Thread by @PaulHRosenberg

Behind All The Hucksters, Liberalism is the True Conservatism: Liberalism delivers what conservatism falsely promises 1/11 salon.com/2021/03/27/can…

The ends conservatives hold out — preserving social order, local integrity, historical continuity, respect for authority, high levels of personal morality and religion's place as a polestar in people's lives — cannot be met by the means they insist on. 2/11

Conservative temperament and character traits are part of human nature, that should be thought of as gifts," as @dannagal told me: 3/11

But conservative *politics* has been profoundly irresponsible—repeatedly failing to deliver on its promises: 4/11

Only liberal means can deliver what *healthy* conservatives want. As I wrote 15 years ago: You preserve social order by including the so-called "undesirables." You grant them the dignity they deserve, simply for being human, and they proceed to act with dignity: 5/11

You preserve religion's place as a polestar in people's lives precisely by keeping it separate from the vagaries of politics, where change is the only constant, and compromise a guiding principle. Render unto God that which is God, and unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. 6/11

You preserve the integrity of local communities and their institutions by engaging the power of state and national government to deal with problems that are too large for them to handle, that would utterly break them if they were left to stand alone. 7/11

You maintain historical continuity, and respect for the nation's traditions by rethinking both in the light of new experience, and the experience of new Americans. Self-reinvention is our most hallowed tradition. 8/11

You command respect for authority by exercising authority with respect for the people, who are the only legitimate source of authority. 9/11

You preserve the highest levels of personal morality, first, by granting people the freedom to discover its logic for themselves, and embrace it as their own freely chosen commitment, and second, by insisting on the public morality of a just and equitable social order. 10/11

These are highlights of my argument. Read the whole story here: 11/11
salon.com/2021/03/27/can…