The Conservative Philosophy

Listed are samplings of Conservative beliefs.  More informed and researched arguments are forthcoming to the YCC website.

"That government is best which governs the least" - Thomas Jefferson

"Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them" - Ronald Reagan

Conservatism is not easy to define.  Mark Levin explains that the "Conservative also recognizes in a society a harmony of interests, as Adam Smith put it, and rules of cooperation that have developed through generations of human experience and collective reasoning that promote the betterment of the individual and society.  This is characterized as ordered liberty, the social contract, or the civil society" (Liberty and Tyranny 3).  Levin defines the Conservative as someone who believes in the worth and power of the individual who looks after his and his family's interests while respecting the unalienable rights of others.  This system is the same system that fuels the "invisible hand" of the free market and the order and liberty of a society with minimal government.  Conservatism takes on many forms, from Neo-Conservatism (emphasis on national defense), Libertarianism (emphasis on the freedoms of the individual), and Social Conservatism (emphasis on faith and values), among many others, but all forms of Conservatism share a belief in the worth of the individual, who is the backbone of the civil society.

Government Spending

Any government that uses taxes revenues to fund its operations is inherently inefficient.  Employees of the federal government are at very little risk of losing their jobs and handle other peoples' money in the form of taxes.  There is no incentive for a government employee, official or agency to conduct business more efficiently because they have nothing to economically gain.  The U.S. Postal Service has a governmentally instituted monopoly over the door-to-door postal service, but it is still extremely inefficient and wasteful.  It seems that the only time a monopoly can lose money is if the government runs it.  The more the government spends, the more money it diverts from the private sector, through taxes, to fund countless wasteful programs like the Postal Service.  The U.S. economy needs to improve through economic growth and not government growth.

Immigration

The United States borders necessarily need to be secured in the interest of national security.  Further, although it is true America is a "melting pot," the large influx of illegal immigration has begun to change our culture.  This is the culture this country has thrived under for more than 200 years.  The job of the government, elected by the citizens of this country, is to protect the culture as the citizens demand.  Immigration in the United States from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries was a story of the assimilation of new peoples into the American culture.  Modern immigrants are not seeking to assimilate into the American culture, instead they are seeking to overpower the culture.  The government must preserve the American culture and values that have served us so well for so many years.  In addition, with the expanse of progressive social programs, illegal immigrants and low wage immigrants are finding ways to send their children to public schools, receive medical treatment from hospitals, and collect welfare checks and food stamps in the United States.  Illegal immigrants and low wage immigrants pay little or nothing into the tax base while sucking funds from it.  Harvard University professor George Borjas has said "Being without work in the United States is still far better for most people than being employed in Central America."  Large numbers of illegal immigrants also fill low wage, low skill job openings that could be entry level jobs for many Americans.  Immigrants willing to work at low wages drastically reduce the number of Americans employed at low wage jobs.  

The Environment and Alternative Energy

The Conservative is not against researching and using alternative energy sources.  However, the Conservative believes in careful and calculated changes to alternative energy sources.  The market must be allowed to work to fund research opportunities and to find the economic incentive to switch to alternative energies.  Many scientists agree that nuclear power is the best alternative to coal power plants, but the government has halted new nuclear power plant construction for thirty years.  The government and the people of this country became fearful of accidents like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island and they ignored science.  The Conservative believes in a unification of science and the economy to create the most cost effective and useful means of adjusting to alternative energies.  Global warming is another example of public hysteria fueled by the media, like the reaction against nuclear power.  Bjorn Lomborg's book Cool It recognizes the science behind global warming and concludes that treaties like the Kyoto Protocol will have very limited environmental effects with extremely high costs.  The United States needs to remain economically competitive in the modern world, especially in the face of the huge growth of communist China.  We need to combine the best of the economy and of science before we bankrupt our economy.

The Economy

The Conservative, through a belief in the value and worth of the individual, places faith in the free market.  The free market is the system through which the United States has become the richest country in the world in a fraction of the time of other nations.  Today, the free market is wrongfully attacked and its power forgotten.  The capitalist system, by use of competition and private property, has resulted in most of the innovation and increase in the standard of living the United States has enjoyed.  Competition between companies results in lower prices and better products, which can be considered a major victory for the consumer.  The government cannot interfere in the economy, because whenever prices are fixed or taxes collected, the efficiency of the capitalist system is tarnished.  The government should be held to a laissez-faire policy that protects property rights and promotes competition but does not affect the efficiency of the market.