Republitarianism

Republitarianism is an American political philosophy combining elements of conservatism and libertarianism that holds that the best form of national government is one that promotes capitalism and strong national defense policies, including the use of pre-emptive military engagements, if necessary. Republitarianism also holds that the federal government should be concerned with these issues above all others while leaving nearly every other issue to each of the fifty American states, communities, and individuals to decide for themselves. Republitarians are most commonly described as "pro-capitalist conservatives" or "libertarians who support the War on Terror."

Ideological differences between conservatives and republitarians

Among American conservatives, republitarians differ with paleoconservatives and neoconservatives primarily over the War on Terror and the necessity of various federal social programs such as Medicare, respectively. Republitarians, though not as strict in their definition of "separation of church and state" as many American liberals and libertarians, do not advocate as strongly as other conservatives for the use of religion in public policy disputes.

Criticism

A common critique of republitarians is that their core beliefs contain in themselves an inconsistency -- how can a government powerful and interventionist enough to fix problems abroad be trusted not to try to "solve" problems at home? Historically, there are no known examples of a State with "big" government abroad and limited government domestically. Critics often quote Randolf Borne: "War is the health of the State." Republitarians typically respond to this criticism by saying they support military engagements that remove impediments to capitalism and only in the most extreme situations. This is an area where republitarians and neoconservatives slightly differ. Where neoconservatives strongly support the building of democratic governments in the wake of militarily defeated governments, republitarians are more concerned with letting capitalism operate after any military victory. If capitalism is allowed to operate, they argue, the former subjects of militarily defeated governments will naturally arrange governments (whatever the form) which are, if only out of political expediency, more friendly to their subjects' newfound economic freedoms and therefore much less likely to jeopardize the benefits which republitarians believe capitalism offers.

Origins of the term

The creation of the term "republitarian" is usually attributed to Larry Elder, an American political pundit, radio talk show host, and author who defines "republitarian" as "a member of the Republican Party who holds libertarian ideals." [1] Another example would be Neal Boortz, who describes himself as a "neolibertarian". Another similar term is liberventionist, the term used by mainstream (anti-interventionist) libertarians for libertarians succumbing to imperialism.

Presently, republitarians are represented in the Republican party by the Republican Liberty Caucus, joining such codified groups within the GOP such as the Log Cabin Republicans and the College Republicans.

See also

• Neoconservatism
• Neolibertarianism
• Paleoconservatism
• Paleolibertarianism
• Paleoliberalism