In Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative, he laid out much of the foundations for what would become modern American conservatism. After going through issues such as education, states’ rights and taxation, the book’s final and longest chapter is The Soviet Menace, which details Goldwater’s views on the Cold War and how the US could achieve victory over the USSR. In it, he says, “Peace, to be sure, is a proper goal for American policy – as long as it is understood that peace is not all we seek. For we do not seek the peace of surrender. We want a peace in which freedom and justice will prevail, and that – given the nature of Communism – is a peace in which Soviet power will no longer be in a position to threaten us and the rest of the world. A tolerable peace, in other words, must follow victory over Communism.”
Sadly, many on the right today have forgotten this —such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, The American Conservative, Ron DeSantis, J.D. Vance, Viktor Orbán, Todd Young, Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson and more—call not for victory but peace.
This idea did not end with Goldwater; Ronald Reagan would go on to employ this same principle in order not simply to end but win the Cold War. Reagan saw that the USSR was faltering and took steps to hasten its collapse. One of Reagan’s tactics was the military buildup. Mikhail Gorbachev said, “[W]e will be pulled into an arms race that is beyond our capabilities, and we will lose it because we are at the limit of our capabilities. … If the new round [of an arms race] begins, the pressures on our economy will be unbelievable.” President Reagan didn’t start the arms buildup to achieve peaceful coexistence, with the world in perfect harmony singing saccharine songs together; he did it to defeat the US’ greatest foe. In his words,” Here’s my strategy on the Cold War: we win, they lose.” We’re all far safer for his victory.
The Cold War is far from the only or most obvious example; we can also look at the most significant conflict of the 20th century, and likely all human history, the Second World War. Whilst Goldwater was still working in his family’s department store, the most famous advocate of peace as the primary objective, the UK’s Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, was touting his deal with Hitler. His “peace for our time” lasted but a year before the bloodiest conflict in history began.
The UK did, of course, emerge on the victorious side, but it was not due to the appeasements of men like Chamberlain, but rather the adamant will to victory of men like his successor, Winston Churchill, who told Neville Chamberlain, “You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, and you will have war.”
In his most famous speech, Winston Churchill embodied the principle of victory over peace and declared that “we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end… we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
The refusal to peacefully surrender and the need for victory of men like Churchill is why, at the end of the conflict, and despite much tragedy, Hitler lay dead, the Jews of Europe were not made extinct and the Allies prevailed.
Victory over peace won the Cold War and the Second World War, defeating the USSR and the Third Reich. Yet, today we see far too many arguing that peace, not victory, is what we need in the case of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’ attacks on Israel.
Had Churchill or Reagan followed their logic, our world would be a much different, much worse place.
As conservatives, we should look back on our history and see what has worked and what has not. But it seems many who claim the conservative mantle have forgotten to do so. For the sake of Ukraine, Israel and the world at large, these cowardly actors must be opposed.
Keegan Nazzari
Keegan is currently studying a Poli-Sci and Communications degree at The University of Western Australia. He was born and raised in Perth but hopes to relocate to the U.S. after his degree to pursue a career in political media. Other than discussing politics Keegan hopes to inform Americans about the true greatest sport in the world, Aussie Rules football.
The views expressed in this article are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Lone Conservative staff.
@Keegan_Nazzari