Classical Liberalism as a Voting Guide

Classical liberalism, as espoused by John Locke, Adam Smith, and John Stuart Mill, was based on the concepts of individualism, liberty, and equal rights. Our Declaration of Independence was conceived upon those same values. This was heady stuff and freed uncounted millions from under the heavy boots of dukes and kings.

It wasn’t until many years later that liberalism became associated with statism, that is, using the power of the state to regulate the affairs of her citizens. A more topsy-turvy reversal could not be imagined.

The upcoming election, only five days hence, offers some befuddling choices. Let’s take a look at it through the lens of classical liberalism, the very values upon which our country was founded.

Massachusetts ballot question one, expanded slot-machine gaming, is an easy start. Who are you to tell your neighbor that she can’t start a slot-machine business? Or order her potential customers to not gamble in any case? How Stalinist, Hitlerian. You have the free choice of not gambling nor supporting such an enterprise, but what business is it of yours to order others not to do so?

Now you’re beginning to get the hang of classical liberalism.

On to question two, charter school expansion. Public charter schools are subject to long waiting lists of parents anxious to get their children into them. Are they all deluded? Do they breathe noxious fumes? Nay, they anticipate a better outcome for dear Billy Joe than if he were to attend a district school. We need not question that belief, only recognize that it exists. Who are you to tell Billy that he can’t attend the school of his choice?

Competition is the natural adjudicator of such contests. If district schools demonstrate better results, then the charters will wither. Let this process play itself out.

Question three, conditions for farm animals, has many weepy supporters who seem fixated on feces. But perhaps, instead of mandating husbandry standards from folks who don’t even know what husbandry is, we take a different tack. The question, perhaps, should ask farm producers to report the conditions under which their animals were husbanded. This information would follow the animal products to the supermarkets, and shoppers could make their choices based on their family budget vs. highly held principles.

Another clear “no” for the classical liberal. You are getting the idea now.

And then there is question four, the legalization, regulation, and taxation of marijuana. This question is a bit more complex, and the classical liberal would vote “yes, but…”

The “yes” is clearly based on liberal principles – the freedom of the individual to choose. However the “but” is related to unintended consequences that would arise therefrom.  Human nature being what it is, once marijuana is legalized, the drug cartels will find some other way to make money. In January 2015, the Washington Post published a report entitled “Losing marijuana business, Mexican cartels push heroin and meth.” These guys aren’t stupid, and finding that marijuana was no longer profitable, they simply shifted to other drugs.

So the classical liberal would vote yes on question four, but would ask that we prepare for a flood of replacement illegal drugs. Perhaps the long term fix is to legalize them as well, a kind-of Swiss model.

And then finally to the presidential election.

What a farce. The Democratic candidate is a grifter, grown enormously wealthy through “public service.” The Republican candidate is a complete whack-a-doodle, adolescent, emotionally volatile.

What is a classical liberal to do?

First let’s recognize the growth of the regulatory state over the last fifty years. The inertia of the FRB, FDA, FCC, FDA, EPA, FTC, NLRB, OSHA, and SEC will be scarcely influenced by whomever wins the next election. It is a sad fact that the bureaucratic, unelected mass of the federal regulatory apparatus is little affected by whoever is president.

But we do need to recognize the importance of Supreme Court nominations. The court can reinterpret our constitution at will, and, as classical liberals, we would hope that that interpretation would favor individualism, liberty, and equal rights.

In the end, our choice as classical liberals must be to defend the rights of the individual citizen. Take a big gulp, cross yourselves, and vote for Mr. Trump.

God knows we have the best intentions at heart.  Fingers crossed.