How does Steven Rogers fit in here? He claims to be libertarian.
I claimed no such thing. I am very much in sympathy with the libertarians on some issues, but I am not inclined to swallow the entire fundamentalist libertarian platform. My mouth just doesn't open wide enough to swallow fundamentalist platforms of any kind.
He is socially liberal, but I have yet to hear him expound anything I would consider economically conservative.
You've obviously never seen me do the free trade-vs.-protectionism thing.
Seriously, though, if the issue is government intervention in the economy, this is what I think:
Think of the economy as a basketball game. Think of the executive branch of government as the referee. If the referee gets too strict and too intrusive, the game will never come to life. If the referee is too lenient, the game becomes a brawl. The trick is to let the game flow while making sure that the basic rules are followed, and that nobody gets maimed.
Some games need a lot more intervention than others. Some games may need no control at all. Some games may need to be called off completely, if the players can't behave.
The rules need to be clear, as simple as possible, and rooted in common sense, or the task of the referee becomes impossible. Both those who make the rules and those who enforce them need to understand and appreciate the game.
You can feel free to call that liberal or conservative. I don't call it anything, it's just the framework I use when I think about economic intervention. |
