Inspired by a recent Facebook post by a friend, I figured it was time to post not so much where I stand on the issues but how I can be expected to arrive at the stances I do. This is the statement of principles that I will seek to defend to the best of my God-given ability.
I am a classical liberal. Here’s an excellent essay for a short introduction to it, that I will quote in part:
Liberty is central to libertarians and classical liberals. It may be summarized as person, property, and consent, the individual’s dominion that others are presumptively not to mess with.
I believe taxation is fundamentally extortion and so are tariffs. I love cutting taxes no matter the reason because that money belongs to taxpayers.
I believe a nation is only as strong as its finances and fiscal responsibility is important. The only way to maintain strong and sound finances is to limit the size and scope of government.
I believe the only roles of government are to protect life, liberty, and property; provide infrastructure to facilitate commerce, and protect against common threats such as disease.
I believe in the primacy of the nation-state over foreign organizations such as the United Nations. I favor U.S. membership in that organization because it is a forum to debate the world’s issues peacefully. But any attempt to empower the U.N. and related organizations over American national sovereignty must be resisted.
I believe that the United States does not have permanent allies, but only permanent interests. Those interests in no certain order are protecting the freedom of the seas and skies, protecting our way of life, and protecting the American homeland from invasion and attack.
I believe that liberal democracy promotion is an important aspect of American foreign policy because liberal democracies do not go to war with each other. But I also reject nation building as both wasteful of resources and impractical in most cases.
I reject anything that empowers the group over the individual such as racism, sexism, homophobia, identity politics, communism, socialism, nationalism, and fascism. The smallest minority is the individual and individual rights are the only rights worth defending.
I strongly support decentralization. The government that should have the most authority should be the one closest to you. It is also much easier to influence your local government or move to another jurisdiction than to influence the national or global government.
The only reason why I reject anarchy is that it is impractical. Every classical liberal is a voluntaryist at heart.
I believe in God and I worship Him. However, I will defend your right to worship differently than I do or not at all. Every religion is subject and open to criticism, including mine. But I don’t believe anything is gained by attacking the adherents of that faith as people.
You have the right to live your life as you see fit, as long as you do not physically harm others or their property. But this does not mean you are immune from criticism.
I believe in freedom of speech and it means I must defend it from censorship by both government and private entities. Furthermore, it means I must defend those who I disagree with, even if they are scoundrels.
I believe that education is important. But parents should have the choice where and how to educate their child.
I believe that property rights are fundamental in a free society and are necessary for economic prosperity.
Finally, I believe that an individual has the right to trade or associate with another individual of their choice, regardless if that person lives on the same block or in another country.
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