Posted by
Andrews on Sunday, May 11, 2008 12:59:34 AM
I have figured out what the biggest difficulty for the economic conservative position is. We are telling the truth.
Politics is easy when you can lie, or when your theory is so removed from reality that you can promise people the moon.
Now, I am not saying the left is lying, maybe the really mean it when they make their promises. But still, as they are not constrained by reality, they can promise that if you turn all power over to the state all your worries will disappear. It is the same problem I had when arguing with the FairTax advocates, some of their theories were so overly optimistic that they could promise absolutely everything. It is hard to fight that sort of generosity, even if it is absolutely impossible in real life.
So while the left, and the protectionist right, and a few others, are promising a pair of Rolls Royces in the brand new four car garage, a mansion in the Hamptons, three boys for every girl and four girls for every boy, we are left offering the truth. It simply doesn't inspire to say "We will get the state out of your way so you can do it for yourself" when the other side is promising wish fulfillment which would make a genie blush.
As I see it, there is really only one alternative. Yes, we need to continue explaining how getting the state out of the way will enrich us all, how things only get done if you do it yourself, but more important than explaining our benefits, we really need to spend time showing why those absurd promises of government granted prosperity just won't work. It will make others knock us as "negative" and people will criticize us for "just shooting down other positions". But as long as we are fighting against fairy tales, we will never win. They can always promise more than we can. Before we can explain why the government should stay out of the way, we need to show that all those things others promise can really never be delivered, otherwise there is no reason for anyone to listen to a word we say. We are just the stingy nay-sayers standing in the way of cost-free government generosity.
Only once we dismiss the absurd theories filling the minds of the public can we really begin to show why our way is best.