Bryan Fischer
Libertarianism will destroy, not save, the GOP
By Bryan Fischer
Pundits such as the atheist George Will have been celebrating what they see as a kind of resurgent libertarianism at last weekend's CPAC, and virtually slobbering all over themselves, giddy with excitement that this represents the salvation of the Republican Party. It doesn't.
Libertarianism has one sole redeeming political virtue and one only: it takes all those pesky moral issues like gay marriage, illegitimacy and drugs right off the table. Vote for me, cuz I'm for whatever floats your boat. It's easy to see how this could appeal to some immature, inexperienced, narcissistic twenty-somethings, but it's not an adult view of public life and will destroy any country which embraces it.
The Founders were decidedly not libertarians on moral and social issues. They were, as a matter of fact, libertarians on economic issues (low taxes, less regulation), and so should we be today. The view of the Founders was simple: economically libertarian, socially conservative. The tug right now is to pull the conservative movement out of its proper groove, championing moral restraint, hard work, marriage and family, into an anything-goes orbit which will send it flying off into deep space and oblivion.
We already have a party that is morally libertarian. If you want to see where moral libertarianism takes you, look at cities that have been run by Democrats for decades. They are places where nobody will ever hassle you about morally improper choices. If social libertarianism worked, these cities should be paradise on earth. Anybody want to move to Detroit?
A mature approach to a nation's politics is simple and straightforward, and it is the approach that energized and informed the Founders. It is this. Society is centered in the family. The ideal is for a man to reserve his sexual energies exclusively for marriage, and channel his sexual energies into that relationship, conceiving children with his wife out of their mutual love and commitment, bringing them into the world, and raising them to be responsible adults.
A man is to work hard with his own hands, provide for his family, and be generous with his income to help those who are less fortunate. A man does not expect anything to be given to him, and understands that whatever he acquires, it is up to him to earn.
If you ask most teenagers about their dreams for the future, you will find that the overwhelming majority of them want to be happily and faithfully married. They would love to have children, have a job they enjoy and be in a stable place financially. There is no reason why politicians – yes, politicians on the stump – cannot appeal to that hunger in young hearts by appealing to young audiences to make the decisions today that will help them realize their dreams tomorrow.
Because of the importance of marriage and family to a nation's health, and given the tendency of the young and immature to self-indulgence, society needs to provide guardrails to help our young men and women channel their sexual energies into marriage. We should have sanctions against sexual immorality, adultery, and indolence.This is why, at a minimum, we should not subsidize illegitimacy with taxpayer-funded benefits, provide taxpayer-funded assistance to those who will not work, and get rid of no-fault divorce which has accelerated the collapse of the institution of the family in America.
John Adams famously said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Whatever else that is, it is hardly libertarian.
Social libertarianism is ultimately a juvenile, even childish point of view. We need adults in the room, and that's supposed to be the Republican Party. Time to grow up, guys.
© Bryan Fischer
March 19, 2013
Pundits such as the atheist George Will have been celebrating what they see as a kind of resurgent libertarianism at last weekend's CPAC, and virtually slobbering all over themselves, giddy with excitement that this represents the salvation of the Republican Party. It doesn't.
Libertarianism has one sole redeeming political virtue and one only: it takes all those pesky moral issues like gay marriage, illegitimacy and drugs right off the table. Vote for me, cuz I'm for whatever floats your boat. It's easy to see how this could appeal to some immature, inexperienced, narcissistic twenty-somethings, but it's not an adult view of public life and will destroy any country which embraces it.
The Founders were decidedly not libertarians on moral and social issues. They were, as a matter of fact, libertarians on economic issues (low taxes, less regulation), and so should we be today. The view of the Founders was simple: economically libertarian, socially conservative. The tug right now is to pull the conservative movement out of its proper groove, championing moral restraint, hard work, marriage and family, into an anything-goes orbit which will send it flying off into deep space and oblivion.
We already have a party that is morally libertarian. If you want to see where moral libertarianism takes you, look at cities that have been run by Democrats for decades. They are places where nobody will ever hassle you about morally improper choices. If social libertarianism worked, these cities should be paradise on earth. Anybody want to move to Detroit?
A mature approach to a nation's politics is simple and straightforward, and it is the approach that energized and informed the Founders. It is this. Society is centered in the family. The ideal is for a man to reserve his sexual energies exclusively for marriage, and channel his sexual energies into that relationship, conceiving children with his wife out of their mutual love and commitment, bringing them into the world, and raising them to be responsible adults.
A man is to work hard with his own hands, provide for his family, and be generous with his income to help those who are less fortunate. A man does not expect anything to be given to him, and understands that whatever he acquires, it is up to him to earn.
If you ask most teenagers about their dreams for the future, you will find that the overwhelming majority of them want to be happily and faithfully married. They would love to have children, have a job they enjoy and be in a stable place financially. There is no reason why politicians – yes, politicians on the stump – cannot appeal to that hunger in young hearts by appealing to young audiences to make the decisions today that will help them realize their dreams tomorrow.
Because of the importance of marriage and family to a nation's health, and given the tendency of the young and immature to self-indulgence, society needs to provide guardrails to help our young men and women channel their sexual energies into marriage. We should have sanctions against sexual immorality, adultery, and indolence.This is why, at a minimum, we should not subsidize illegitimacy with taxpayer-funded benefits, provide taxpayer-funded assistance to those who will not work, and get rid of no-fault divorce which has accelerated the collapse of the institution of the family in America.
John Adams famously said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Whatever else that is, it is hardly libertarian.
Social libertarianism is ultimately a juvenile, even childish point of view. We need adults in the room, and that's supposed to be the Republican Party. Time to grow up, guys.
© Bryan Fischer
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