What I Stand For

In the past, I called myself a "conservatarian." This is a mixture of conservative and libertarian. However, because quite some people didn't get the meaning of that word, I changed it into "pragmatic libertarian" or "libertarian-conservative." I mean, I actually got asked when I'd go to Africa to protect endangered animals. Ehm. No. That's not what I do.

So, I now call myself a pragmatic libertarian or libertarian-conservative. What is that? And what do I stand for? Here we go:

1. My main motivation for being involved in politics is liberty. Some are driven by traditional values. These folks are conservative through and through. I'm not one of them. I'm privately quite conservative, but those values aren't something I pursue in politics as such. My life is dedicated to defending individual freedom and spreading this freedom gospel as much as I possibly can. When freedom collides with traditional values, politically I tend to side with freedom, not with those traditional values. It's up to churches, synagogues, and mosques to defend those values, not to politicians.
2. Culture matters. What makes me different from quite a lot of libertarians is that I believe in the importance of a nation's cultural heritage. Whether you're in the Netherlands, the United States, Britain, Turkey, Japan or China, it's important to not uproot the culture too much, too fast. Some cultures need more 'fixing' than others, sure, but culture is also what binds a specific people in a specific country. Attempting to change that culture too fast leads to the disintegration of society, which often means: in mass suffering.
3. I believe in implementing libertarian policies gradually. My quest for freedom is tempered by my fear of revolutions, which often turn into incredible disasters, no matter how well-intentioned the revolutionaries were. Big government has to be changed into small government, but the truth of the matter is that if you go from Big to Small suddenly, in a matter of weeks, a lot of people will actually suffer. Yes, I'm in favor of getting rid of most if not all taxes. But if you'd do that today in a country that's now a welfare state, many millions of people will be left behind. Chaos will be the result. I'm a libertarian, not an anarchist. And not a chaotist either.
4. Foreign policy is more about power than about principles. It'd be great if we lived in a world where all countries and governments were enlightened. We don't. Whereas I'm very principled with regards to domestic issues, especially in the West, I'm Machiavellian when it comes to foreign policy. Foreign policy is about defending your interests, not about beautiful, high-minded ideals. The end.

Do I have more beliefs? Sure. But these are the four most important ones that form the four-legged stool of my politics.

Update:
My good friend David Swindle argues on Facebook that he considers me a "libertarian-conservative." Perhaps so. The problem with that is, though, that it emphasizes the 'traditional values' part too much; not to me, because I know what the term means, but for others. Or so I fear. Any thoughts on this from the Medium community?

Update II:
OK, OK.