When Did "Statist" Become A Dirty Word?
I’m somewhat puzzled by Matt [Yglesias]’s argument that a concern with Elana Kagan’s civil liberties record is “a quite different thing than the concern that Kagan isn’t a “real liberal” in the Marshall tradition.” Brennan, Marshall and Douglas were much more civil libertarian than any of the Court’s current liberals, and there’s a real danger Kagan that Kagan would be more statist than any of them with the possible exception of Breyer.
(Emphasis supplied.) I think Lemieux has made Yglesias' point here. Indeed, the concerns of libertarians are indeed quite different from those of the traditional liberal - who views the state is a solution, not a threat. Of course, those holding these views often overlap, as they did in Justices such as Brennan and Marshall. But the concerns are, as Yglesias argues, distinct. I can assure you that you will see more libertarian concerns from Jeralyn than you will from me. And I suspect, you will see more statist concerns from me than from Jeralyn. But I imagine we both probably agree on most of these issues. I think Yglesias' point is that libertarian concerns are not equivalent to liberal concerns. I think that's right.
Speaking for me only
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