#frankwilhoit — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #frankwilhoit, aggregated by home.social.
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Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. [Anti-conservatism counters that:] The law cannot protect anyone unless it binds everyone; and it cannot bind anyone unless it protects everyone.
-- Frank Wilhoit -
Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. [Anti-conservatism counters that:] The law cannot protect anyone unless it binds everyone; and it cannot bind anyone unless it protects everyone.
-- Frank Wilhoit -
Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. [Anti-conservatism counters that:] The law cannot protect anyone unless it binds everyone; and it cannot bind anyone unless it protects everyone.
-- Frank Wilhoit -
Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. [Anti-conservatism counters that:] The law cannot protect anyone unless it binds everyone; and it cannot bind anyone unless it protects everyone.
-- Frank Wilhoit -
Many of you may already be aware of the important thoughts shared by #FrankWilhoit in his March 2018 blog comment "There is No Such Thing as Liberalism".
https://crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/liberals-against-progressives/#comment-729288
It provides political framing I find useful. I propose using it as a test or "razor" (à la Occam) when evaluating political actions and legislation:
👉 Who does this action or law bind? Who does it protect? 👈
The best answer is the people who are bound are also protected. That would be a sign of that the action or law is a good one.
The worst answer is the people who are bound are not protected. This almost always means the action or law is a bad one.
As with all politics and compromise there are shades of grey, but this rule of thumb can help find the better action or law.
https://mdpaths.com/rrr/commentary/wilhoits_razor/index.html
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#FrankWilhoit's definition of "#conservativism" remains a classic:
> There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.
https://crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/liberals-against-progressives/#comment-729288
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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/11/wilhoitism/#hoosier-jews
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