The Twelve Points Are Unique

In the past year, many conservatives have offered their own proposals to explain what they think conservatism should be. The Twelve Points, however, are unique.

• First, the Twelve Points are not a policy agenda or manifesto – they take an important step that is ordinarily overlooked, informing readers about conservative principles and settling matters of principle before attempting to apply those principles. A discussion of end-policy proposals is necessary as well, but the Twelve Points are instead focused on filling an important gap – reinforcing the philosophical framework for approaching the issues.
• Second, the Twelve Points are not (by themselves) meant to sell conservatism to the public; they are meant to reintroduce conservative principles and thought to popular conservatism. This should bolster the popularity of conservatism, but the primary audience of the Twelve Points is conservatives themselves.
• Third, because the Twelve Points encourage a more complete understanding of conservatism, they discourage conservatives from exalting certain, different principles over the rest. This will help to truly reunite conservatism, instead of simply holding a coalition of insular factions together for another couple of elections.
• Fourth, the Twelve Points allow conservatives to demonstrate the extent to which American conservatives believe that the “true,” meritorious conservatism is that which is described in the Twelve Points rather than one of the regrettable anti-liberty, hysterical, or intellectually-anemic mutant variations.
• Fifth, by allowing conservatives the opportunity to clarify and confirm that these are indeed the principles and objectives of conservatism, the Twelve Points lay the foundation for the construction of long-term plans to advance these principles and achieve these objectives.
  

To serve the last three of these purposes (and to a lesser extent, the first two), the Twelve Points rely entirely on the vocal, visible backing of American conservatives themselves. Their existence does not urge or establish a conservative consensus – only the widespread endorsement of conservatives can do this. Their existence alone will not cause their lessons to be learned – only by enthusiastically circulating them can conservatives cause this to be.

For these reasons, the principal question is now posed to you once again:

Do you like the Twelve Points?

Do you like the Twelve Points?

For those who are just now joining us, the standing question is: "Do you like the Twelve Points?"

Read the Twelve Points.

Decide for yourself.

Spread the word!

Tell your conservative friends to visit this site at www.the12points.com, or to jump directly to the Twelve Points page at http://the12points.com/2009/06/twelve-points.html.

Memory

Is it possible that much of what divides these conservative factions is nothing more than blindness -- a heightened focus on one or two conservative principles (or parts of them, or variations on them) that causes a conservative to overlook the remaining principles?

Many "conservatives" do not seem to have been properly familiarized with all of our principles in the first place. The situation, however, is not irremediable. Conservatives, regardless of which of the principles they favor, are already predisposed to understand and appreciate the rest. We can show our fellow conservatives that each of these principles is best served when all of the principles are given attention. Additionally, we can remind them of related considerations that are helpful in properly understanding and implementing those principles.

To unify conservatives, we will not abandon our principles. Instead, we will remember our principles, return lost truths to popular circulation, and continue to develop and build on this solid foundation.

(What are those principles? They are stated at length in the Twelve Points.)

Why the Twelve Points Are Needed -- Very Short Version

The conservative movement has become confused and aimless. Certain essential conservative principles and considerations have faded from memory and lost their influence. The Twelve Points will help to solve this problem by reminding us of conservative thinking that we may not have considered recently, and by making that thinking available to new, developing conservatives.

Do you like the Twelve Points? If you do, then spread the word.

These are not the last days of freedom in America

These are not the last days of freedom in America. The successes and sacrifices of generations of Americans have made the dangers they faced, to us, nothing but a distant memory. We have the luxury of feeling daunted by our mere political challenges only because of the sacrifices they made for victory in the face of far greater threats.

As important as these political matters are, how can we be hopeless when we face them in an America that is, however imperfectly, still substantially free? It is our duty to study, develop, communicate, and ultimately apply the wisdom that has been left to us. If we fail, we will not have failed because success was impossible.

Why the Twelve Points Are Needed -- Short Version

This is a problem that needs to be solved -- the conservative movement has become confused, fractured, and ineffective.

Among the causes of this problem, one is particularly important: Conservative philosophy and thought are communicated (both to fledgling and veteran conservatives) in a way that is ineffective in keeping a large number of our principles and important considerations actively in circulation at once. Essential principles (and widespread understanding of them) have eroded over time, for this reason, and wisdom has been lost.

