Shouts from the desert

This week the Prime Minister was reported as denying that the Liberal Party has become extreme, saying of himself:

I am a conservative and unashamedly so on certain issues, and liberal on others, and that is the natural position of the Liberal Party

I would like to know which issues he is "liberal" on, because I cannot identify any off-hand. Central to liberalism is the idea that any restriction of individual freedom has to be justified. As Jefferson said "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others". Mill expressed the same idea - "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others".

Howard further asked:

Why was he [Greg Smith] called an extremist? Because he's Catholic and anti-abortion. That might be conservative, but it's not extreme. A lot of people hold that view

To this I would answer that anybody who seeks to use the coercive power of the State to force somebody to adhere to their moral perspectives when the conduct restricted is not objectively causing harms to other people is engaged in extremism. It is a reasonable thing to hold the view that abortion is wrong, but it is quite another to seek to use the coercive power of the State to punish women who have abortions and who do not share the view that abortion is wrong. Holding the view is conservative. Attempting to force others to comply with it is extreme, because there is a lack of agreement as to the instant that an embryo develops into a person, and that is something not capable of objective resolution.

However extremism in the Liberal party goes further than that. Seeking to "ban" homosexuals from marrying is an act of extremism because that is a matter entirely private to the individuals involved and does no harm whatsoever to others. Overturning the Northern Territory's voluntary euthanasia laws is an act of extremism because once again, there is no injury to non-consenting parties. Perhaps the Prime Minister thinks his workplace relations laws are liberal, but as most employers are discovering they actually have less freedom to negotiate the terms of employment contracts under the WorkChoices laws than they had previously - these laws are not liberal either.

Conservatism becomes extremism when it seeks to control others - to force them to adhere to conservative views in matters that are private to themselves. On this score the Liberal party has certainly engaged in extremism, and in the New South Wales branch is certainly under the influence of extremists.