Reagan’s Libertarian Spirit | Britannica Blog | David Boaz:
February 4, 2011 - "Libertarians have mixed feelings toward Ronald Reagan. Libertarians have mixed feelings toward Ronald Reagan. When we’re feeling positive, we remember that he used to say, “Libertarianism is the heart and soul of conservatism'....
February 4, 2011 - "Libertarians have mixed feelings toward Ronald Reagan. Libertarians have mixed feelings toward Ronald Reagan. When we’re feeling positive, we remember that he used to say, “Libertarianism is the heart and soul of conservatism'....
"After a dispiriting era of stagflation, he revived American spirits and our faith in free enterprise. He slashed marginal tax rates and ushered in a 'long boom.' Along with Margaret Thatcher, he both symbolized and galvanized a renewed enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and free markets.
"He shocked the chattering classes in Washington and New York when he told the truth about communism. that it was a world of 'totalitarian darkness' and a 'sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages even now are being written.' Even we anti-communists thought he was overly optimistic when he said that in 1983....
"Reagan had his faults. But he was an eloquent spokesman for a traditional American philosophy of individualism, self-reliance, and free enterprise at home and abroad, and words matter. They change the climate of opinion, and they inspire people trapped in illiberal societies. And these days, when people claiming the Reagan mantle push for wars or military involvement in Iraq, Iran, Georgia, and other danger spots, we remember that Reagan challenged the Soviet Union mostly in the realm of ideas; he used military force only sparingly."
Read more: http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/02/reagans-libertarian-spirit/
Read more: http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/02/reagans-libertarian-spirit/
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