In a recent Twitter posting from Matt Walsh from TheBlaze, he stated what he believed the core principles of conservatism are. These principles were primarily concerned with protecting marriage, the family, and human life. So I posted a question to him. Would a conservative that didn’t believe in protecting these principles be a libertarian instead?
https://twitter.com/KonRoditis/status/909075936175308800
In response, Matt Walsh stated:
Libertarianism is even more useless than mainstream conservatism https://t.co/sbFx6njBJb
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 16, 2017
Unfortunately, he never answered my question, but then I started thinking to myself. What are the differences between conservatism and libertarianism? There are so many similarities between the two political philosophies but what makes them different? They both believe in limited government and individual freedom. These beliefs guide the majority of policies these two camps espouse, but the question is, what is the fundamental foundational principles that separate these two philosophies?
Is worldview the difference?
After thinking about it. In my opinion, the difference between the two must come down to differing worldviews. You might be asking what a worldview is? A worldview is simply the lens we use to understand the world around us. It is the foundation of our thought process and determines what we believe. For instance, I once spoke at a Republican event and told the audience that if you wanted to win elections in California, you must first win the worldview argument. You have to change people’s worldview, or you will never win and have actual change.
You see worldview will determine your position on taxes, big government or limited government. It is the key to everything. If you can change a person’s worldview, you will change their position on a host of issues.
What are those differences?
I believe the differences may lie in the theological concept known as total depravity. A basic understanding of the doctrine of total depravity teaches that all human beings are morally corrupt from birth. I believe that conservatives even though they may not hold to total depravity as a theological concept, they do unknowingly hold to this view as a part of their worldview. Contrastly, a libertarians’ worldview does not hold to the moral corruption of man.
You see, libertarianism believes in limited government because they believe that government is the issue, not man. They believe that people are inherently good and the free market should be void of regulations. People will act in their self-interest, and even though some bad apples will exist, the free market will drive them out of business, and thus you will create a utopia. Libertarianism isn’t, for the most part, full board anarchism, but it is closer to anarchism than conservatism.
People are not angels
The reason they are closer to an anarchist, than conservativism, is that conservatism believes that government is a problem because men are not angels. In Federalist 51, it states:
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
People are not angels. They are morally corrupt. This doesn’t mean of course that there are no noble people out there. It just means that we understand the fundamental problem with mankind. Therefore, we cannot and will not give too much power to anyone. We don’t want too much power in the hands of politicians, but at the same time, we know if we allow people and corporations to do what they want they will eventually act immorally to maximize profits and power.
Slavery is a perfect example of this. You not only had government approved slavery throughout human history, but you still have individuals today involved in slavery.
Why I’m a conservative
The reason why I’m a conservative and not a libertarian is, the simple fact that men are not angels. I agree with libertarians that we need limited government, but I also believe that a limited government needs to be strong in its enumerated powers. The Founding Fathers understood this dilemma. How do you create a government administered by men over men and at the same time keep the government in check?
That is the dilemma we as conservatives continually face. How to minimize the moral corruption of men. It is a never-ending struggle.
Conservatism doesn’t have all the answers, no one does. But the reason conservativism is different and superior to libertarianism, in my opinion, is because conservatism has a far superior worldview.
Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We just launched a new GiveSendGo page. We also have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker
