Earlier, I posted my response to a friend and colleague who had asked for my thoughts about the new Conservative government in the UK. The friend in question, Gabriel Martinez, chairman of the economics department at Ave Maria University, sent me this response to my thoughts. Needless to say, his assessment is very perceptive and I find myself in substantial agreement with his conclusions. He writes:

I’ve read that when Cameron talks about taxes or schools, he sounds rather dull  … but that he gets excited and stirring when he speaks of returning decision-making authority to local communities.  The name of the manifesto is supposed to be important: you, little guy, come join the government of Britain.

I’m both more pessimistic and more optimistic than you.  I don’t think that any conceivable election in the imaginable future will be “good” from the point of view of people like you and me.  That said, there’s bad, worse, and worst, and perhaps these Tories are less-bad in ways that are closer to our hearts.  So I’m excited.

Agreed on the social liberalism of the LibDems.  But a hung parliament, it seems to me, suggests that the small power elites of two dominant parties will lose some control, and that more independents and small-party politicians may stand a better chance.  Oh well.