You can look at this essay, which I think does a fair job defending Canadian writer Mark Steyn's point of view, as kind of a neo-conservative companion piece to the essay by U.S. commentator Charles Krauthammer that I just posted. (Note: I'm not certain that either author actually identifies as neo-conservative, but the shoe appears to fit at least loosely.) By no means do I fully endorse either view, and whatever merit they do possess certainly does not extend to other neoconservative ideas like the embrace of wiretapping and torture, or economic neo-imperialism, but I think they both raise powerful points that deserve to be argued and discussed. I think the credo that reviewer David Solway says Steyn formulates at the end of his book -- "anything that shifts power from the individual judgment of the free citizen to government is a bad thing” -- should give pause to any libertarians tempted to simply write him off.
Both these treatises, the former on America's political and economic place in the world, the latter taking Western civilization rather than America as its frame of reference, are rather sobering and gloomy. I certainly hope they are wrong. But to prove them wrong, I believe we need a resurgent libertarian-spirited optimism that can offer a compelling vision of the future that is culturally strong enough, and has enough belief in itself and willpower behind it, to carry the day, not just in this country, but worldwide, because we are all a melting pot now, and the question of what flavor the stew is will be determined by how much of various ingredients go into it, and the vitality of those ingredients. It is a tall order, but I don't think we can afford not to take it seriously.
Again, I am curious to hear your thoughtful comments.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))