#LvCdebate — Is Libertarianism or Conservatism the Superior Political Philosophy?

Libertarians are frequently confused with conservatives in mainstream discourse, and  proponents of “fusionism” see libertarians and conservatives as natural political allies. But, are the two philosophies really as similar as many seem to believe? For the last several years, the Cato Institute intern coordinators have extended an invitation to the Heritage Foundation to pick among their best and brightest interns to join two of Cato’s in an annual debate on the virtues of libertarianism versus conservatism, and the differences between the two ideologies. It should be noted that the interns who debate do so in their private capacities and don’t necessarily represent the views of either organization, but the competition to be chosen is nonetheless fierce one, with Cato interns, at least, going through multiple levels of qualification to be picked. The resulting debate is an engaging and fun conversation about the meaning of individual liberty, limited government, free market, and policy that has quickly become a popular social event of the D.C. summer season. This year the debate, which took place on July 23rd, attracted a live audience of over 330 people (filling Cato’s main auditorium and spilling into an overflow room), while the livestream was watched by an additional 385 viewers. The popularity of the event has been reflected online as well. In both 2013 and 2014, the hashtag for the annual intern debate (#LvCdebate) was a sidebar trend on Twitter. This year’...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs