Dharmic Americanism should be the new philosophy

How the church-going Republicans began to be hated by many Americans needs to be analyzed?

The GOP (Grand Old Party) was the first to introduce ‘classical liberalism‘ in 1854. classical liberalism was based on economic freedom as mentioned by Adam Smith in his book one of the “Wealth of Nations.” Classical liberalism reduced a human being to a mere commodity that can be used to make maximum profits for the corporation. Assuming that even though individuals can negotiate a better fair price for the skills, but, major corporations still have the ability to control the market value of services or products they can buy from individuals. The government that is independent of the control of the market forces cannot reinforce a rule to intervene on behalf of an individual. The individual will have no recourse but courts to gain justice. Neo-classical liberalism advocated smaller governments. However, the main drawback is the democracy model itself. When governments change hands from parties with divergent ideological views, the system that sustains the interests of the largest group of bureaucracy gains an upper hand. Because the bureaucrats often implement the decisions of the government. The church has often condemned wealth which is outside their control. Big corporations and strong governments are always opposition to their interests. The biggest loss of the philosophy of separation of church and government is the church itself. So they look for friends in the government who can make policies favorable to them and their congregations. For the church, it is extremely important to be closer to at least one political group.

With a large number of Muslim refugees coming to the USA with deep-rooted faith in their tradition, the social liberalism of Europe has become the new call by Islamic followers.

Therein, lies the problem. The church’s history is replete with instances of gross human rights violations in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The church was also responsible for elitist class segmentation to maintain their hold on the peasant class. The peasant class gives them numbers and faithful followers while the elitist class gives them social leadership. With the church being a connector between elite and peasants, that was also a great revenue model for the church. The church has thrived on this model for the last 900-year history of human history. History shows that liberalism thrived in the USA but was detested by elites and nobles in Europe. Classical liberalism thrives in the USA and has given rise to American Conservatism. Social liberalism thrives on individual liberty and group liberty and is now as per pure definition thrives in Europe. Social liberalism also comes with politically correct attitudes displayed more in Europe than in the USA.

“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” – the preamble of the American Declaration of Independence. Chicago School of Economics has had a major influence on defining American conservatism which was based on classical liberalism. Social conservatism in the USA which closely adheres to Judeo-Christian values is the hallmark of Southern USA. With recent nationalistic movements across the world, nationalistic conservatism has become stronger in the USA. With a large number of Muslim refugees coming to the USA with deep-rooted faith in their tradition, the social liberalism of Europe has become the new call by Islamic followers. Their demand for state welfare as a right along with the benefits of American conservatism is the new challenge faced by American conservatives.

Democrats have captured this opportunity and have espoused social conservatism as a tool for getting votes. The idea of the USA stands to fail with social conservatism coupled with Islamic conservatism given the global history of political Islam. Who will prevail, only time can tell? The GOP stands to lose votes unless they completely disconnect themselves from Judeo-Christian conservatives. There are three major conservative groupings: – The first grouping is American conservatives + Judeo Christian conservatives, The second grouping is American social liberals + Islamic conservatives, The third grouping which is, American Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and other American natives. The third grouping remains closer to American social liberals but their Islamic conservative connections will keep them aloof.

As far as the election is concerned, any of the two parties Democrats or Republicans have to attract this third grouping which will actually define the outcome of the election. If any of the groupings remove their religious connections then more Americans will vote for the country than for the party. It’s time to bring Americanism back rather than divisive religion-based politics. Dharma is one such platform that is beyond any religion. Dharmic Americanism should be the new philosophy of the political parties in the USA.

Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.