commentators

Iain Duncan Smith and Rick Santorum: A Conservative Vision Of Social Justice

I'm in Washington DC for a week of meetings including The First International Conservative Conference on Social Justice.  The agenda is attached.  Download washington_conference.pdf

The purpose of the conference is outlined in an article that appears in today's Wall Street Journal.  The article - Let's Deploy The Small Platoons; A Conservative Vision of Social Justice - is jointly authored by Iain Duncan Smith and America's third-ranking Senator, Rick Santorum.  They - with the Centre for Social Justice, the Heritage Foundation and the Sagamore Institute - have organised the conference.  Representatives of Australia, Canada and New Zealand are also taking part.  The conference aims to explore opportunities for greater co-operation between conservatives as we seek to develop solutions to first and third world poverty.

In their article, the two authors write:

"In many conservative circles, "social justice" is synonymous with socialism or radical individualism. No wonder: For decades, the political left has used it as a Trojan horse for its big-state agenda. Yet the wreckage of their policies is obvious. Compared to the U.S., most European economies are struggling with inflation, unemployment, low growth and a declining tax base; nearly all European societies are burdened with increased crime and family breakdown; and there is a draining away of hope and opportunity.

Conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond are charting a new vision of social justice. It recognizes that the problems caused or aggravated by the growth in government cannot be corrected by a crude reduction in its size. Policy must also deliberately foster the growth of what Edmund Burke called "the little platoons" of civil society: families, neighborhood associations, private enterprises, charities and churches. These are the real source of economic growth and social vitality.

The social justice agenda we endorse is grounded in social conservatism. That means helping the poor discover the dignity of work, rather than making them wards of the state. It means locking up violent criminals, but offering nonviolent offenders lots of help to become responsible citizens. It endorses a policy of "zero tolerance" toward drug use and sexual trafficking, yet insists that those struggling with all manner of addictions can start their lives afresh."

Clive Davis: America’s new Ambassador to Britain has a massive job ahead of him

Noting that 73% of British voters felt that the US exercised too much influence around the globe and 51% believe that American culture is threatening our own culture, Clive Davis (writing for TechCentralStation.com) says that the British people can no longer be seen as a reliable friend of America. Why?

• There are historical reasons – even during WWII the American soldiers based in Britain were widely described as “overpaid, oversexed and over here”.
• There are fundamental reasons – the unpopularity of the Iraq war, disapproval of the Guantanamo Bay situation and some concern at the excesses of American popular culture (although not as much concern as conservative America shows).
• …And then there is media hostility – fanned, unsurprisingly, by the BBC but also, more unexpectedly, by the Michael Moore-ish Mail newspapers.

But Davis concludes by blaming the Bush administration for failing to do enough about America’s unpopularity:

“Even though I'm a Bush admirer, the sheer ineptitude of the administration's public relations has been astounding. What's more, seduced by Tony Blair's oratory and statesmanship, Washington decision-makers seem to think there is no need to bother communicating with the British public. How else to explain the fiasco at Grosvenor Square, home to the American embassy? When William Farish was installed as ambassador early in Bush's tenure, it was thanks to his campaign contributions, not to mention his passion for breeding racehorses -- supposedly a handy accessory in mingling with royalty and upper classes. Sadly, his lack of communication skills soon became obvious, so much so that the "invisible" ambassador became the butt of many a journalist's jokes. After 9/11, at a moment when the US needed an articulate figure at the helm, Farish was nowhere to be seen. After he eventually departed last July, his post remained vacant, much to the consternation of America's friends on this side of the Atlantic. "A dereliction of duty" was the scathing assessment of the Times. His successor, Robert Tuttle -- a businessman and former head of personnel at the Reagan White House -- finally arrived last month. Whether he will prove any more charismatic remains to be seen. He has a huge job ahead of him.”