Restricting personal freedom is not conservative, but control

When did conservatism, a creed once synonymous with individual freedom, evolve into a doctrine of control? Today’s GOP has traded the banner of individual rights for the banner of government overreach, betraying the very principles conservatives once held dear. The word “conservative” is thrown around as if it were a synonym for “Republican,” but one can’t help but notice the irony. How did a party that once advocated limited government prevail in the most personal dimensions of American life?

True conservatism is rooted in the belief that individuals should have the freedom to live their lives without excessive government interference. Barry Goldwater, an icon of modern conservatism, put it clearly: “Our goal is to protect freedom, not restrict it.” But today’s GOP has deviated from that path and is not using its power to protect freedom but to enforce a narrow set of beliefs – regulating family planning, health care and intimate decisions.

These are not decisions that the state can dictate. But for Republicans, they have become ammunition for an all-out culture war. The goal here is not freedom; it is uniformity.

Does micromanaging family planning and health care respect conservative beliefs in limited government? What happened to the belief that rights belong to the individual and not the state? At its best, conservatism believes that society is best served when people have the opportunity to make their own decisions, with the government’s role limited to preserving that freedom. Ronald Reagan, revered by conservatives, summed this up perfectly: “If there is a political spectrum that reflects what conservatism is, it is individual rights.” But in the name of “defending values,” that seems to be the case Today’s GOP is increasingly focused on restricting personal freedoms – targeting decisions that conservatives once swore to defend.

This is not conservatism; it is control.

And what happened to respect for privacy—the right of Americans to mind their own business? Conservatism once demanded that government stay out of people’s private lives. However, today’s Republicans seem far more interested in policing other people’s decisions than in their right to decide. Reproductive health, relationships, identity—all have become targets of the Republican moral crusade.

Barry Goldwater’s words resonate louder today than ever before: “I have no respect for the religious right…If you disagree with these people, they are out to destroy you.” Conservatives of old would have seen this as the worst kind recognized state interference.

Where is the compassion? Conservatives once understood that freedom is strongest when it respects the autonomy of others. True conservatism sees people as they are, rather than as a rigid moral ideal. Compassionate governance recognizes that citizens have the right to live as they wish, without government interference. However, today’s GOP appears to have replaced compassion with control, imposing restrictions on those who need understanding the most.

This is not principled leadership; It’s moral policing.

In its zeal to “defend” traditional values, today’s GOP has become a champion of government overreach. Edmund Burke, the philosophical forefather of conservatism, warned against such an intervention, saying: “The real danger is that freedom will be nibbled away for convenience and in parts.” Instead of supporting individual rights, the Republican Party now enforces its own morality and uses the power of the state to enforce it.

How is that actually conservative? How can a party claim to stand for freedom while simultaneously deciding which citizens are “worthy” of it?

When a party uses government power as a weapon to enforce its morals, it loses the very soul of conservatism – the right of the individual to vote. Freedom, compassion and the right to make one’s own personal decisions should be at the heart of every conservative movement. Friedrich Hayek reminds us: “The more the state ‘plans,’ the more difficult it becomes for the individual to plan.” When a party uses the power of government to enforce conformity and restrict personal freedom, it loses the right to define itself as to be described as conservative. Because in reality it isn’t.