[Vision2020] Doug Wilson's debate

[Ted Moffett]

I agree.

"Left" and "right" as political stereotypes are misleading, of course.  A
thoroughgoing libertarian shares the same firm defense of some forms of
human liberty (defending Gay marriage, for example) against the power of the
State, as a socialist leaning "liberal," though the liberal advocates far
more State control over some forms of economic behavior.  Some libertarian
conservatives, who would allow legal abortion and
prostitution, legalized drugs, Gay marriage, and little or no censorship in
the media, are an entirely different animal than the "religious
conservatives" who promote State power against liberty by promoting State
regulation of individuals lives on all these issues.

Christopher Hitchens atheist or agnostic views on religion might lead some
to call him a "leftist" but this is because, perhaps, here in the US,
religion and politics are connected to an extreme.  The very idea of
"conservative" in the US automatically induces the image of a "religious
conservative."  The idea an atheist could be a firm believer in free
markets, less government, less taxation, and support an aggressive
militarized foreign policy (Hitchens passionately defended the invasion of
Iraq), all views that many associate with "conservatism," contradicts the
stereotype, if this exists, that atheists or agnostics are also tax and
spend liberal leaning anti-war thinkers.  Where such a stereotype could come
from, I am not really sure...  Perhaps it comes from assumptions about the
mindset common in the halls of academia, where so many atheists or agnostics
are assumed to be oriented toward critiques of capitalism and abuse of State
power in a militarized foreign policy.

My take on Christopher Hitchens is that he is a independent thinker who
resists fitting any easy stereotype of being a right or left winger.  It
seems he delights in being a contrarian, though I don't think he is
frivolous about his independence of thought.  I recall watching Hitchens
defend the invasion of Iraq years ago.  I have also heard him debate atheism
vs. theism.  He is quite a passionate and engaging speaker!  With a rapier
quick wit, backed by a very well read mind!

Hot off the presses, is this article in the Atlantic from Christopher
Hitchens discussing Karl Marx with references to the current global economic
crisis.  As to whether this article reveals Hitchens to be a Marxist leaning
thinker the reader can decide, but it seems he steers a path down the middle
between Marxism and capitalism:

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200904/hitchens-marx

Quote from the article at the website above:

At the conclusion of his article, John Cassidy wrote of Marx, “His books
will be worth reading as long as capitalism endures.” That would appear to
mean that Marxism and capitalism are symbiotic, and that neither can expect
to outlive the other, which is not quite what the prophet intended when he
sat all those arduous days in that library in Bloomsbury, and swore hotly to
Engels, “I hope the bourgeoisie will remember my carbuncles until their
dying day.”
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On 4/30/09, lfalen <lfalen at turbonet.com> wrote:
>
> Hitchins is an atheist with an agenda. I have not read anything by him
> other that what has been printed in "The Skeptical observer" I am unaware
> that he is otherwise a leftist. I don't think that that is enough to place
> him on the left.
> Roger
> -----Original message-----
> From: Joe Campbell philosopher.joe at gmail.com
> Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:33:30 -0700
> To: Paul Rumelhart godshatter at yahoo.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Doug Wilson's debate
>
> > Unfortunately the book is released by Cannon Press, which is located
> > in Moscow. I think this was a huge mistake. Look, if I were to own a
> > press, how many books would I have? A lot more than I have now!
> >
> > IMO Hitchins is as far to the left as Wilson is to the right; I have
> > no use for either view. It would be a shame if we came away from their
> > debate with the view that these were our only options.
> >
> > The myth is that the left is swayed by radicals like Hitchins but the
> > reality is the right is swayed by radicals like Wilson.
> >
> > Joe Campbell
> >
> > On Apr 29, 2009, at 10:04 PM, Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > This link was posted in a forum I frequent which discusses religion.
> > > Nobody there, to my knowledge, is local here except for me.  Doug
> > > was in
> > > a debate with (among others) Christopher Hitchins.
> > >
> > > http://www.rfmedia.org/RF_audio_video/Other_clips/CT-Expo-Panel/
> > >
> > > I didn't realize Doug co-authored a book with him ("Is Christianity
> > > Good
> > > for the World?").  Congratulations to Doug.  I don't agree with much
> > > of
> > > what he said, but kudos for being invited and for doing well (I
> > > thought)
> > > in the debate.
> > >
> > > Paul
> > >
> > >
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