Informationism in A Few Bullet Points
A couple of days ago, a poster over on TPM Cafe asked what “centrists” believe. Though anyone who’s read any of my writing knows, I consider myself a staunch philosophical liberal rather than a centrist, I knew what he meant. So I provided an answer. I didn’t think too much about it at the time, but I just reread it and liked it--so I thought that I’d archive it by reposting it here. Here are some things that I believe:
Individuals have innate rights, regardless of their ethnicity or place of origin. Governments who systematically trample those rights are illegitimate. Anything that can be done to topple such governments should be done.
Nation-building is critical. Long-term commitments to places like Germany, Japan, and Korea have paid off. We need comparable long-term commitments to places like Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Free trade makes people richer. Some people lose in the process. A responsible government must develop programs to reeducate, retrain, and relocate people who lose their jobs because of trade. Goverments must never lock dead-end jobs in place.
Unions should represent their members, and make sure that all current members have reasonable lives. Unions should not represent industries or jobs. If relocation and retraining means shrinking an employment pool, that’s what unions should do.
Complicated, distorted taxes hurt the economy and are unfair to those who work for a living. Social engineering has no place in the tax code.
No one should get a free ride--ever. Social safety programs are critical, but society has a right to ask for something in return (i.e., movement towards employment or skill acquisition).
Individuals are free to make their own decisions, but must bear the consequences of poor decisions.
Anyone interested in becoming an American should be welcomed into the fold. We should help them learn our basic civics, and usher them into citizenship. Those uninterested in sharing the full benefits and burdens of American citizenship should be asked to leave.
Environmental regulation should cause those harming the environment to internalize all costs--and then let them make their own decisions as to whether or not to bear those costs.
As a shorthand, I like to say that I believe in muscular liberalism, social libertarianism, and rational economics.