A moral middle path

A Moral Philosophy for Middle-Class America

Some people are religious conservatives, who believe that policies should align with the transcendent moral order of the universe. Other people are social libertarians, who believe government should be neutral on values issues, and individuals should be guaranteed their own private space to work out their own solutions to moral questions.

But others of us are social traditionalists. We differ from the religious conservatives in that we’re not sure about a transcendent moral order. Furthermore, we think it’s both too sectarian and too lofty to try to pattern government policies on God’s law.

We also disagree with the social libertarians. We don’t think government can be neutral on values issues. Nations are held together by shared beliefs. People flourish because they have been encouraged by society to adopt certain habits and behaviors. It’s a chimera to believe individuals come up with solutions to moral questions alone; human beings are social creatures whose actions and views are profoundly shaped by the social fabric that binds them.

We traditionalists observe that when policies fail, it’s usually because they are based on inaccurate assumptions about human nature. So we don’t base our thinking on the abstract arguments of theology. Nor do we base it on economics, with its image of profit-maximizing individuals. We begin our thinking with a study of what human beings in particular places are actually like.

I generally don't agree with Brooks but he isn't so far off on this one, although it isn't anything surprising. Most reasonable people would take this approach, it just doesn't sound that interesting in the media. More importantly I'm hoping it is just another sign of the GOP impending civil war with Brooks taking up traditional conservative side against "The Nuts". Although he is taking on the libertarians too. Perhaps the GOP will need federalism to keep them all under there big tent.