The tragedy of conservative triumphalism

Now is the moment of truth for conservatism, writes George Will. With the appearance of the oxymoron of conservative triumphalism, “[t]here has been much breezy confidence that the war will be painless and the aftermath—replacing Iraq’s regime—easy. This has made the public susceptible to mood swings.” Though Will doesn’t mention it, a particularly galling example of such overconfidence is the neoconservatives’ thoughtless use of the word “democratization” for what they propose doing to the Arab world. “Democratization” makes it sound as though democracy is something that can be injected into a society from the outside by some technical process, as though we could just press a button and whole countries, including tribal countries like Iraq, will be instantly “democratized.” Such fatuous expectations are doomed to disappointment.

Will continues:

The president has put the country on a necessary but problematic path favored by conservatives. Now conservatives should explain why conservatism, with its wariness about uncontrollable contingencies and unintended consequences, suggests that the coming triumphs will be more difficult and less complete than we wish.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 26, 2003 11:43 AM | Send