In terms of the rest of the world, the United States was quite far to the right of all the industrialized nations three
decades ago. Since 1980, the country has gone even farther out of whack. The trinity of presidents Regan, Bush
and Schrub have been much part of this deviation.
In the United States, we suopposedly value individual rights. Forty years ago, the Republicans has a large segment
know today as Libertarians, those who thought government should govern as little as possible. Barry Goldwater was their
candidate for president against Lyndon Johnson, certainly our last "liberal" president. I adhere to the definitions
I learned back in 1978, which I will define here.
Conservatives (like Barry Goldwater) resisted changes, especially those of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal
during the Great Depression in the 1930's. They saw no reason to keep living in the 19th century with government out
of the way. Republicans, like the Whigs and the Federalists before them, wanted government to aid business. The
problem is that it causes welfare for the wealthy, because someone gains from governmental contracts. They also thought
that businesses should avoid taxes to encourage them to provide jobs. (to be continued)
