Blog-friend Russell Arben Fox of In Medias Res identified this humble blog as one of his “blogs that make you think” per some kind of game/meme that was going around (thanks, Russell!). Of course, few blogs make me think quite as much as Russell’s long, substantive posts on political philosophy written through the prism of his fairly unique brand of left-wing conservative communitarianism, so the feeling is mutual.

Interestingly (to me if no one else), Russell describes my outlook as “contrarian-if-mostly-conservative-in-some-sense.” I’m not entirely sure I’d “self-identify” as a conservative at this point; heaven knows I’ve spent a lot of time bashing the Bush administration and organized conservatism generally and very little time praising them. But I also don’t really think of myself as a liberal or a leftist. Or, for that matter, as a “moderate” or a “centrist.” Maybe that’s the contrarianism! Or maybe I’m just confused.

I think I still use certain “conservative” ideas as my template for thinking about politics – ones derived from a blend of libertarianism and traditionalism – but lately I’ve become more friendly to leftish views, as well as certain “green” notions (many of which I’d be tempted to argue are compatible with a kind of “conservatism rightly understood”).

But clearly political ideals can’t be detached from concrete social and political circumstances. If you think nearly everything the “conservative” party is doing is wrong, then don’t you end up functionally anti-conservative (even if not “liberal”)?