An opinion piece in the Marin Independent Journal in California provides an interesting example why the Left keeps winning policy debates. The article states,
All landlords are human and some humans are more concerned about profits than people. Because of this, I happen to believe that some rent control is a good thing.
Though the author doesn’t explicitly say so, he wants us to conclude that putting profits before people is a bad thing.
The author, who is a property manager, states that rent control should be used in “moderation” and only for “those in need.” After providing numerous examples of the harmful impact of rent control, he concludes by saying that “rent control is a form of socialism.” He embraces a fundamental premise of the Left—an individual’s need is a claim to the property of others.
The author wants some landlords to place the interests of those in need before profits. The alleged interests and well-being of others are to supersede one’s own interests and well-being. This is altruism, and it illustrates why the Left keeps winning.
Because the author doesn’t challenge the fundamental premise involved, his argument essentially becomes: Rent control for the needy is okay, but let’s not go “too far.” He is left to debate details, while allowing the underlying principle to stand unscathed.
If rent control is harmful and evil—and it is—then some rent control is also harmful and evil. Moderating rent control does not eliminate the harm that it causes. Accepting even a little rent control embraces the premise that it is appropriate for government to dictate the terms and conditions by which individuals can trade. And that, ladies and gentlemen, means giving away the farm.
The author may believe that compromising and accepting some rent control is in his best interest. However, any benefits that he derives will be short-lived. Sooner or later, and probably sooner, the activists will begin clamoring for more stringent rent control regulations. The author will be defenseless because he has agreed that some rent control is acceptable. The only issue up for discussion is what constitutes “some.”
The Left keeps winning because its political opponents compromise time and again. And they compromise because they embrace the same basic premises.
“Why the Left Keeps Winning?”
B/c the Right follows the same moral code (selflessness as virtue) while trying to defend an economic system based on self-interest. Which makes the Left morally consistent, w/ the Right looking like hypocrites.
Here’s the moral tap root for socialism: “He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world shall keepeth it unto life eternal.” – Jesus Christ
I agree with your point, but I hold that conservatives are not on the right politically. They advocate for private property while simultaneously arguing for government control of that property. This is a particular form of socialism–fascism. Let us not forget that the full name of the Nazis was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party