First Principles

Andrew Breitbart launched an awesome new blog today, a clearinghouse of Hollywood Conservatives blogging together in a site called “Big Hollywood.”  In my mind, this is a critical step in the rebirth of real conservatism in America.  I’m linking to it, and will check it often.

One of the big differences between conservatives and libertarians, in my view, and the fatal flaw of Libertarianism as a sustainable and useful political philosophy, is that conservatives understand the critical role of culture in society.  I think many libertarians think they can distance themselves from the culture, which is why you tend to see many amongst their most ardent ranks that reject all religion – a foundational and critical component to the history and future of Western Civilization.

But people by their nature abhor anarchy, and will always prefer order to chaos.  That sounds antithetical to my belief that people also, for the most part, will seek to maximize their own freedom, but it’s not.  There is little question that a single person has no real freedom in an actual state of anarchy.

In order for any philosophy of limited government to survive these two natural human impulses, there must be a strong culture which, while keeping things voluntary, still provides powerful incentives to conform with societally beneficial behavior.

The “voluntary” is key here – those who seek to use the power of government to impose religiosity on a populace aren’t conservative at all.

For example, infidelity and promiscuity unquestionably have negative personal and societal consequences.  But to make those things illegal – and to enforce that law – would be to sacrifice a huge amount of individual freedom.  And that would be far worse for both individuals and society as a whole.

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And that brings it back to Hollywood.  What we see every day in our popular culture impacts us whether we like it or not.  I remember in 6th Grade feeling like I was missing out on all the sex everyone else in my class must be having – mostly because I watched too many trashy sitcoms at that age.  (Fortunately for me, I was far, far too nerdy to have ever followed those television examples.)

Conservatism in Hollywood isn’t dead, but it is forced to hide behind superhero costumes and worlds of fantasy.  But that’s not nothing.  Spider-Man still outsells anti-war flicks any day of the week.

And let’s be honest – Conservatism isn’t cool right now, and cool matters.  I’m not willing to sacrifice principles for popularity, but I’m also convinced that’s unnecessary.  We need not shy away from creative ways to sell our principles to a larger audience, without which we’ll never be a going concern as a practical matter.

And so I salute Breitbart and his new crew, willing to take the culture on.  Without people like them in our entertainment industry, Conservatism is doomed.