More Conservatism

Gaps in wealth are not unjust. Inequality in opportunity is not unjust. I've demonstrated this in earlier posts.

"Anti-war," as a position, is either meaningless or wrong, depending on how it's defined.

Some people are better than others. They are wiser, better educated, and more skilled. They are able to engage in finer activities in their lives than others. They inevitably have more political power. Some of it is luck; some of the powerful are buffoons. But they are a natural aristocracy and there is nothing wrong with that. The alternatives are much worse. (I'm echoing John Adams here.)

Nevertheless, all men are created equal, in the sense that all have equal rights and responsibilities, and are equal under the law. In other words, when you make a moral judgment, you should not base it on irrelevant features of people. Government should not establish an aristocracy by law. (I'm echoing John Adams here.)

Anyone is free to become one of the elite. It requires developing moral character, educating oneself in the history and literature of good ways of life, and avoiding distractions. Denying or getting angry at this fact will only delay one's efforts.

The right kind of education in Western history, literature, and philosophy is the best opportunity to achieve such an extraordinarily good life.

The government should be smaller than it is because it inevitably has large and inept parts which waste money and make life worse. This specific problem should be solved by carefully reducing the government.

While Western culture is the best at promoting good lives, other than mandatory education in Western culture, people should have the liberty to live as they please. This gives them the best chance at happiness, since they know better than anyone else what makes them happy.