Rothbard to Meyer on Conservatism by Murray N. = Rothbard

Rothbard to Meyer = on=20 Conservatism

by Murray=20 N. Rothbard
by Murray = N.=20 Rothbard

March 7, = 1956
Woodstock,=20 N.Y.

Dear=20 Frank,

That=20 Fischer [John Fischer, "Why Is the Conservative Voice So = Hoarse?"=20 Harper's Magazine, 212 #1270 (March 1956), pp. = 17=9618, 20, 22]=20 horror in Harpers=92 set me thinking on this whole = "conservatism"=20 shebang. The time has come, I believe, for me to try to = blast=20 conservatism out of the water.

The=20 Fischer article exemplifies the fact that perhaps the chief = sin in=20 contemporary debate is utter failure to provide definitions. = Since=20 no one defines "conservative," anyone can be lumped in the = term at=20 the user=92s pleasure. How will you define = conservatism?

It=20 seems to me that a "conservative" can be rationally = identified in=20 one of the following ways:

(a)=20 Someone who wants to preserve the political status quo. I = say=20 "political" because no one wants to preserve all of = the=20 status quo on all matters. Well, in that case, Stalin = after=20 he captured power was a "conservative" as far as Russia was=20 concerned; Hitler was a "radical" in 1929, a "conservative" = in 1939,=20 etc. There is no point to this, since it applies only to = form, and=20 not to content. In what conceivable way are you a = conservative in=20 this sense? Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and the Alsops are the=20 conservatives now.

(b)=20 Someone who identifies himself with the historical = Conservative=20 parties of the 19th Century in Europe. In that case, it = means to=20 identify oneself with authoritarianism and hatred of = individual=20 liberty and laissez-faire capitalism. The Prussian = Conservative=20 Party was formed to block emancipation of the serfs, = and to=20 maintain protective tariffs; the Conservative Party in = England=20 imposed Corn Laws and Factory Acts, and crushed Ireland. = Russell=20 Kirk may want Church (Anglican, Lutheran), landed gentry, = and=20 servile peasantry, but you certainly don=92t.

So=20 there we are. In neither of these two senses are you and I = at all=20 conservatives. But to give you every possible benefit of the = doubt,=20 let us press on.

(c)=20 A conservative is someone who wants to preserve the good = things in=20 the existing political situation. But who doesn=92t = want to=20 preserve the good things. Isn=92t it a matter of what each = person=20 thinks is good? So everyone could be called a "conservative" = on this=20 ground, which makes it a nonsensical definition.

(d)=20 Perhaps you are a "conservative" because you wish to = conserve the=20 "western heritage." But the Western heritage contains = quantitatively=20 more bad than good from our point of view =96 more murder = than=20 laissez-faire. So what you really want to promote is not the = heritage en bloc but part of it =96 which parts to be = picked=20 out by reason. So where can conservatism come in?

(e)=20 And finally, maybe you are a conservative because you prefer = gradual=20 to radical change. But do you really? Suppose the unlikely = event=20 that the Statists were willing to surrender, after an = overnight=20 conversion to liberalism. Suppose they all came to you and. = said:=20 all right, if you wish, we=92ll establish liberty tomorrow. = Would you=20 refuse?

Cordially,
Murray

Murray N. Rothbard = (1926=961995), the founder of modern libertarianism and the = dean of=20 the Austrian School of economics, was the author of T= he=20 Ethics of Liberty and For=20 a New Liberty and many other books = and=20 articles. He was also academic vice president of the = Ludwig von=20 Mises Institute and the Center for Libertarian Studies, and = the=20 editor =96 with Lew Rockwell =96 of The=20 Rothbard-Rockwell Report.

Murray=20 Rothbard Archives=20 =