In addition to this loss, the erosion has caused conservatives to divide and disperse. Previously, whatever their primary concerns were, conservatives were united because they realized that in this country, if not elsewhere, certain ideas work best in concert: economic freedom, freedom as an element of justice, our Constitution and the rule of law, the traditions of liberty, maintenance of military strength, “prudence,” and the responsible behavior and independence of individuals, families, and voluntary associations. Each of these is best served when all are taken together. A conservative who cares about any of them must be attentive to all of them. The result is not just a practical political alliance -- it is (or should be) a true unification. When factions of conservatives have forgotten, neglected, or abandoned some of these concerns, however, disunity results.

The Twelve Points are a step toward solving these problems. They summarize these conservative considerations and principles, tie them together, and submit them to conservatives for their (or "our") consideration. By reaffirming and communicating them, we can use the Twelve Points to re-infuse popular conservatism with the rich intellectual heritage of the conservative philosophy itself. Once we have done so, we will be ready to face the greater challenge before us –- promoting that philosophy, further developing specific policy proposals that would implement conservative reform, considering what we need to do in order to put those proposals to use, and, finally, taking action.

In conclusion, let us simplify the questions now posed to conservatives as a result of this submission of the Twelve Points:

Do you like the Twelve Points?

Should your friends like the Twelve Points, too?

The TWELVE POINTS

We, the conservatives of the United States of America, in order to guide and strengthen the conservative movement, to create a standard to which we can hold ourselves and our fellow conservatives, and to allow ourselves to better serve our country and the world, state and affirm these twelve essential principles:

I.

Concerning EQUALITY AND JUSTICE:

That justice is founded on the understanding that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” and that all just rights obtain their just character from this equal creation and endowment;

That as the arbitrary use of force is a departure from this principle, an internally-ordered right to liberty is an essential component of justice;

That when individuals unite to form a government, they do not surrender their rights, but instead grant their government the qualified permission to ascertain and keep the just boundaries of their liberty, which are to be defined by law, by their elected representatives, and in accordance with their constitution;

That in every government rests a sacred and immutable duty to secure and respect the rights of the governed, to guarantee equality before the law, and to preserve the rule of law....

II.

Concerning INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY:

That the right of individual liberty is naturally and internally ordered, as arbitrary coercion is a destroyer of liberty, not an expression of it;

That an individual has liberty if he is left undisturbed in the use of his God-given free will, but restrained from intruding on the equal liberty and genuine rights of others;

That beyond its proper role as a guardian of our rights, and regardless of its laudable objectives or humanitarian purposes, little of the work of government justifies its characteristic use of threats, commands, and forceful intrusions -- and their use, when unjustified, is injustice;

That only criminals should ever be treated as such;

That tributes to the name of Liberty are empty platitudes unless others are left free to act, and also to refuse to act, even in ways that we find unpleasant, irresponsible, or immoral without being subject to threatened or actual force;

That, nevertheless, the success of a free society depends on the virtues willingly practiced by its people, and on their choices, as individuals, to assume control of their lives and to use their freedom responsibly;

That a person's spiritual and moral development cannot be effectively or justly directed by governments, and that virtue cannot survive without liberty any more than liberty can flourish without virtue....

 III.

Concerning THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION and the RULE OF LAW:

That the the rule of law is superior to the “rule of men,” as it allows the decisive will of the governed, manifested as a constitutional provision, to guard against future leaders' lack of wisdom, prudence, and justice;

That the preservation of liberty depends on the effective restraint and regulation of government power, and that the effectiveness of these controls depends on the determination and effort of the governed to understand and honor them;

That the ingenious design of the United States Constitution is well-suited to this purpose, limiting the powers of the federal government, separating those powers between its three branches, prescribing the procedures through which those powers are to be used, and proscribing the most dangerous abuses;

That to preserve it in this crucial role, the Constitution must be acknowledged in practice, as it is universally in word, as the “supreme law of the land,” binding on the federal branches and the several states alike;

That the Constitution must be interpreted honestly and applied faithfully; that a legitimate constitutional interpretation is the plausible product of a sincere attempt, beginning with and emphasizing the constitutional text, to determine its original meaning;

That upon entering into association to form a government, the governed take a valuable right to constitutional government, and that to ignore the Constitution for the sake of convenience violates and squanders this right;

That mankind has yet to discover all of the ways by which constitutions can be used to restrain, shape, and improve government, and Americans should explore, carefully consider, and cautiously implement options that would strengthen the Constitution in its useful purpose....

