From: howie@athena.mit.edu (Howard D Lewis)
Subject: classical liberalism  and culture
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 22:32:15 GMT

	With the election of Clinton, classical liberal ideology has seemed 
to take a severe political setback.  Clinton is sure to implement the 
liberal policies that have been to some degree kept in check by the two
previous Republican administrations.   Now bills like the Family Leave Act
are coming up again and possibly other similar legislation that have been
in the past vetoed by these administrations.   The Family Leave bill has
substantial public support, although the bill goes against some of the 
most fundemental principles of classical liberal thought not because of
what the bill itself contains, but rather that it represents governmental
intervention in  the private contract between an employee and an employer.
Other issues like cuts in capital gains taxes typical typically go against
the classical liberal thought because of the impression that it favors
Business and opposes the "common man."   The typicals arguements against 
these intrusions do not focus on questions of liberty, but rather on 
questions of efficiency or what satisfies "the common good," or the good of
"society."   This are almost always poor arguements simply because they
are the "liberal's" home field.    Freedom is often less efficient than the
collectivist approach.   What needs to be done is too argue on the basis
on establishing freedom and liberty to be noble and primary goals, rather
than being luxuries that can be discarded whenever "the good of society"
demands it.   
	But the "good of society" is the going method for determining 
public policy.  Mandatory family leave is good for society although it 
violates the freedom of the employer to make his or her own contracts with
employees.   The common perception is that the good of society takes 
precedent  over freedom.   And for the past decade or so classical liberals
and fiscal conservatives have argued over the efficiency issue which is not
the important issue in this debate.   While conservatives have been in 
Washington and libertarians have spent much time debating with liberals
on their ideological home field, the liberals have been gathering their
hold over the cultural apparatus of the country and this is the important
battle.
	Before classical liberal thought is implemented on the national
governmental level, the bases of classical liberal thought 
-individualism over collectivism- must be reintroduced into the public 
mindset.  While many people may not be swayed with
concise arguments about tax policy, they may be captivated by the notion of
individual property rights and the consequences of them.  While the liberals
flood the media with the glories of collectivism, the conservatives are 
still  lost debating the minutiae of the budget deficit.  Conservatives 
almost contrary to their nature are still wrestling for control of the 
government when the big battle is not over economic policy per se but 
rather the mindset which allows liberalism to run rampant, namely 
collectivism. There will be no cut in the capital gains tax as long as 
people think of it as a tax break to the bourgeois and fundementally 
anti-proletarian. It is of no use argueing along the lines of it is more 
efficient, simply because collectivism is often more efficient, not better 
but certainly more efficient.  It has to be argued for freedom's sake alone.
But that arguement will not be effective unless people see freedom as a 
concept that is worthy to be sought after for it's own sake.  Conservatives
(libertarians and objectivists as well) have to combat the images of class 
envy the permeate contempory culture and restore the notions of 
individualism and freedom American public.