Some doubt whether an intellectual conservatism can survive a wild campaign driven by populism and hyper-polarization. These cynics say that free enterprise is dead as a viable political cause and that America is destined be torn at the seams along class lines.
AEI President Arthur Brooks disagrees. During a wide ranging conversation with former White House adviser David Axelrod on his podcast “The Axe Files,” Brooks lays out his vision of a more humanistic conservatism. Needing the poor, Brooks argues, should be the guiding the light of conservatism and the moral center of our politics.
AEI President Arthur Brooks disagrees. During a wide ranging conversation with former White House adviser David Axelrod on his podcast “The Axe Files,” Brooks lays out his vision of a more humanistic conservatism. Needing the poor, Brooks argues, should be the guiding the light of conservatism and the moral center of our politics.
Discussion: (1 comment)
Andrew Bell
What I don’t see is the notion of “reasonable compromise” and a “moral heart” in most of the people who vote in the primaries of the party with which you’re aligned. Do you think that most Trump supporters really have an interest in legalization or normalization of citizenship, for example?
When you claim that Obama has governed with “division,” aren’t you simply admitting a lack of willingness to compromise on the part of Republicans? It wreaks of finger-pointing from a group of people who have doubled down on obstructionism (Merrick Garland, anyone?)
I’m all with you on the notion that college isn’t for everyone, but if free enterprise works as well as you claim, why don’t the those companies that need welders, for instance, hire and train people to do the work that they need? Why is it a prospective employee’s obligation to prepare to do technical work for a company? This is essentially a shift in cost and risk from employer to employee from the historic situation. (It is notable that apprentice arrangements are still strong in unionized trades.)
You also say that government has an obligation to step in where the market doesn’t work. It’s quite clear that the market doesn’t work well in healthcare. There is no price competition for most procedures and it’s not reasonable to expect people price shop for many medical services. Many services aren’t optional (or aren’t perceived as such). But the conservative line suggests less government intervention rather than more. (Yes, I’m happy to concede that the current state of affairs is awful.)
Your heart seems to be in the right place, but you still seem so attached to a theory of how things should work that you’re not quite ready to accept when reality doesn’t match theory.
P.S. – My wife teaches in a school in a small town. When asked what they want to do when they’re adults, a few of her students have said “live at home and play video games.” It’s sad. What you’re doing is important. But don’t let your preconceived notions get in the way of making a real difference.
When you claim that Obama has governed with “division,” aren’t you simply admitting a lack of willingness to compromise on the part of Republicans? It wreaks of finger-pointing from a group of people who have doubled down on obstructionism (Merrick Garland, anyone?)
I’m all with you on the notion that college isn’t for everyone, but if free enterprise works as well as you claim, why don’t the those companies that need welders, for instance, hire and train people to do the work that they need? Why is it a prospective employee’s obligation to prepare to do technical work for a company? This is essentially a shift in cost and risk from employer to employee from the historic situation. (It is notable that apprentice arrangements are still strong in unionized trades.)
You also say that government has an obligation to step in where the market doesn’t work. It’s quite clear that the market doesn’t work well in healthcare. There is no price competition for most procedures and it’s not reasonable to expect people price shop for many medical services. Many services aren’t optional (or aren’t perceived as such). But the conservative line suggests less government intervention rather than more. (Yes, I’m happy to concede that the current state of affairs is awful.)
Your heart seems to be in the right place, but you still seem so attached to a theory of how things should work that you’re not quite ready to accept when reality doesn’t match theory.
P.S. – My wife teaches in a school in a small town. When asked what they want to do when they’re adults, a few of her students have said “live at home and play video games.” It’s sad. What you’re doing is important. But don’t let your preconceived notions get in the way of making a real difference.