 IV.

Concerning LIFE:

That all human life is sacred, and that intrusion on the right to life is the most complete, absolute, and irreversible form of coercion conceivable, denying another human being even the modicum of freedom to be left to continue to exist;

That as all humans possess a right to life, the task of defining “personhood” must be confronted, not indefinitely deferred for its perceived difficulty;

That in considering the status of the unborn, the danger lies not in the possibility that we will be unduly generous in recognizing their humanity -- the humanity of members of our species, separated by mere months from universal recognition and the protection of law -- but in the possibility that we will be too stingy; that personhood, which indisputably begins well before birth, should be recognized from conception....

 V.

Concerning PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS:

That the institution of private property must be preserved and honored, as it complements our natural liberty and independence, while its alternatives would make us needlessly dependent on the will of others;

That for the futile, contrary interests of each person in the commons of the Earth, property rights substitute -- through the division and organization of those interests -- widespread opportunity to possess, instead, a meaningful right: ownership of the soil under one's own feet, on which one's house stands, and which the owner can rightfully use and enjoy as he chooses;

That the power of eminent domain should never be used to take private property other than for public use, and it should be eschewed for any purpose that is not genuinely necessary to allow governments to serve their just and appropriate functions;

That property rights are invaluable as the foundation of a free market economy, which is itself a prerequisite to meaningful realization of the general right to liberty....

 VI.

Concerning THE FREE MARKET and ECONOMIC PROSPERITY:

That the free market is simultaneously an expression of liberty, a necessary condition to the effective use of liberty, and the best economic system to nourish vigorous economic growth and meet the material needs of human beings -- and, as a result, the free market has no tolerable substitute;

That governments must maintain economic freedom through low tax rates, free trade, preservation of the freedom of contract, stable monetary policy, balanced budgets, fiscal restraint, honest budgeting, respect for the investment of private property, and by avoiding unnecessary and unnecessarily burdensome regulation;

That the survival of economic freedom depends on the prevalence of the understanding that the free market not only is the best economic system, but also why it is the best, how it works, when it is its least effective, and why the fallacies invoked against it are fallacious;

That in an excessively regulated economy, deregulation is necessary surgery, but the success of free-market reformers' surgical separation of government and the market depends on their thorough understanding of the anatomy of the economy;

That this right to pursue material security, independence, and happiness deserves special care, but no person is owed the involuntary assistance of others in this pursuit, or in place of it....

 VII.

Concerning INDIVIDUALITY AND UNITY:

That conservatives must not only oppose racism, which is a corruption of society and a grave threat to justice, but must also take an active interest in solving and eliminating this problem;

That the solution begins with a resolute promotion of justice and equality before the law -- both in word and in fact -- and with each of us, as individuals, guarding the rights of others as we would guard our own;

That unity, though not artificial uniformity, is a means as much as a goal in America's pursuit of racial reconciliation, and that the purposeful division of peers over immaterial inheritable differences is an affront to individuality and a threat to unity....

 VIII.

Concerning CONSERVATION:

That conservation policy should be shaped by the same familiar principles and purposes that should guide all government action, based on sound science and harmonized with individual liberty, private property rights, the rule of law, and the critical needs of our economy;

That private ownership of resources, which tends to unite control over them with the consequences of mismanaging them, is preferable to common ownership and management and is the ideal model for policies to protect resources that cannot be privately owned....

 IX.

