Social Conservatives D.O.A.

The Weekly Standard’s current issue contains an interesting piece on the continuing relevance of social conservatism, despite what mainstream pundits may be saying. In what ends up being more an inquisition of the Left’s godlessness than a defense of the Right’s political acumen or philosophical indispensability, Jeffrey Bell rattles off a list of reasons why the Left is doomed to sit on the benches as the sluggers of social conservatism step up to bat. The most striking argument, however, is this one:

But there are several offsetting factors at work that have made and will continue to make social conservatism hard to marginalize. For one thing, social conservatism is the only mass-based political persuasion that fully believes in the core ideas of the American founding. It has taken over that role from parties, professions, and ideologies that used to perform it, and as a result it is touching a deep chord with millions of American voters.

Most social conservatives believe that the central principle asserted in the Declaration of Independence is true: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” While almost all Americans respect these words at least as a sentiment or metaphor, it is a fact that most–not all–social conservatives believe them to be literally true, while most–not all–opponents of social conservatism do not believe them to be literally true.

As long as these key assertions of our nation’s founding document continue to be taken literally by many Americans, social conservatism will resonate among Americans in a way that competing philosophies cannot–and in a way that, given the very different founding narratives of most countries in Europe and elsewhere, cannot easily be replicated beyond these shores.

Social conservatism the only mass-based political persuasion that fully believes in the core ideas of the American founding? The absurdity of this claim is glaring at every level. First off, what exactly are the “core ideas of the American founding”? Sure, “Life, Liberty, etc.,” but let’s not forget the bitter debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists over how this is best accomplished. I’m sure Thomas Jefferson, renowned Anti-Federalist and actual author of the Declaration of Independence, is turning over in his grave to hear that Jerry Falwell is his intellectual flagbearer.

Granting the existence of a unified “core idea(s)” that comport with social conservatives’ values, how did they become the exclusive heirs to this intellectual tradition? While I did catch the important “most — not all” qualification in there, let’s remember that evangelicals and fundamentalists take the Bible, not Locke’s Second Treatise, to be literal and beyond reproach. Although social conservatives may take the core ideas of America’s founding to be important, they do not take them as their core ideas.

And to what extent do social conservatives’ core ideas even mesh with their own policy preferences? If social conservatives hold the admirable goal of promoting community and tradition as a guiding factor in individuals’ value systems as expressed in political and legal code, how did it become the role of Washington bureaucrats to oversee this? Bell admittedly throws a bone to the Full Faith and Credit Clause that could nationalize a single state’s decision, but all in all, I trust my pastor more than my Senator’s chief of staff to promote community values.

I contend that the true modern exponent of America’s core principles – and the only political movement consistent with a Christian ethics – is libertarianism, not the bastardized “conservatism” of right wing demagogues. But more on this another time.

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Tags: politics, religion, Republicans, social conservatives, Weekly Standard