TPUSA Dartmouth Debuts with Will Witt

TPUSA Dartmouth is proud to have hosted conservative icon and “Man on the Street” Will Witt as our first speaker since our chapter’s founding this past spring. The event had a turnout of around 85 people, with which we are greatly satisfied. Mr. Witt is the first of many conservative speakers we wish to bring to campus, and we are optimistic about the future of our group.

Of course, the first reason we decided to establish Dartmouth’s TPUSA chapter is no surprise – it is to help promote conservative ideas through speakers, activism, and outreach. However, beyond merely promoting conservatism, the Will Witt lecture and Q&A successfully accomplished our second goal, which is to promote healthy dialogue and the exchange of ideas. For nearly 30 minutes, the event had a Q&A in which students (mostly liberal) were able to engage in conversation with the speaker and inquire into Mr. Witt’s conservative beliefs.

Mr. Witt provided an interesting perspective. He was quite socially conservative. He clarified his firm opposition to sex-changes for minors as well as late-term abortions. He is unapologetically conservative and thinks that compromise on issues as these have shown to be detrimental to America. Mr. Witt is a proud Florida resident and cited the idea of federalism as a way for conservatives to accomplish social progress (or I suppose a return to social normalcy).

However, what was rather interesting was how – because Mr. Witt criticized Big Pharma and BlackRock – some of the more liberal audience members seemed to find common ground with him. In the case of Big Pharma, he criticized how the government protects these companies, and how – when injuries arise from vaccines – it is the taxpayer not the companies that risk liability. This is a skewed incentive structure, and it is the result of corrupt government protections. This is certainly a more conservative critique of Big Pharma – but not to say the general disdain for Big Pharma does not span across ideological lines.

But where Mr. Witt brought up an interesting perspective is with his criticism of BlackRock buying large numbers of single-family homes and renting their assets back to Americans. He presented a rather nuanced perspective. First, he identified the evils of communism and the hundred million that have died as a result. Yet his argument represented a rather liberal critique of this one specific flaw in our capitalist system. However, he presented the conservative idea of the American Dream: having a family, living for God, and owning a home. And this last part is a rather important component and should be prioritized more in political discussion. 

There is a difference between outlawing this coercive practice – as is being done by BlackRock – and submitting to Marxism. After all, the reason why conservatives oppose redistribution, and support low taxes (the freedom to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor) is because it channels ambition in a way that is a positive good for society (that is, it increases wealth, prosperity, and freedom). However, this is not to say conservatives must be ultra-libertarian. Libertarianism, for the most part, is a positive good for society. However, this is not to say that human ambition will always result in what is absolutely good. In this case, outlawing destructive practices as being done by BlackRock prioritizes the individual’s right to own a home, not that of mega-corporations. Communism is even worse in a sense that the individual still lacks the ability to own a home, only he isn’t renting from BlackRock, but he has to rely on the government for a home. So, while limiting government spending, overreach, and bureaucracy is a general benefit for society, conservatives don’t have to pretend like there aren’t some cases where we must use our government to accomplish the means to an end of securing the individual’s prosperity.

TPUSA Dartmouth would like to thank Mr. Witt for his contribution to our campus’s discourse, as well as to all those who chose to respectfully listen. We look forward to continuing to promote the free exchange of ideas and creating an environment where ideas can be expressed, challenged, and refined.