Concerning the RESTRAINT AND REVERSAL OF GOVERNMENT GROWTH:

That when government grows beyond its appropriate bounds, it foments a malignancy more dangerous than its separate elements;

That “as government expands, liberty contracts”;

That centralized funding centralizes power;

That regardless of its professed humanitarian motives, the powers of government are founded in force, and even the best governments pose a substantial threat to the very rights that they are instituted to protect;

That government programs, once established, tend to remain, regardless of whether they remain effective and regardless of the harm they come to inflict;

That the myriad of small but unjustified government expenditures cannot be separately defended by pointing out the relative insignificance of each of them alone, as the dollar is no less valuable when it is counted in pennies;

That no government the size, density, and complexity of the United States federal government can be made so transparent that the governed can effectively monitor and control it;

That governments are not subject to the perfecting forces of supply and demand, and that a democratic constitution, though essential, is inadequate to wrest adequacy from government;

That regardless of what is promised of it, the use of expanded government authority will be shaped by politics and corruption;

That government reform, private competition, and individual freedom often succeed where increased government spending and power fail;

That as there is no end to the promised benefits of government intrusion, there is no enterprise or personal sphere of freedom that is not ultimately at risk of being bled of its value or driven from existence;

That the government cannot control an economy without controlling people, and that in controlling people, “it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose”;

That freedom and its benefits are most endangered when Americans are severally bribed into selling not only their own freedom, but also that of their neighbors;

That when it relieves families and voluntary associations of their traditional responsibilities by supplanting them in their invaluable role, a government can extinguish blessings that no government can replace;

That government must be both meaningfully restrained by law and assertively supervised by the governed....

 X.

Concerning JUSTICE IN TAXATION:

That among the compelling grounds for low tax rates are the known and demonstrated economic benefits, the unconstitutionality of certain expenditures that taxes fund, and the sense that people who live responsibly, save, and work hard should keep as much as possible of their reward for doing so;

That taxes are, however, also an issue of justice, as taxes are obligatory and collected under the threat of harsh penalties, and these taxes ought not to be levied to fund government expenditures that cannot justify such threats;

That while some government functions deserve the support of all Americans, primarily in the provision of security and the securing of justice, to fund other legitimate, constitutional governmental functions, taxes should be designed to charge the willful beneficiaries of a government expenditure in proportion to the benefits that they receive from it;

That when the injustice of other expenditures cannot be resolved by eliminating the offending expenditures, their funding should be restricted to sources of revenue that are not compulsory in the traditional sense, and that do not leverage taxpayers' rights without their individual prior consent in order to compel them to pay;

That these alternative sources will not be considered and developed until politicians and the public recognize that it is possible for an otherwise desirable expenditure to violate the Constitution and the natural rights of taxpayers;

That by constitutional amendment, Americans can and should impose permanent controls requiring that only certain appropriate, lawful expenditures may ever be funded by traditional, compulsory taxation....

 XI.

Concerning CONTEMPLATION AND PRUDENCE:

That prudent policymaking requires an impartial examination of the relevant facts, due consideration and a healthy skepticism of the claims of our allies and opponents alike, the rejection of ideologies and their blinding effects, and an inclination to test, examine, and prove our own conclusions and beliefs;

That the formulation of policy should accommodate our inability to predict and affect the behavior of other people as well as we predict and control the behavior of things;

That we may not fully appreciate the consequences of our actions, and that “Sudden and slashing reforms are as perilous as sudden and slashing surgery;”

That few decisions would be less prudent or conservative than to abandon our fortunate American heritage as represented by our Constitution and the traditions of liberty....

 XII.

Concerning WISDOM AND STRENGTH, for SECURITY, FREEDOM, AND PEACE:

That we must defend America's just interests, preserving security and freedom for ourselves and our posterity;

That to this end, no source of strength -- including hearty diplomacy, strategic soundness, the will and preparedness to use military force, and all other just and constitutional resources -- may be wisely neglected;

That we court catastrophe when we overestimate our military strength, imprudently misspend it, or neglect to sustain and reinforce it;

That, as the federal government ought to be effective in its duty to preserve liberty, justice, and security for the American people -- and recalling also America's role as a beacon of liberty and justice for the world -- care and caution must be used in determining whether a use of military force is necessary and wise;

That our ability to deter threats rests on our strength militarily, our possession of the intelligence, skill, and resources to wield that strength effectively, and our adversaries' certainty that America will answer aggression decisively; and

That the uniting goal of all of the foregoing must be to keep the United States of America, at once, secure, just, prosperous, and free.

Completed in Indianapolis on the Second of July, in the Year of American Sovereignty and Independence the Two Hundred Thirty-fourth, Anno Domini 2009.