Many people have forgotten the rich roots of anti-war conservatism, and have come to believe that all conservatives are warmongers. Not true. For much of American history, a non-interventionist* foreign policy was preferred by the old Right-wing of the Republican Party. It’s easy to get confused, because today’s neo-conservatives favour ‘hyper-interventionism’, where the solution to every foreign problem lies in the exercise of military force.
There are a few books that provide a history of the anti-war conservative movement. One of the most popular is Justin Raimondo’s latest work, Reclaiming the American Right. I haven’t read it, but Raimondo appears to have done a thorough job in exploring the views of traditional conservatives such as Senator Robert Taft. Here’s a short review.
One may well ask if there is an anti-war conservative movement in Australia? Unfortunately, there is no old Right in Australia as such. While there were some conservatives opposed to sending our boys to die in American or British wars, they have never been a dominant force. For most of its history, Australia has been a satellite state: first, of the British empire, and now, of the American empire. We would be a lot freer if we gained independence, and made our own foreign policy decisions.
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* This approach can be distinguished from isolationism by its commitment to free trade.
