Jeffrey Miron’s op-ed in the Los Angeles Times argues that the drug war is just another big government boondoggle.  If you aren’t familiar with the libertarian critique of the war on drugs, Miron’s column will give you the basic outline of the argument.

Libertarians are consistent conservatives.  They aren’t fussy about wars of any kind (domestic or foreign) because they are obscenely expensive and never produce the desired results. 

American conservatives are successful because they don’t worry about consistentency.  Conservatives are a fearless lot.  They aren’t afraid of poverty or unemployment because they have secure jobs; they aren’t afraid of sickness because they have great health care; they aren’t afraid of bigotry or discrimination because they are normal (white) Americans; they aren’t afraid of civil rights violations because their civil rights are rarely infringed.

But conservatives are afraid of some things.  They are afraid of losing American economic dominance and are willing to support big government programs (the armed forces) designed to protect American economic interests. 

Conservatives are also afraid of poor people.  Poor people generally don’t vote, so there is little political incentive for feeling their pain.  Conservatives rarely rub shoulders with the poor, but they know everything they need to know about poverty.  Poor are exiles from the good life and this breeds massive discontent.  Poor people are inclined to solve their problems with physical violence.  In a vain pursuit of the good life, poor people often cross moral and legal lines.  In the absence of legitimate jobs, poor people frequently look to the underground economy (the drug trade) for income. 

The drug trade is offensive to conservatives because, like welfare, it frees lazy people from the rigors of the marketplace.  From a conservative perspective, there is no excuse for poverty.  People are poor by choice.  The suffering associated with poverty is nature’s way of forcing lazy people back into the workplace.  Social programs are opposed because they are expensive and, more significantly, they allow people to escape the cruel logic of the marketplace. 

It is very difficult for an American conservative to distinguish between poverty and crime.  When Ronald Reagan talked about “the deserving poor” he was thinking of people who were physically or mentally incapable of holding down a job.   If you’re not working, get a job; if your job doesn’t pay enough, get a better one; if you lack the training, go to school.  No excuses.

Similarly, American conservatives have a hard time distinguishing between crime, poverty and people of color.  People of color are accepted, even celebrated, if they make it into the middle class.  This triumph of the human spirit shows that poverty is a choice–if some poor African-Americans and Latinos can grab a piece of the American pie, all people of color could do so. 

Poor people of color are intrinsically suspect.  If they have nothing, it’s because they are lazy; if they possess anything of value, they either stole it or they are using an illegal hustle (like dealing drugs) to avoid honest work.

Grasp this mindset and you understand the war on drugs.  The conservative goal is to make life so miserable for poor people that they will quit their low down ways and join the middle class.  Scaling back the welfare state is the first part of the solution; mass incarceration is the second.  The war on drugs is an attempt to destroy underground alternatives to the mainstream economy.  That is why you rarely see narcotics squads targeting suburban neighborhoods, breaking down the doors of college frat houses or rounding up doctors who abet the abuse of prescription drugs.  It isn’t the abuse of drugs that is the problem; it’s the existence of an alternative economy.

The libertarian critique of war makes perfect sense; but American conservatism has never been driven by fiscal restraint.  Conservatives who won’t spend a dime to alleviate the suffering of the poor are more than willing to pour trillions of dollars into Operation Iraqi Freedom or the war on drugs.  Fear is the great motivator.

In an age of affluence, American liberals readily buy into a wartime mentality.  Fear is the great unifier. 

The Bible teaches that perfect love casts out fear.  Tragically, the reverse is also true: perfect fear casts out love.  Fear of immigrants, fear of Islam, fear of homosexuals, fear of poor people, fear of abnormal (non-white) Americans–it all flows together in one pestilent and irrational flood. 

Can we afford our war on drugs?  Of course we can’t.  We can’t afford our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan either.  But fear breeds a willingness to sacrifice, or at least a willingness to pass the bill to our children’s children.   So long as people are afraid they will go to war against terror, against drugs, against immigrants. 

Corrupt politicians strut their small government credentials by opposing modest measures to ease the burden of poverty; meanwhile, they endorse the massive government programs known as the armed forces and the criminal justice system. 

There are no political solutions to a spiritual problem.  “All you need is love,” the Beatles sang; but love requires the kind of courage that can only be kindled in community.  That’s why Friends of Justice is working to create a common peace consensus.   Love and politics are rarely associated; that needs to change.