack of conservative voices.
We have plenty of reactionary voices, to be sure, but that is something different. When progressives propose changes, of course the reactionaries are happy to provide a conservative voice and ask "what's the cost of this change? is it necessary? will its effects be futile or perverse?" ... but where are the thorough-going conservatives who would ask such questions of the policy proposals of the reactionaries? How come nobody on the right is asking, when the admin. proposes some quasi-unconstitutional methods, ostensibly to catch terrorists, "what's the cost of this change? is it necessary?"? How come only paleo-conservative reactionaries (my plea is not a plea for a return of paleo-conservatism: indeed, I fear that, as some have pointed out, GW Bush & CO may be more analogous to Germany's WWI leadership than to the Nazis in which case it is the return of paleo-conservatism that we have to fear) voiced opposition to GW Bush's Iraq adventure? How come no conservatives were asking "what are the costs, to both us and the Iraqis, of regime change? will its effects be futile or perverse?".
It seems that the "mainstream" political discourse only talks about the benefits of reactionary programs and never the costs (with the situation being reversed to some degree for progressive programs) ... we have at least, an internet fed (receiving much opposition from the MSM, naturally, but even from people who you'd think would support us -- those concerned about media commercialization -- who nonetheless buy into the MSM's line that we are "angry") progressive movement talking about the benefits of progressive plans ... but where is a conservative movement to finally introduce some concepts of costs to discussions of reactionary foreign and domestic policies and so-called neo-liberal economics, etc?
We have plenty of reactionary voices, to be sure, but that is something different. When progressives propose changes, of course the reactionaries are happy to provide a conservative voice and ask "what's the cost of this change? is it necessary? will its effects be futile or perverse?" ... but where are the thorough-going conservatives who would ask such questions of the policy proposals of the reactionaries? How come nobody on the right is asking, when the admin. proposes some quasi-unconstitutional methods, ostensibly to catch terrorists, "what's the cost of this change? is it necessary?"? How come only paleo-conservative reactionaries (my plea is not a plea for a return of paleo-conservatism: indeed, I fear that, as some have pointed out, GW Bush & CO may be more analogous to Germany's WWI leadership than to the Nazis in which case it is the return of paleo-conservatism that we have to fear) voiced opposition to GW Bush's Iraq adventure? How come no conservatives were asking "what are the costs, to both us and the Iraqis, of regime change? will its effects be futile or perverse?".
It seems that the "mainstream" political discourse only talks about the benefits of reactionary programs and never the costs (with the situation being reversed to some degree for progressive programs) ... we have at least, an internet fed (receiving much opposition from the MSM, naturally, but even from people who you'd think would support us -- those concerned about media commercialization -- who nonetheless buy into the MSM's line that we are "angry") progressive movement talking about the benefits of progressive plans ... but where is a conservative movement to finally introduce some concepts of costs to discussions of reactionary foreign and domestic policies and so-called neo-liberal economics, etc?
# posted by alberich @ 7:37 PM 
