Simon

Good to see your participation.

One strong area of friction I see in the conservative world is between social and libertarian conservatives. These are conservatives who will come down on the “liberal” side on abortion, gay marriage, and various other values issues. Ramesh Ponnuru (see Instapundit) sees this is the crucial battleground in politics for a while, and a possible fatal crack in the Republican base.

I encounter this tension all the time. Somehow libertarianism has infected a lot of people, in strange ways. The internet has long had a libertarian ethos, and I suspect that as more people interact with it, they develop these values. Furthermore, the social conservative side places prohibitions on what people can do. The libertarian side says you can do just about anything, which appeals to the hedonism inherent in young men and being pushed by our popular entertainment.