Barry Goldwater - The Conscience of a Conservative (1960)

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"I feel certain that Conservatism is through unless Conservatives can demonstrate and communicate the difference between being concerned with [the unemployed, the sick without medical care, human welfare, etc.] and believing that the federal government is the proper agent for their solution.

Barry Goldwater
If the Conservative is less anxious than his Liberal brethren to increase Social Security 'benefits,' it is because he is more anxious than his Liberal brethren that people be free throughout their lives to spend their earnings when and as they see fit

Barry Goldwater
Conservatism, we are told, is out-of-date. This charge is preposterous and we ought to boldly say so. The laws of God, and of nature, have no dateline. […] These principles are derived from the nature of man, and from the truths that God has revealed about His creation. […] To suggest that the Conservative philosophy is out of date is akin to saying that the Golden Rule, or the Ten Commandments or Aristotle's Politics are out of date.

Barry Goldwater
Conservatism therefore looks upon the enhancement of man's spiritual nature as the primary concern of political philosophy. Liberals, on the other hand,— in the name of a concern for human beings — regard the satisfaction of economic wants as the dominant mission of society.

Barry Goldwater
The Conservative knows that to regard man as part of an undifferentiated mass is to consign him to ultimate slavery.

Barry Goldwater
A woman has a right to an abortion. That's a decision that's up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders or the Religious Right.

Barry Goldwater
Throughout history, government has proved to be the chief instrument for thwarting man's liberty.

Barry Goldwater
Today neither of our two parties maintains a meaningful commitment to the principle of States' Rights. The 10th Amendment is not a 'general assumption' but a rule of law. States rights mean that states have a right to act or not to act, as they see fit, in areas reserved to them.

Barry Goldwater
Social and cultural change, however desirable, should not be effected by the engines of national power. Let us, through persuasion and education, seek to improve institutions we deem defective. But let us, in doing so, respect the orderly processes of the law. Any other course enthrones tyrants and dooms freedom.

Barry Goldwater
I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws but to repeal them.

Barry Goldwater
The effect of Welfarism on freedom will be felt later on - after its beneficiaries have become its victims, after dependence on government has turned into bondage and it is too late to unlock the jail.

Barry Goldwater
Can any of us refute the wisdom of Madison and the other framers? Can anyone look at the carnage in Iran, the bloodshed in Northern Ireland or the bombs bursting in Lebanon and yet question the dangers of injecting religious issues into the affairs of state?

Barry Goldwater
One way we exercise political freedom is to vote for the candidate of our choice. Another way is to use our money to try to persuade other voters to make a similar choice - that is, to contribute to our candidate's campaign. If either of these freedoms is violated, the consequences are very grave not only for the individual voter and contributor, but for the society whose free political processes depend on a wide distribution of political power.

Barry Goldwater
I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size.

Barry Goldwater