The set of principles that Robert Taft subscribed to, which, in this narrative, is

referred to somewhat obliquely as "conservatism," was based on a strict interpretation

of the constitution and a limited federal government. It was not centered on anti-

communism, like the philosophy of so many conservative intellectuals.4 While Taft

abhorred Soviet communism in specific and socialism in general, his position derived

from his upbringing, education, and worldview. First and foremost, Taft believed in

and strove for a small federal government. He despised bureaucracy and worked

consistently to limit federal spending and trim agencies and workers from the

government payrolls, but he was not completely rigid in his views. In most cases he

saw more government as problematic, but in certain situations such as the postwar

housing shortage, Taft concluded that the federal government was the only institution

that could bring about an adequate solution to social problems. Second, Taft had a

strong allegiance to federalism. He despised centralized planning and saw most New

Deal programs as experiments in social engineering. But even when he proposed a

national solution to what was ostensibly a series of interconnected local problems,

such as his aid to education measures, Taft demanded that state and municipal

governments maintain local autonomy. Third, Taft held supreme faith in the primacy

of the individual and the right of free association. Throughout his effort to restrict the

power of labor unions, a quest that ultimately led to the passage of the Taft-Hartley

Act, the Ohio Senator never questioned the right of workers to organize and bargain

with employers. What he disliked, rather, was the tendency for union leaders to speak

politically for the rank and file without consulting them. He believed that union




4 Nash contends that anti-communism was broad enough to unite two distinct schools of conservative
thought, traditionalism and liberalism, into a somewhat coherent intellectual movement. See George H.
Nash, The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America, 118-140.