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Reason10 · 70-79, M
Well, for one that the term “conservative” has become meaningless in the absence of a unified self-identifying conservative movement.
This is where ACTUAL READING could have spared you a lot of humiliation.
Ayn Rand was once very critical of the "conservative" movement in her day (which was from the late 20s to the mid 70s). She claimed "conservatives" were opposed to any kinds of change whatsoever. (That actually comes pretty close to the word's definition.)
Rand would have been considered a liberal (which back then mean Laissez Faire free market Capitalism.)
So what happened?
1. The American conservative movement of today was evolved by former libertarian thinkers like William F. Buckley, R. Emmett Tyrell, Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman, Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, etc. Their message was simple: Free markets, liberty, constitutional governments and the rule of law.
2. The American liberal movement switched directions entirely in 1962 because of the Port Huron Statement. This is where radicals like Tom Hayden, Abby Hoffman, Rennie Davis, and the SDS led an anti war movement and dragged the Democrat party to the extreme left. Over the years, the Democrats have gotten further and further to the far left of the American mainstream.
Right now, the Republicans have proven to be the party of all points of view. We can't agree on lunch. We are the most independent thinkers in the history of American politics.
This is where ACTUAL READING could have spared you a lot of humiliation.
Ayn Rand was once very critical of the "conservative" movement in her day (which was from the late 20s to the mid 70s). She claimed "conservatives" were opposed to any kinds of change whatsoever. (That actually comes pretty close to the word's definition.)
Rand would have been considered a liberal (which back then mean Laissez Faire free market Capitalism.)
So what happened?
1. The American conservative movement of today was evolved by former libertarian thinkers like William F. Buckley, R. Emmett Tyrell, Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman, Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, etc. Their message was simple: Free markets, liberty, constitutional governments and the rule of law.
2. The American liberal movement switched directions entirely in 1962 because of the Port Huron Statement. This is where radicals like Tom Hayden, Abby Hoffman, Rennie Davis, and the SDS led an anti war movement and dragged the Democrat party to the extreme left. Over the years, the Democrats have gotten further and further to the far left of the American mainstream.
Right now, the Republicans have proven to be the party of all points of view. We can't agree on lunch. We are the most independent thinkers in the history of American politics.
CedricH · 22-25, M
@Reason10 You‘re sweet. I read Atlas Shrugged, The Road to Serfdom, I read the Conscious of a Conservative, A Time for Choosing, I watched almost every Fireside Chat with William F Buckley, so I guess I‘m in a position to distinguish the movement conservatives from individuals who claim to be conservative but are, in fact, anti-liberal revisionists.