Varney appears to have replaced the T-P’s
rotund, pale female true-believing liberal columnist, joining the retained relatively
thinner, dark male true-believing liberal one (and guest appearances seemingly
planned from the aged, pickled leftist curmudgeon) on its opinion roster –
which in and of itself is quite a statement. That balance now appears in the
offing for the paper’s assigned opinion writers shows that T-P management perceives in order to catch the eyeballs that have
begin deserting the printed word in droves, for the first time in decades it
might actually want to present on a regular basis arguments sympathetic to the
views of the majority in the metropolitan area, Louisiana, and in the country –
in full contradiction to its reliably liberal (if not the state media’s worst
offending) editorial page.
In his initial effort, Varney advances a question about why
conservative opinion journals seem rare around the area, concluding that he
doesn’t actually know why, only that digital offerings will increase access.
Well, after 30 years of writing conservative opinion pieces and having spent
about as long studying conservative philosophy in and out of the academy, some of
this in New Orleans and most of it in Louisiana, I can answer that for him.
Understanding the human condition and the behavior of them requires
considerable cognitive effort, for they are complex creatures. One can review
the actions and history of human beings and in pretty short order come up with surface,
facile explanation that play to certain emotions – the approach modern
liberalism has taken. But a truly, intellectual understanding based upon logic,
a comprehensive knowledge of history, and of the data that comes from it, that
strips away the emotive aspect is a much more demanding process. Modern
conservatism of the intellect demands that from thinkers.
However, that is something most individuals either, in some cases, do
not have the ability or, most cases, do not have the interest to pursue, or
both. Even many interested in politics don’t really want to think too deeply
about first principles, and work through why they are first principles. The
unexamined political life and coming to grips with verifying why you think what
you think for most is none of easy, relaxing, or enjoyable to them. While the
content of liberalism makes few demands in this regard, many with little
interest in stretching themselves cognitively do not share its prejudices.
Thus, many who adopt the conservative label are more accurately
described as “visceral conservatives,” or those who have an instinct telling
them conservatism is the most valid understanding of the human condition, but
who don’t really know why or can explain why it has the first principles that
it does. For example, they know that an economic system that allows for success
and minimizes interference is optimal, but can’t really explain why – unable to
articulate that because the nature of the uncoerced transactions in a market
direct capital in ways where its best use for society gets made according to
society’s preferences, thus those by their use of the capital who create the
greatest wealth for all in society in an absolute sense also individually
acquire in a relative sense the greatest wealth, and vice-versa; in other
words, you earn in proportion to what you have contributed to society, and any
interference with this that by definition will dampen achievement by all for
all comes as a function of willingness to trade off this better state of existing
with other political values.
The distribution of political beliefs, including the conservative subset,
is determined by the worth society places on classic, critical thinking-based education
and on a political culture that puts merit on political decisions made on the
basis of issue content, as opposed to personality, kinship, cronyism, etc.
Unfortunately, historically Louisiana has deemphasized this kind of education
and its political culture has thrived on a personalistic kind of politics that
puts primacy of electoral decisions on the candidate’s qualities as individuals
and their social placement, not on an intellectual parsing of issue preferences
expressed.
Both have combined to produce a populist persuasion that plays to
emotions, not reason, in politics. While the natural home of emotive politics is
on the left, because populism makes as the locus of politics entities
(individuals and collectivities) rather than ideas, it also can incorporate the
surface elements of conservatism. For example, instead of “corporations” being
the bane as by liberalism, which believes this out of lack of understanding, “big
government” or other “special interests” become objects of negative political
evaluation by visceral conservatives, who can see why but cannot explain that
to any depth even as that does comport to fact and logic.
And the likes of National Review, The
American Spectator, the Weekly Standard, Commentary,
etc., seldom show up on their reading lists as a result. So when you have a
population that is majority conservative, but overweighed with those of the
visceral kind, you won’t expect much call for this kind of reading material. To
answer Varney’s query, it’s a demand function.
1 comment:
THIS IS MUCH MORE INTERESTING THAN THE BLOG AND IS WORTH REPEATING!
Letter to the Editor of The Advocate from a citizen of Iowa published yesterday:
"Your Governor, Bobby Jindal, has traveled from town to town across Iowa crusading against gay marriage. Many suspect he's already campaigning for the 2016 Iowa Presidential Caucuses.
We Iowans were recently subjected to an endless parade of Republican candidates during the 2012 Presidential Caucuses. We really don't need Gov. Jindal's wisdom and advice for the next four years.
Please call back your governor and find something for him to do. Aren't there any homosexuals to persecute in Louisiana?"
Query: Is the Governor drawing his state salary during this time he is campaigning in Iowa? and for all the other time he spends out-of-state campaigning, etc., instead of performing his official duties? If he is, isn't that a violation of law?
Query to the writer of the letter: Can't you please keep him in Iowa?
Query: Do these appear to be the actions of a man "who has the job he wants"?
Post a Comment