Double-Plus Liberty
Policy Review has an article by Tod Lindberg on Neoconservatism’s Liberal Legacy in which he argues that neocons, such as himself, are in fact liberals. Well, they serve a liberal agenda in that they balance freedom and equality in matters of public policy. The article strikes me as a bit of double-think, but there is a valid point being made, insofar as neoconservatives are operating within a democratic context. The gloss on the moral basis of the judgments serving the polarity of the neocon position, however, ultimately argues towards status quo more than it does towards positive change. Society will decide, ultimately what the neocon agenda is, by balancing any extremes therein with extremes from the opposite end of the political spectrum, with the ability of the public to accept greater equality for a greater number increasing as their own freedoms expand and can be more generous. Thus, gay rights, for example, will ultimately come to pass – or not – based on society’s ability and its intrinsic need to accept the equality of homosexuals once the rest of society’s freedom is no longer perceived as being threatened thereby. It’s a persuasive argument, but it boils down to: “I’ve got mine, Jack; screw you.” For all its truth, society can do better. Every change is a paradigm shift; every change is a revolution, at least insofar as you refuse to think critically and dispassionately from a standpoint outside your own selfishness. It is selfishness that pushes people to opposite ends of the political divide, and it is selfishness that keeps them there, mocking their opponents, attacking what they refuse to understand. “Free your mind, and the rest will follow,” as the saying goes, and it’s true: once you can step outside hidebound tradition, once you can see the other point of view, it becomes difficult indeed to be less than compassionate. Paul Wolfowitz and the like may claim the neoconservative label, and they may apply it to George Bush and his ilk, but they do not serve a compassionate purpose. The morality of Bush, the political agenda of the neocons in Washington DC, these seek to balance their freedom over the equality of others, judging according to their perception of the superiority of their own moral system. It’s circular, and it’s selfish.