This week, thousands of conservatives from all over the nation will convene in Washington, D.C., for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC. Four weeks ago, hundreds of libertarian students convened in the same city for the annual Students for Liberty Conference. The SLC conference has grown remarkably since its first gathering in 2008, and its success might be an indication that conservatives would do well to take libertarian ideas and the expanding movement more seriously.
CPAC decided this year not to invite New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to speak, along with a decision to ban GOProud, a Republican organization that supports gay conservatives, from attending at all. The GOP political base has suffered from disarray because of competing ideological factions, but many have begun to note that CPAC should foster true debate and extend its influence beyond the already die-hard traditional conservatives.
While CPAC languishes, the Students for Liberty conference grows rapidly. Not only is libertarianism increasing in popularity, but it also has an intellectually diverse heritage, one partly shared with conservatives.
The libertarian phenomenon is a result of the power of ideas. Young people are attracted to libertarianism as a possible solution to what they see as a broken and polarized two-party system. Libertarianism is seen as a symbol of hope for the next generation desiring true change.
Just as conservatives are not stodgy, backwards traditionalists with sheltered and repressed kids, libertarians are not all pot-smoking, morally bankrupt secessionists as Ann Coulter might have you believe. While conservatives have their various prefixes including “neo,” “paleo,” and “theo,” libertarianism covers “classical liberalism,” “minarchism,” and “anarcho-capitalism.” Libertarians can also be religious, pro-life, and, well, conservative in nature. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between the two.
Libertarianism, while including particularly radical and controversial thinkers such as Ayn Rand and Murray Rothbard, also claim the likes of Adam Smith and the greatest figures of the Scottish Enlightenment as its intellectual ancestors. Libertarians study a line of economic thinkers who, originating in Austria, are probably the finest the world has ever known, and yet seem to be forgotten in the mainstream discourse.
Conservatives don’t seem to get many converts. Conservatives tend to come from conservative families. For many, the apparently irreconcilable conflict between conservatives and progressives is frustrating. Libertarianism is also an increasingly attractive alternative for young American progressives, influencing progressives in a way that conservatism can’t seem to imitate. This has to do with its tradition of free market advocacy and economic ideas that make it a universal message. These ideas have the power to unite people of varying political and personal opinions.
This does not mean that libertarianism is perfect. It means that conservatives should not be afraid to engage their libertarian peers on issues as allies, not enemies. Neither should conservatives feel that they must ignore their differences to associate with libertarians. They should strive to push past imprecise labels that, while an inherent aspect of man’s political nature and his desire for inclusivity, impede genuine understanding and progress.
Both groups have much to gain politically, intellectually, and morally by further understanding each other. Conservatives should engage with, and not ignore or fear, libertarians. They might strengthen their own movement by doing so.
