Michael Gerson: Closet German Idealist?
Michael Gerson shows off his knowledge of 19th Century German Idealism in his tribute to Jack Kemp in today’s Washington Post:
Jack believed that ideas — not interests or political deals or public passions — rule the world. In this sense, he strangely resembled idealists such as Hegel or Marx, who discerned hidden, powerful currents beneath the surface of history. For Jack, that force was “liberal democratic values” (small “l” and small “d,” as he invariably added). Economic freedom, in his view, provides the poor with a hope beyond the dreams of socialism or large “L” Liberalism — the hope of becoming wealthy themselves. Opportunity, he argued, is the most important measure of economic justice; capitalism is perfected by the broadest possible distribution of capital; and economic freedom and political freedom are inseparable.
There’s an odd misstep for someone who clearly has a grasp of what he’s talking about, as Marx is decidedly not an idealist, although he, like Hegel, sees “currents beneath the surface of history.”
The contrast between “liberalism” and “Liberalism” is also noteworthy, as is the cloaked implication that Liberalism does not “dream” of the poor becoming wealthy.
Along the lines of my Souter post earlier this morning, Gerson’s comments should emphasize the need for a more clear philosophical discussion in politics. There’s a lot of good material squeezed into this paragraph, but cramming it all so tightly makes the core assumptions — including some questionable ones — difficult to follow.
-Sam
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