“The point that the government is NOT the nation, has been made repeatedly. It is time to put that theme into practice. The Corporate/State axis is the evil twin. The solution is restoring a real free enterprise economy and scale back and severely limit the role of central government.” – Sartre
Most people associate the term America First with foreign policy. While the implication speaks loudly for a pro national stand, most ignore the tradition that Populism is at the core of the movement. In order to understand the heritage, one should examine the most overt aspects of this tradition. Professor Ralph Raico, states the case for an American First foreign policy in his book – The Failure of America’s Foreign Wars. He refers to the following motto used by Richard Cobden, the libertarian theorist of international relations:
“The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is — in extending our commercial relations — to have with them as little political connection as possible.”
While the sordid history of mindless interventionism is widely available, most detractors want to rely upon the canard that isolationism from world affairs is the goal for advocates of the America First philosophy. How insincere, such a reproach is and disingenuous are these critics. Clearly those who accept the wisdom of Washington and Adams, understand that it applies today and has the same validity as when the nation embarked on its unique journey in self governance.
As a new year begins, it is easy to consider that the prospects for freedom in America and in many other parts of the world to seem dim. After all, government continues to grow bigger and more intrusive, along with tax burdens that siphon off vast amounts of private wealth.