Libertarian conservatism

Template:Right-libertarianism sidebar Libertarian conservatism, also known as conservative libertarianism (and sometimes called right-libertarianism), describes certain political ideologies which attempt to meld libertarian and conservative ideas. This is often called "fusionism," a term originated by Frank Meyer, a co-founder of National Review.

United States Representative Ron Paul is described as combining both libertarian and conservative "small government" ideas. Ronald Reagan often is quoted as saying: "I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism."

Philosophy

Anthony Gregory writes that both right, or conservative, "libertarianism can refer to any number of varying and at times mutually exclusive political orientations." He lists some as: being "interested mainly in 'economic freedoms'"; following the "conservative lifestyle of right-libertarians"; seeking "others to embrace their own conservative lifestyle"; considering big business "as a great victim of the state"; favoring a "strong national defense"; having "an Old Right opposition to empire." He holds that the real issue is not right or left but "whether a person sees the state as a major hazard or just another institution to be reformed and directed toward a political goal."

Freedom & Virtue: The Conservative Libertarian Debate, edited by George W. Carey, includes a number of essays which describe "the tension between liberty and morality" as "the main fault line dividing the two philosophies." Conservatives hold that shared values, morals, standards, and traditions are necessary for social order while libertarians consider individual liberty as the highest value. Libertarians who remained concerned with limiting the state but preserving cultural values may call themselves conservative libertarians in contrast to libertarians who actively seek to increase their lifestyle choices.

Laurence M. Vance writes: "Some libertarians consider libertarianism to be a lifestyle rather than a political philosophy....These "lifestyle" or "cosmopolitan" libertarians, some of whom – to the detriment of their cause – are condescending, pompous snobs, are not content with personally and culturally conservative libertarians (like Ron Paul) tolerating diversity; they want them to likewise celebrate depravity. They apparently don’t know the difference between libertarianism and libertinism." However, Edward Feser emphasizes that libertarianism does not require individuals to reject traditional conservative values.

Thomas DiLorenzo writes that libertarian conservatives (or "libertarian constitutionalists") believe that the way to limit government is to enforce the United States Constitution. However, DiLorenzo criticizes them, writing: "The fatal flaw in the thinking of the libertarian/conservative constitutionalists stems from their unawareness or willful ignorance of how the founders themselves believed the Constitution could be enforced: by the citizens of the free, independent, and sovereign states, not the federal judiciary."

Lew Rockwell describes the period when he and others advocated what they called "paleoism" which was "short for paleoconservatism (known for its alleged isolationism and heartland-style defense of localism) and paleolibertarianism (a term I used to distance Old Right libertarianism from the branch that cared nothing about stopping federal consolidation and US imperialism)."

Nelson Hultberg writes that there is "philosophical common ground" between libertarians and conservatives. "The true conservative movement was, from the start, a blend of political libertarianism, cultural conservatism, and non-interventionism abroad bequeathed to us via the Founding Fathers." He holds that such libertarian conservatism was "hijacked" by neoconservatism, "by the very enemies it was formed to fight– Fabians, New Dealers, welfarists, progressives, globalists, interventionists, militarists, nation builders, and all the rest of the collectivist ilk that was assiduously working to destroy the Founders' Republic of States."

Advocates

In the United States the Republican Liberty Caucus represents the Republican Party's libertarian movement. Other libertarian Republican groups include Institute for Policy Innovation, Americans for Limited Government, Americans for Tax Reform, headed by Grover Norquist, and the Club for Growth.

Other individuals often described as libertarian conservatives include: Howard Buffett, Thomas DiLorenzo, Jeff Flake, Barry Goldwater, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Israel Kirzner, Ilana Mercer, P.J. O'Rourke, Joseph Sobran, Jeffrey Tucker, Walter E. Williams, Thomas Woods and John Sims.

See also

• Anti-Communism
• Capitalism
• Common sense conservative
• Cultural conservatism
• Economic liberalism
• Federalism
• Freedom
• Individual rights
• Liberal conservatism
• Liberal theory of economics
• Manchester capitalism
• Market Economy
• Monetarism
• Natural law
• Negative liberty
• Open Economy
• Paleoliberalism
• Propertarian
• Supply-side economics
• The Global Economy
• Welfare Reform