very nice video post<\/a>. Of course, I am called \u201cliberal\u201d constantly, both by contributors to this blog, and by others, in and out of the comments box. I have to admit, this is one thing that really annoys me, mainly because it never goes away. People use that label thoughtlessly and carelessly, giving implicit endorsement to the false distinctions that underpin American politics.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Very briefly,\u00a0a \u201cliberal\u201d is a person influenced by an Enlightenment-era anthropology predicated on the notion of individual liberty as the foundation of society. Society is reduced to a mere social contract between individuals and private liberty always supplants the common good. Instead of being based on God\u2019s will, morality is now based on self-interest. As someone once said, a person\u2019s rights ended only where another person\u2019s nose began! Thus \u201cfree\u201d market exchange is virtuous,\u00a0without regard for any resulting injustice or inequality. The only form of permissible government\u00a0becomes \u201cliberal\u201d democracy, as other custom-based systems of governance are not sufficiently underpinned by individual self-determination and do not provide the architecture needed for the necessary social contract. A woman has the \u201cright\u201d to do as she wishes with her own body, with no regard for another living person growing inside her, because, after all, in a society based on social contracts, the unborn are not really in a position to negotiate. And marriage becomes about the fulfilment of individual wants and desires, and not about the bearing and rearing of children. What I am trying to do with these examples is obvious. Deep down, there is little difference between the ideology on the right and the left of US politics, as they accept the same philosophical foundation.<\/p>\n
If you are even slightly familiar with my posts, you will be aware that I do not support these positions. I accept the free market (especially against the statist alternative), but insist that it must be subservient to the common good, and recognize the right of the authorities to intervene along these lines.\u00a0 In economics, I am a proud corporatist in a era when that term is most definitely out of fashion.\u00a0I have much affinity\u00a0for old-style European Christian Democracy. I have very little respect\u00a0for the modern nation state, and am a big fan\u00a0of both\u00a0autonomous local communities and broad\u00a0supranational institutions like the United Nations and the European Union. I think nationalism is a source of great evil. I find the zeal to impose \u201cliberal democracy\u201d on all countries\u00a0to be\u00a0an exercise in political utopianism on the scale of Marxism. So, call me what you like, but bear in mind that Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi probably view the world somewhat differently.<\/p>\n
Back to the point in question: I see that my favorable attitude toward Obama has promoted a lot of criticism lately<\/a>. I believe one other Vox Nova<\/em>contributor supports Obama. Others have said favorable things about Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson, John McCain, and Ron Paul (these are what come to mind, there may be more). And yet, when contributors nod toward Republicans, this does not warrant a mention. When a small number say nice things about a Democrat, however, all hell breaks loose. As I\u2019ve said many times, I\u2019m happy to debate the issues until the cows come home. And I have absolutely no problem with Catholics\u00a0opting for\u00a0Republicans based on the abortion issue. I do, however,\u00a0have a major problem with people who think that all good Catholics should either abstain or perform obeisance toward the Republican party. And we seem to be seeing a lot of that around here these days.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is Nox Nova a liberal blog? Henry asked this question a while back in a very nice video post. Of course, I am called \u201cliberal\u201d constantly, both by contributors to this blog, and by others, in and out of the comments box. I have to admit, this is one thing that really annoys me, mainly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2951,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,249,32,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-liberalism","category-mornings-minion","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Labels That Go Around in Circles...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is Nox Nova a liberal blog? Henry asked this question a while back in a very nice video post. Of course, I am called "liberal" constantly, both by\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2008\/01\/28\/the-labels-that-go-around-in-circles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Labels That Go Around in Circles...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is Nox Nova a liberal blog? Henry asked this question a while back in a very nice video post. 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