Barry Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative - 6th session

Sunday, January 3, 2021

Barry Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative, 6th Reading Group: Dandi, Mori

Chapter 5. The Freedom of Farmers

Government intervention in the economy causes trouble

In the past, during the New Deal era, the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 was enacted by invoking the Constitution’s so-called “general welfare clause.”

The Supreme Court struck down that legislation on the grounds that the phrase “general welfare” was merely a necessary condition for the taxing power and did not grant Congress the authority to control anything.

“The power to confer or withhold unlimited benefits is the power to oppress or destroy.”

Farmers want to stand on their own

Because of technological advances and other developments, the supply of agricultural products can now be met by far fewer farmers than before. Therefore, subsidy policies like those of today cannot solve the problem of surplus farm products.

The only way to persuade farmers to move into other fields is to stop subsidizing inefficient farmers for products that cannot be sold at free-market prices.

I do not believe this process would bring about the “loss of votes” that politicians fear. Most farmers want to stand on their own. They are ready to seize their opportunities in the free market.

Chapter 6. The Freedom of Labor

Bribery and corruption are not the cause of the disease that obstructs the labor movement, but its symptoms. The cause is the enormous economic and political power concentrated in the hands of union leaders.

A union is fundamentally an expression of freedom.

A union is an alternative to state socialism and therefore restrains it. It is also important as a means of expressing freedom.

Conditions for unions to fulfill their proper function

Union participation must be voluntary; unions must limit their activities to collective bargaining; and bargaining must be conducted with the employers of the workers concerned.

Only when these three conditions are observed can unions fulfill their proper function.

However, the “union shop contract” (an employment contract that makes union membership a condition of employment) blocks workers from deciding for themselves which union to join, or whether to join one at all. To exercise that freedom, they would have to lose their jobs.

Union membership must be voluntary

The “free rider” argument that union leaders often invoke to defend compulsory unionism is also wrong. The logic is that if someone does not pay his fair share of the costs, he should not enjoy the benefits of the organization’s activities, but no organization or institution enforces this logic.

The Red Cross benefits all of us, directly or indirectly. Yet donations to the Red Cross are not compulsory.

Of course, there are always some people who try to live off others. But we should not deny everyone freedom of choice because of complaints about a few.

Historically as well, the labor union movement developed when it rested on a voluntary foundation.

Moreover, so long as union leaders can compel workers to join organizations, they have no need to maintain incentives to act responsibly.

Unions’ political activities should be restricted

There is a problem when unions donate to candidates of their choosing.

When union members’ money is spent without consultation on objectives determined by a small number of union leaders, the union restricts the freedom of its members.

A union’s decision about which candidate to support or which party to support is not made by a vote of the members. That decision is made by a small number of senior union officials.

And if the money spent in this way comes from union dues collected by compulsion, the problem is even more serious.

In order to achieve the broadest possible dispersion of political power, financial contributions to political campaigns should be made by individuals, and by individuals alone.

The enemy of freedom is unrestrained power

I oppose the method of having the government determine industry-wide conditions of employment through compulsory arbitration in order to restrain union power. This is because it transfers economic power from unions to the government and promotes state socialism.

Therefore, the most reasonable approach is to disperse union power and expand freedom in labor-management relations.

Just as corporate monopoly harms the operation of the free market, so does union monopoly.

Let us wage war against all monopolies, whether corporate or union.

The enemy of freedom is unrestrained power. The champion of freedom must fight against the concentration of power, wherever it occurs.

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Original title: 베리 골드워터 <보수주의자의 양심>-6차

Author: Jayujuui Ipmun Dokseo Toron Moim

Date: 2021-01-03

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=reading01&pn=6&idx=23395