In Liberalism, Ludwig von Mises says,
“Rhetorical bombast, music and song resound, banners wave, flowers and colors serve as symbols.…Liberalism has nothing to do with all this. It has no party flower and no party color, no party song and no party idols, no symbols and no slogans. It has the substance and the arguments. These must lead it to victory.”
Here, of course, he is referring to classical liberalism—the parent philosophy of what we today call conservatism and libertarianism. I understand and respect his point. I certainly don’t think it would be good for classical liberalism to take on all the characteristics of nationalism. It’s a philosophy, not a country.
That being said, art and symbolism do have the power to inspire, and maybe we could use a little more inspiration. “The substance and the arguments” alone have not led our philosophy to victory. Perhaps we need to touch the heart as well as the head. The left, of course, know this well. They have a long tradition of creating art and music in support of their ideological beliefs and political goals. The right have far less.
Some of this is the result of inherent personality traits. People on the left are (generally) higher in openness—which means they are more likely to be creative (and, as a corollary, more neurotic). People on the right are (generally) higher in conscientiousness—more orderly, but less creative. The left are thus going to have more artists by nature. Of course there are some conservative and libertarian artists and musicians. Just not nearly as many.
We need more. Lots more. Classical liberalism already has winning arguments. Now it needs moving music and powerful art.
The principles of classical liberalism comport with, and are rooted in, natural law. As such, they are demonstrably morally good. Living by those principles also produces better results, enhancing human flourishing. Over the last two millennia, and especially over the last four centuries, humankind has slowly been discovering all of this, and I believe that process is quickening now. Classical liberal ideas drove our evolution from monarchy to democracy, and the next phase of that evolution is coming. As that process unfolds, more creative types will be drawn into the movement.
In the meantime, we’ll have to work with what we’ve got.
When I am listening to music, I often hear lyrics that express ideas we believe in or that have tonal qualities that inspire action. I intend to start sharing these with you.
Sometimes (though infrequently), the artist is self-consciously conservative or libertarian, and thus the music contains elements or messages that (tacitly or explicitly) reflect that. We will call this the homegrown category.
The lack of an extensive supply of homegrown examples, however, requires that we expand our criteria…
Sometimes a song is not intended to convey a conservative or libertarian message, but I hear one in it nonetheless. It might be a lyric that I choose to interpret in a particular way, even though it was not exactly intended that way.
Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” is a famous example. The song is actually about a woman escaping domestic abuse, but because of the refrain “Let freedom ring” (and the triumphant tonal quality with which it is sung), that section of the song was used as the theme for Sean Hannity’s conservative cable news show.1
An even better example—because it comes closer to the mark—is “Cut the Cord” by Shinedown. Naturally, one can derive inspiration from the words “Freedom, follow me,” but I believe that “Don’t be a casualty—cut the cord” goes even deeper. It can be taken as a statement of general empowerment, or against the grievance cult of the left. An anarchocapitalist might appreciate the words “cut the cord” as a principled statement about all involuntary governance. The song actually appears to be about beating addiction by means of one’s own free will—and the idea of an “internal locus of control” certainly qualifies as a conservative sentiment.
These songs are in what we can call the adapted category. They may not have been written for self-consciously classical-liberal reasons, but we can draw inspiration from the messages and lyrics nonetheless.
Finally, we can envision a category of adopted songs. These would be songs that have an expressly political or ideological message that we are adopting for our own purposes, even though they were not necessarily conservative or libertarian, per se, in their original intent. An example here might be “Hippie Chick” by Soho. Lyrics like “I stopped loving you since the miner’s strike” (spoken to the police officer boyfriend she is chastising) leave little room for the belief that the songwriters are anything other than on the left. Yet my libertarian bell is rung every time I hear “Your life revolves around the force of oppression.” I am not at all shy about adopting any such song. Artists can complain if they wish, but they cannot control how we perceive their music. Personal perception is part of self-ownership!
Starting next Friday, I will try out #FreedomMusicFriday as a regular feature. It will be based on my taste in music, of course, because I am me. However, if you have any requests or recommendations, let me know, and I’ll give ‘em a listen!
It may still be. I refuse to watch any cable news.
I love Rosanne Cash's 'When the Master Calls the Roll' and (in a different mood) Montgomery Gentry's 'Lucky Man'
Good stuff -- Here's another candidate to inspire those struggling against dark forces - "I Am America" by Krista Branch - for a short time, while the late Herman Cain was running for office, this was his campaign theme song. https://youtu.be/0heL2Czeraw