Conservatism: The Compulsion to Make Life Suck?

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The germ of conservatism, I think, is the notion that self-deprivation and pain lead to reward, possibly in some hypothesized afterlife. In politics we see this as calls to austerity. The narrative is that both government and consumers spent recklessly and now need to "take the pain" and reduce spending to pay down the debt. Social-welfare programs are seen as frivolous luxuries, and the hurt that their defunding would cause is seen as a sort of penance for profligate spending earlier. It's very Calvinist and Puritanical.

In the lifestyles arena, social conservatism posits a fairly narrow range of correct behavior and appropriate identities/roles individuals may take on. Individuals are forced to go against their own inclinations of what would make them happy and instead conform to the group's strictures. This includes denial of civil rights for, for example, gay couples and also broader freedoms of self-expression, lifestyle choice, and sexuality.

Conservative attitudes generate a workplace premised on sameness, monotony, routine, and seriousness; work, in the conservatives' view, is meant to be a grind, a rat race. Things that would make the work-day more tolerable are largely shunned in an effort to preserve an anal-retentive culture.

Very true indeed.

Government and middle class consumers. Not all consumers.

I don't see anyone pointing at the wealthy consumers and saying they over-spent.

We don't even see conservatives pointing at the financial institutions that profited from middle-class extravagance and saying they were too greedy.

Maybe that's the other prong of why the christian establishment loves the conservative establishment. Not just the social conservatism, but the "God says that you have to toil in poverty - unless he picks you as one of his elect and then he will shower you with wealth" angle too.

Austerity wouldn't need to happen if that money wasn't spent in the first place.

You act as though loss of revenue due to the economic depression and ridiculous skyrocketing medical costs aren't the biggest factors. The problem isn't just "frivolous" spending that you wan't to blame solely on liberals. Also, temporary emergency stop-gap measures like stimulus spending and bailouts should be separated from structural debt growth.

And I'd like to preempt the greece comparisons by pointing out that greece has an immense problem with tax evasion, the likes of which the USA has never even contemplated, and a poisonous, anti-competitive economy.

And they told huge lies about their economy, taxation rates, and serviceability of existing debt so that they could borrow the money for their olympic games, and now cannot pay it back.

The USA has more debt per person, but is in a far stronger position to service it.

Japan is a much better comparison than Greece.

agreed

Dean Baker has some interesting arguments on the implications of debt:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_ojGXX40vE[/youtube]

^ From early 2010.

The big difference between Greece and America: America issues it's own currency, it can pay the debt by running the printer. Furthermore, America could use a weaker dollar given it's horrible trade deficit (albeit this would screw Ontario's already weak automanufacturing sector even more).

That was tried in the Weimar Republic (Germany). The hyper-inflation ruined the economy of Germany which was not all that robust.

ruveyn

So you're saying that it's likely if America prints money it will do so at a rate that causes hyperinflation and that export-lead countries that have been propping up the dollar for decades will stand by as their export market vaporizes?

Also, if I remember correctly the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to pay "war reparations". This debt was most certainly NOT to be payed in German Marks.

Once our creditors see that we cannot pay, they will flush our paper down the toilet.

ruveyn

That's still a question of degree.

If we made some attempt to pay the sum total of our debt in one lump sum by increasing the number of theoretical US Dollars that exist, that would tank us overnight.

But nobody is suggesting that we take that course.

If we choose to service only some of our debt that way, it will only slightly dilute the value of our money.