Social-Justice Conservatism

Hat tip to Catholic Analysis. Senator Rick Santorum and British MP Ian Duncan Smith offer a vision of social-justice conservatism in OpinionJournal.

They want to liberate social justice from the "the Babylonian Captivity of socialists and other leftists." Consider the following:

In many conservative circles, "social justice" is synonymous with socialism or radical individualism. No wonder: For decades, the political left has used it as a Trojan horse for its big-state agenda. Yet the wreckage of their policies is obvious. Compared to the U.S., most European economies are struggling with inflation, unemployment, low growth and a declining tax base; nearly all European societies are burdened with increased crime and family breakdown; and there is a draining away of hope and opportunity.

Conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond are charting a new vision of social justice. It recognizes that the problems caused or aggravated by the growth in government cannot be corrected by a crude reduction in its size. Policy must also deliberately foster the growth of what Edmund Burke called "the little platoons" of civil society: families, neighborhood associations, private enterprises, charities and churches. These are the real source of economic growth and social vitality.

The social justice agenda we endorse is grounded in social conservatism. That means helping the poor discover the dignity of work, rather than making them wards of the state. It means locking up violent criminals, but offering nonviolent offenders lots of help to become responsible citizens. It endorses a policy of "zero tolerance" toward drug use and sexual trafficking, yet insists that those struggling with all manner of addictions can start their lives afresh.

In America, this vision emerged a decade ago with bold conservative initiatives aimed at empowering individuals and grassroots groups helping the nation's neediest, such as the Community Renewal Act and other antipoverty initiatives. Today's CARE Act is part of the same tradition. Likewise, the Bush administration's plan to create a Gulf Opportunity Zone after Hurricane Katrina would offer tax relief and small-business loans to support a culture of entrepreneurship.

Can conservatives do it? Can they rehabilitate the concept of social justice after it's long abuse by Reasonable Welfare-statists? Perhaps. But the catch remains. That catch is human nature. Whether liberal or conservative, Fool or Reasonable, all humanity suffers from the effects of original sin. That means everyone faces the same temptations of power--and may fall for them.

Successive Republican Congresses under the Bush Administration have spent like drunken sailors. Pork rises as the benefits of buying influence for voting constituencies pay dividends. Can conservatives maintain their commitment to the principle they believe differentiate themselves from their liberal collegues? So far, they don't have a great fiscal record to go on. And as they say, money talks and the rest walks.

Their goals are certainly consistent with Catholic Social Teaching. Their commitment to restore the "little platoons" of society will certainly transform society for the better. Will they do what they say? Even if it costs them in the short term?

Will anyone?