The 2008 Election: An Age-Old Fight Renewed

Now that Barack Obama is the presumptive nominee of the Democratic party, we are again faced with a new battle in an age-old fight, that between collectivism and freedom. Make no mistake about it, Obama represents the collectivist position. Under Obama and the increasingly left wing Democrats, those who work and invest will be punished for their productivity; those who are less productive will be rewarded.

Some of the differences between left and right are described in the table below.

	Differences Between Liberalism and Conservatism
	Liberalism	Conservatism	Implications of Liberal Victory
	Internationalist; does not identify with its own nation, culture or traditions. Not patriotic, or views patriotism as fascistic, narrow-minded or racist	Nationalist; identifies with its own nation, culture and traditions. Patriotic, believes in national sovereignty and that its system is preferable to all others.	Liberalism is more prone to accept international jurisdiction, multiculturalism, unrestrained immigration; has a lower survival instinct
	Collectivist; sees the state as the principal organizing agent of society; believes that "the public good" trumps individual liberties and self-interest; socialist economically	Individualist; believes that "the government that governs least, governs best"; believes that the preservation of individual rights is the major purpose of government; capitalistic economically	Liberalism results in a nanny state that regulates human behavior in support of the state and its programs, through both legislation and social pressure
	Regulates the economy through high taxation and legislation; sees the economy as publicly owned; seeks to own or control the means of production	Believes in minimal regulation of the economy; believes the economy is owned by those who produce the goods and services, i.e. the means of production	Liberalism results in higher taxes, punishes the productive and rewards sloth; it has a dampening effect on the economy and raises the cost of living
	Hostile to the Military; believes that war is never jusitifed; that those who attack us do so only because we have wronged them somehow; that all national conflicts can be resolved by seeking consensus and by diplomacy	Believes in a strong National Defense; that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"; that there always has been and always will be dictators and tyrants who wish to exert control over others through force, infiltration and sabotage; that the projection of American power is sometimes necessary, and that its use deters aggression and actually prevents more wars	Liberalism underfunds or undermines the military; underfunds or undermines our espionage agencies; weakens the national will to win wars or resist aggression. As a result, it makes America appear irresolute, weak and amenable to force