"Conservative" "Economic Thought"

[Cary]

I have to put the word "conservative" in quotes because today's "conservatives" are radical rightist extremists.

Can someone please explain to me how a radical rightist extremist (someone who wants to remake our nation into something that it once was only in their radical, extremist and revisionist mind) can rightfully be characterized as conservative? I mean when I think of conservative I think of Edmund Burke, whose big idea was that radical change is irresponsible and who made a compelling argument vis a vis The French Revolution.

Of course the question is rhetorical as my real intent here is to point out the irony.

Even more radical though is anti-intellectual notions behind their "conservative" "economic thought". I have to put "economic thought" in quotes because the "economic thought" they rely on is so incredibly bereft of actual economic thought that it's a reach to even consider their arguments as "economic thought". It's as if they subscribe to the Leo Straussian notion of lying in order to gain political power so that their a priori ideology can take over and create nirvana for us all.

Witness the supreme fraud that is "supply side economics". Ironically this garbage is still lurking in the weeds, replete with an attempted resurrection of Arthur Laffer with a gloom and doom book predicting catastrophe next year, largely because we're not listening to him.

The point of my rant, aside from venting my spleen, is that we have to do a better job of beating back this economic disinformation. It is very dangerous. Our current condition owes a lot to supply side sophistry, which ultimately is a formula for transferring wealth from the middle class to the top 5%, give or take. This is very dangerous stuff. Paul Krugman is out there fighting the good fight, and he's a most formidable ally. But we need more because I'm still hearing life in the "conservative" message and I find this most disturbing.

[baldguy]

1. "Conservative Economic Thought" isn't.

[Cary]

2. True, but we know that.

My worry here is that the fraud continues and my question is what can we do about that fraud?

[bemildred]

3. The word is "dogma", as in "economic dogma".

But OK.

[Cary]

4. This is a critical subject

It's not just important, it's critical. Oddly it seems to be slipping away from our dialogue.

[ClassicLiberalRoss]

5. Hmm. I need to know more...

You're talking about "today's" conservatives acting like radical right-wing extremists, but in what areas -- specifically -- are self-professed conservatives any more right wing now than they were, say, thirty, forty or fifty years ago?

[charlesb]

6. Conservative Economic Thought = "Free-Market" Dogmatism

Conservative "economic thought" = "free-market" dogmatism and a pack of lofty rationalizations for capitalist greed.