I am working on a book of political philosophy, with this blog serving as a test space. The book, roughly patterned after Barry Goldwater’s The Conscious of a Conservative, will outline a new moderate politics for the 21st century. It is based on balancing the two essential systems of American social organization: citizenship and capitalism. Briefly, I define these two systems as follows:
- Capitalism: This is the dynamic system of individual choice, private property, and market value. Capitalist systems value individuals unequally based on their wealth and ability to contribute to the market. They are driven by competition and shielded from non-market forces.
- Citizenship: This is the more stable system of community action, shared rights, and equality. Citizenship systems value individuals equally based on their membership in the community and God-given rights as human beings. They are driven by a shared sense of humanity and shielded from market forces.
America is at its greatest when these two systems are in harmony, when the benefits of capitalism are enjoyed widely by its citizens. For more on these general concepts, see these posts: Capitalism and the Worth of the Individual; Citizenship as a Foundation; and When Capitalism and Citizenship Collide. Or read about how these concepts apply to such real-life issues as Health Care; Natural Gas Drilling; City Services (Part I and Part II); and Airport Security.
On this blog you will find a mix of policy analysis and proposals seeking this harmony, comments about the principles that would lead to a more productive political practice (what I call moderate politics), and other observations about contemporary politics. For coverage of particular policy areas, see the tabs above or select a category at right.
Comments Policy
I reserve the right to moderate comments and to remove those that are offensive in content, style, or tone. I welcome debate of ideas, criticism of my statements, questions, and arguments in good faith. I do not welcome and will not accept any personal attacks (of myself or others) or grandstanding. As this was designed as part of a personal project rather than a public service forum, I encourage those looking for a place to push their own agenda to create their own blog. This goes for spam comments especially.