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Conservative Reality and the Self-Made Man
A week ago, in the opinion pages of Student Life, Daniel Fishman did what millions of Americans do every day: he completely misunderstood conservatism. I’d further postulate that he has an exceptionally dismal outlook on society as a whole. In his editorial, he put up the image of the isolationist “self-made man” as a conservative ideal that is inherently impossible. I will not spend time rehashing the comments left on his article but suffice it to say that his assertion that conservatism is people living in isolation and never interacting is ludicrous.
Conservatism is not the idea that people should live in their own one-man fiefdoms. Fishman’s assertion that conservatism advocates “removing the links” of the “modern world that connects us” is just plain wrong. The point of the self-made man is actually predicated upon the notion that institutional attempts to force everyone into identical circumstances for the sake of “equality” do more harm than good.
Clearly not everyone is created perfectly equal. Regardless of one’s political affiliations, it is a pretty universal truth that some people are, by cosmic crapshoot, born into better circumstances and others into less desirable circumstances. Here is where political views kick in. Liberal ideology, as stated by Fishman, would have you believe that “we need the government to empower these individuals.” I pose to Mr. Fishman this question: is your view of the typical man or woman so dismal that you believe they need a bunch of detached politicians to sort out their life, give them aid and tell them what to do?
Conservatism holds people in higher esteem. The self-made man is not the bubble-dweller Mr. Fishman proposes. In a free society, a person is able to achieve whatever opportunities they work for. People are not entitled to handouts from the government. Entire groups are not entitled to any particular special treatment. In the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” What does this mean? It means that all people are granted the right to make their own future without interference.
Loading ...I stated that via the aforementioned “cosmic crapshoot,” not everyone is made the same. However, contrary to Fishman and other liberal ideologues, this should not be an opportunity for the government to play Robin Hood. Tinkering with the status quo does not work. Attempting forced equality does not work. Whether it’s the miserable failure that was the Soviet Union in real life or the United States as depicted in Kurt Vonnegut’s short story and socialist/egalitarian allegory “Harrison Bergeron,” governmental attempts to cram equality down everyone’s throats inevitably fail.
Being conservative means allowing people to find their own way in life. Inherent in conservatism is the belief that people are capable of making their own way up the ladder. It’s not easy, but it’s doable. Hard work is to be admired, and the further up someone climbs on his or her own accord, the more commendable their effort is. If one climbs from nothing to everything by their own hard work, are they to be robbed of their earnings by dozens of social welfare programs intended to better “equalize” the playing field?
Fishman claims that we need government to enable people. But how does government work to achieve this goal? Liberals would have you believe that the government should accomplish this by mowing over the top layer of society, cutting it back down to par so the smallest members of society will feel equal. You cannot grant the illusion of raising some people up without dragging others down. If the American Dream is to make a better life for yourself and your family through an honest dedication to hard work, then the American government has no place in obstructing those who accomplish that great feat.
I challenge Mr. Fishman to find me around campus and say with a straight face that he honestly believes it is the government’s duty to take one’s earnings and redistribute it to someone who did not earn it. In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan, “Government is not the solution…government is the problem.”
Richard is a junior in the Olin School of Business. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].