Could Obama be a conservative choice?
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Published July 21st, 2008
Or are McCain’s policies just so out of whack with conservative thought that conservatives don’t really have a choice? George Will presents yet another set of arguments for why today’s conservative Republican is potentially alone on an island.
While Will is on the mark with his first argument (Iraq policy) IMHO, i’m not solid with his second. Socialization of losses and the “govt bailout” is a long standing tradition among both parties (even the federalists if you count Hamilton’s push for federal assumption of state debt). I’m not sure exactly what conservative history Will is yearning for here. Reagan bailed out Continental Illinois, Nixon bailed out Lockheed Martin, and the current administration looks to be a revolving credit account for floundering corporate America.
Much of America’s great capitalism is built on a system of (as he says) “keeping profits private, but socializing losses”. From the small (the basic idea of a LLC), to the large (Bear Stearns), its a fundamental concept. Including Adam Smith’s “externalizing costs” and the idea of the “Tradgey of the Commons”, there is very little commerce in this country that does not in some shape or form have its risks and liabilities partially distributed to those with no stake or potential for profit from it.