Posted by
stevo on Thursday, August 30, 2007 1:28:29 AM
Is is time to reject the compassionate conservatism label along with the President who became its champion? To use an old cliche: Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. You might not appreciate the practical outworking of this philosophy in the Bush presidency, but it is crucial to true conservatism as an underriding philosophy.
"Compassionate conservatism" was not just a catch phrase for President Bush, it signaled a shift away from the social darwinism that has come to increasingly pollute all political philosophy--even modern conservatism. The American people know this. That is why half the electorate voted for the President in 2000. Conservatism is an attractive political philosophy, unless it comes to presuppose an optimistic view of human nature. According to the liberal philosophy, such a poor presupposition leads to a culture of entitlement. Human suffering and poverty are seen as both an anomaly and inherently curable. An entitlement society is made the means to a utopian dream.
When the faulty presupposition of a good human nature is employed by political conservatism, it inevitably becomes social darwinism. Instead of breeding entitlement, it breeds a sense of pride and accomplishment. Since the world is structured under the "survival of the fittest" scheme, conservatives who buy into this philosophy come to see themselves as "the fittest." All who aren't fit are seen as fundamentally weak, and deserving of their lower place in society due to their incompetence, stupidity, and laziness.
Thus, became of faulty presuppositions and an immoral philosophical system, conservatism has been defined as many as a libertarian free-for-all that ignores the downtrodden. Compassionate conservatism, however, comes to terms with human depravity. It realizes the subservience of the government to the family, local community, and religious institutions, but it also cares for the needs of those who slip through the net of these various institutions. Success is viewed as a blessing, and poverty is viewed as an object of compassion and relief. Instead of singing "God Bless America" with an air of having earned God's blessing, true conservatism should sing "God Bless America" as an acknowledgement of His undeserved mercy to our society.