Three Blind Spots in Politics
Life as a battle against oppression, chaos, or coercion
Just a quick one today. Below is an excerpt from one of my favorite essays by the economist Russ Roberts. Riffing on an idea from
, Roberts argues that a key difference between leftists, conservatives, and libertarians is in what they perceive the fundamental struggle of life to be. Long story short…Leftists see the world as a battle between victims and oppressors.
Conservatives see the world as a battle between civilization and barbarism.
Libertarians see the world as a battle between freedom and coercion.
Take almost any issue and you see the debate play out along these lines. Take the outrage over police shootings of blacks. As liberals see it, the police are the oppressors, the young black men are the victims. And of course, the liberals are right. So many African-Americans have died without good reason at the hands of police.
Conservatives value law-and-order. The authority of the police is crucial to keep chaos at bay. The police have a tough job. They must constantly confront violent and dangerous people who are often armed. Many of the neighborhoods the police patrol are gang-ridden and on the verge of social disintegration. And aren’t most or all of the people killed by the police criminals or potential criminals? Conservatives stand with the police. And of course, the conservatives are right. Police play a crucial role in maintaining the conditions for normal life, especially in many troubled neighborhoods.
Libertarians worry about the coercive power of the state. Relations between the police and the communities where they work are corrupted by drug laws that restrict the freedom of people to buy what they want and take responsibility for their own choices. And because the police have the legal authority to use force, they are prone to abuse it. So it is not surprising that they shoot people from time to time. And of course the libertarians are right. Drug laws are a tragic failure. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty and the police on the ground must be careful not to misuse their monopoly on the legal use of deadly force.
You can read the full essay here.
You can check out Arnold Kling’s book on the topic here.
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