By Jason Brennan
The problem with communitarianism is that many communitarians make for bad community members. Many of them are society first, individual second! to the point of being anti-social.
They arent the kind of people youd want to live near.
Look, I get why people like community. I live in a fairly tight-knit community myself. We have little parades and fun runs. Various civics groups throw get-togethers all year long. The PTA works miracles. People know their neighbours. We have block parties. People come out to watch the various dad bands (and even the occasional mom band) play at the pool club. Its nice.
But America First! isnt just a plea to put America first or to treat our co-nationals as members of a giant community. Rather, its quite literally a threat, backed up with violence.
A lot of people resonated with Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ message. | Photo Courtesy: The Daily BeastSuppose you have a group of friends in high school. One of your friends starts to hang out with people in a different clique. You dont like thatyou think your friend isnt taking your friendship seriously. So, you talk among yourselves and come up with a solution: You decide youll beat up your friend next time he tries to hang out with the other kids. (Or, alternatively, you decide youll let him hang out with the other kinds, but only if he first pays you $3000. Otherwise youll beat him up.)
[su_pullquote]Rather, it shows you are contemptible pieces of crap.[/su_pullquote]
In this case, this doesnt show that you really are loving, good friends who care a lot about community. Rather, it shows you are contemptible pieces of crap. Youre using anti-social methods to force people to maintain the kind of community you want. No reasonable person would be friends with you.
Nothing changes when it comes to how we spend our money rather than whom we befriend:
Random American: Hmmm. I think Im going to splurge on an entry-level luxury car. While Cadillac has made great strides over the past seven years, Im going to go with a BMW 3-series instead of the Caddy ATS.
America First! Guy:Are you kidding? Dont you think you should buy American?
Random American:Well, I considered it, but the 3-series better suits my needs and wants. I mean, I believe there is a time and place for charity, but I dont buy cars out of a sense of charity.
America First! Guy:You know what, bub? If you arent gonna buy American voluntarily, Im going tomake you do it. This here gun says you better buy that GM car, or otherwise Im going to take $3000 out of your bank account to spend on whatever I damn well please. And you better hire an American to clean your house. And you better not rent your other house to some Haitian or Dominican. You put America first, or Ill make you put it first.
Even if you think Random American should buy a GM car (a questionable claim at best), the America First! guy is a piece of garbage.
If you think America First! justifies economic protectionism, then you arentworthy of being in community with anyone.
Youre like a teenager who beats up your friends when they find new friends. Youre like a priest who beats up people when they convert to a different sect. Youre like an abusive boyfriend who threatens to beat up his girlfriend when she wants to see other guys.
In short: Youre an abusive member of the community. Youve shown your true colours. The louder you make your threats and the more America is filled with people like you, the less reason I have to care about America or want to put it first.
Jason Brennan is the Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Associate Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at the McDonough School of Business and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University.
This article was originally published on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.
Featured Image Courtesy: Monovisions
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