Post-Modern Political Honesty: Part I--Conservatives Are Not Liberals!

This is the first piece in a series about political honesty. It sets the philosophical framework for the rest of the sequence. If a view from 40,000 feet is not your taste, you can skip to the next post without loosing much at all.

From a conceptual level (excluding the phenomenological perspective), a large enough change in quantity or extent is viewed as a change in quality or kind. A couple of examples. 

 

In space, when matter reaches a certain density, it warps space-time and creates a black hole. No one would call unwarped space and a black hole the same thing, yet their differences can be explained by how dense the matter in each is. 

Turning to political ideology for another example, consider that a traditional conservative embraces social uniformity, old-style free marketeering, and hawkishness in foreign relations. A modern liberal endorses acceptance of social difference, a tempered marketplace, and footprints by the Departments of State and Defense that are in line with the will of the United Nations. Notice that each element of conservative ideology is thematically related to an element of liberal ideology. Moreover, the elements of each thematic dyad can be viewed as the poles of a continuum:

Social Homogeneity----------------------------- Social Heterogeneity

Unbridled Capitalism--------------------------   Highly Regulated Markets

Unilateral Use of Power------------------------ Community of Nations Determined Use of Power

Otherwise said, while no one would equate conservatism and (non-classical) liberalism, they are distinguished by the degree to which social uniformity, free markets and superpower status are embraced or eschewed.

So, what does this have to do with honesty?

It is my contention that honesty in political speech has crossed a threshold. Its prima facie moral value has been replaced with its argumentation value. This is a consequence of utilizing the same narratives and tropes to spin dishonesty, with ever-greater frequency and ever-wider application, resulting in language in which truth is valued only to the extent that it serves the speaker's ends. This is a change in kind emanating from a significant change in extent. This is post-modern political honesty.

Enter, The Clintons and The Donald...