By Albert DeSimone
Here stands the classical liberal, or some would say libertarian, but completely distinct from today’s social liberal. We are positioned between the politically promiscuous progressive far left and the gun-wielding, flag-toting, and proudly nationalistic far right.
We do not believe the extremist position that either the Republicans or the Democrats are an existential threat to our democracy/republic.
Whatever changes face America down the road, this nation is strong enough to make them without destroying itself.
Of course, I don’t speak for all classical liberals. We can be generally described as believers in limited government, advocates of individual rights, social programs provided in a fiscally responsible manner, capitalism is the best economic system, wealth is not evil, staunch supporters of the first and second amendments, Constitutional conservatism, and a fear of majority tyranny.
Being a classical liberal is much more than a set of talking points; it’s a life-long endeavor to seek bias elimination instead of bias confirmation. It’s more epistemology than ideology.
Following is a set of pressing topics today and how I, as a classical liberal, view them.
1. Abortion. I’m pro-choice but was anti-Roe. I also acknowledge the validity of the pro-life argument. I don’t see abortion as a privacy issue but as an Equal Protection issue. A female should not be compelled to do something a man can’t do.
2. Gender Rights. I have no interest in sexual proclivities. Whatever makes you happy or gets you through the night is fine with me. But do you have to stand on a street corner and announce it? If you do, please don’t expect me to.
3. Capitalism. The only reasonable economic system that rewards and encourages human progress and innovation through tangible reward. Left to its own devices, with minimal government intervention, the supply-demand model will provide a stable and successful free-market economy.
Adam Smith in “The Wealth of Nations” describes a successful economy as the “invisible hand.” Free-market forces are impossible to predict, which encourages people to act in their own self-interest. In so doing, they create an environment of employment and stability.
4. Social programs. Social assistance programs—Medicaid, SNAP, welfare—are a necessity to help those in times of need. Reliance on these programs should be monitored to make sure that welfare doesn’t become a career choice.
5. Taxes and Tariffs. Taxes are a necessary evil and a progressive tax system, as we have, is a necessary convention. I struggle with the logic of “the more you make, the more they take.” I have resigned myself to accepting this forced altruism.
Taxing income is one thing, but I am completely opposed to taxing wealth and even more opposed to taxing unrealized capital gains. You have the right to capitalize on your efforts and investments.
Tariffs are a strategy of last resort and should only be employed to achieve or ensure trade equilibrium.
6. The Fourth Branch. Less government is better government, but today the U.S. government has 438 agencies and sub-agencies employing more than 2.8 million people.
How do we even start chopping down the bureaucratic political sequoias in Washington, which are functioning as the government's fourth branch?
There are a few recent Supreme Court decisions that are a step in the right direction.
Overturning Chevron Deference returns legislative power to Congress and judicial power to the courts. Federal agencies were given too much legal interpretation of ambiguous law. I hope this decision influences Congress to create more specific laws.
The bump stock decision is a conundrum. I believe that the Trump administration’s ban on bump stock should have stood up in court. On the other hand, I was in support of the decision that the ATF had overstepped its bounds in making the decision.
7. Constitutional Conservatism. Classical liberals tend to see the Constitution through the lens of the Originalist/Textualist with the voice of Thomas Jefferson encouraging us to view the Constitution as a Living Document:
“On similar ground it may be proved that no society can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs always to the living generation.”
8. Separation of Church and State. The Establishment Clause in the First Amendment clearly says that the state must not interfere in the religious affairs of our society; however, it does not mandate a reciprocal arrangement.
That being the case, the church has every right to involve itself in the affairs of the state with no Constitutional violation. It can advocate its position as pro-life advocates, the sanctity of marriage, and other positions in the same way any advocacy group is entitled to do.
And, should it choose to do so, the state can express religious sentiments, as in the Oklahoma Ten Commandments controversy or “In God We Trust” on our currency, in our courts, or on our license plates. In fact, to disallow this expression is a violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
But does it create a tyrannous majority? Good question.
9. Second Amendment. The Second Amendment should be called the First Amendment Part 2. Without the Second Amendment, the First Amendment can’t be protected.
Are gun control measures reasonable? Of course, but let’s not lose sight of the original purpose of firearms.
10. Climate Control. Let’s just do the right thing here. Stop arguing the science. Clean up our planet, and especially atmospheric CO2, because it’s the healthy and intelligent thing to do.
Forget about the politics.
11. Immigration. Immigration is part of our DNA, and legal entry into the U.S. does provide benefits to its citizens, but there is never an excuse to enter illegally.
I am proud of the opportunities America offers, but it just can’t be obtained illegally.
We are in the throes of a true Robert Frost “Mending Wall” moment, a poem which speaks to both the necessity and folly of walls. It’s as much about “Before I built a wall I'd ask to know/What I was walling in or walling out” as “Good fences make good neighbors.”
It’s the old question: does liberty trump law and order or does law and order trump liberty?
I really wish I had a better answer than “sometimes.”
12. Affirmative Action. Maybe it’s time for hiring and college admissions practices to follow social norms and not legal mandates. Diversity has become intrinsically valued and no longer needs to be stigmatized by Affirmative Action.
The same applies to DEI programs. It is time to recognize that inclusionary attitudes have evolved to the point that specialized programs are no longer needed.
As I said at the outset, these views may not be the views of all classical liberals. We tend to be a free-thinking group. We abhor political classification; it functions only as a fence that encourages ideology and not epistomology.
Albert DeSimone is a retired University of Georgia information technologist now living in Bishop.
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