Selfish Libertarians and Socialist Conservatives? The Foundations of the Libertarian-Conservative Debate.

• Author: Strickland, James M.
• Position: Book review

* Selfish Libertarians and Socialist Conservatives? The Foundations of the Libertarian-Conservative Debate

By Nathan W. Schlueter and Nikolai G. Wenzel

Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 2017.

Pp. xii, 215. $24.95 paperback.

Selfish Libertarians and Socialist Conservatives? provides a useful and timely account of fundamental differences between libertarians and conservatives. It is written by two personal friends who affably disagree on a variety of policy questions. As highlighted in the introduction, the book is among the first in which a libertarian and a conservative speak directly to each other. Every two chapters are complementary, with Nathan Schlueter and Nikolai Wenzel offering their own initial arguments, rebuttals, case studies, and conclusions. Although the reader might at times desire more information about the topics the authors address, each author is meticulous in providing relevant citations and additional, recommended readings. Given the book's brevity, the authors can be applauded for its scope.

In chapter 1, Schlueter argues that American conservatism "rests on a recognition of the natural interdependence of liberty, tradition, and reason" or an "equilibrium of liberty" (p. 14). To him, the American founding achieved just such a balance. Borrowing from the work of John Finnis (Natural Law and Natural Rights [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011]), Schlueter uses the phrase "natural law liberalism" interchangeably with the term conservatism. Such a unified conservatism is said to combine principles from libertarianism, traditionalism, and neoconservatism, which respectively value liberty, tradition, and reason most highly. Hence, conservatism seeks to preserve the balance of values achieved by the American founding. This balance includes limits on government power, recognition of people's natural rights, and the consent (to govern) by citizens who have "restraint, toleration, trust, intellectual development, and respect for the rule of law" (p. 37). These facets form natural law liberalism, which is a "form of classical liberalism ... [that accounts] for the complex realities of social and political life" (p. 38). For Schlueter, the "equilibrium of liberty must be grounded in moral character and provided for in political institutions" (p. 43).

Although Wenzel might respect a rights-based justification for liberty, he employs the "simpler approach of robust political economy: People are not omniscient and cannot...