Until the pandemic, every year since 2010 the Cato Institute held an annual interns Libertarians Vs Conservatives debates between the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation. They covered the past and the most recently implemented or suggested policies, current issues as well as everlasting debate about which ideology is the most superior political choice. Whatever area of the political spectrum you may belong to, there is quite a lot of value to gain from the debate by encouraging critical thinking, re-questioning our believes and values, listening to our opponents, and most of all learning about previously unknown.
The following text is the full introduction to 2019. debate from the official Cato Institute page. The films are set in chronological order, the most recent being listed directly as a clip. Hopefully, the pandemic will cease soon and allow the condition for organizing more debates in the near future.
“Libertarians and conservatives alike claim to be advocates of individual liberty, limited government, and free markets. In some policy spheres, these shared values lead libertarians and conservatives to similar conclusions about public policy. As a result, popular political discourse often conflates libertarianism with conservatism, and proponents of “fusionism” go so far as to regard a libertarian‐conservative alliance as being both natural and politically useful.
However, the differences between the two political philosophies are at least as significant as the similarities. On matters such as national security and foreign policy, immigration, criminal justice, drugs, surveillance, marriage and the family, and the role of religion in public policy, libertarians and conservatives often clash with one another.
Despite whatever similarities they may have, libertarianism and conservatism are substantially different political philosophies. So which one provides better answers to today’s most important political questions?
We invite you to a debate about the two political philosophies and their associated policy implications. Interns from the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation will go head‐to‐head to answer the question: Is libertarianism or conservatism the superior political philosophy?
Featuring Cato Institute Interns and Heritage Foundation Interns; with an introduction by Neil Saul, Student Programs Coordinator, Cato Institute; moderated by Charles C. W. Cooke, Editor, National Review Online.”
Source: Cato Institute
