This is found across all of conservative thinking these days. For a few examples:

• When it comes to the safety net, libertarian populist Tim Carney argues that the federal government is way too big, and should only focus on defense and “maybe the safety net.” Maybe? The current safety net provided through the federal government, in his mind, is better provided by private, civic “voluntary organizations.” Even though this change would involve “huge disruptions” it’s worth it to remove the public role in the safety net.

• At a recent House hearing on poverty, Texas Republican Congressman Roger Williams asked if “a lot of this debate is the fact we’ve lost our family values? We’ve got single parents and so forth and we need to get back to that?” Charles Murray, in his recent book “Coming Apart” (2012), argues that a private solution of elites shaming the poor is better than any government response to the trials faced by working-class whites. Conservatives define equality of opportunity as simply equality before the law, meaning that equality of opportunity is presumed unless the government messes it up.

• Rick Santorum argues that even referencing the “middle-class” is “Marxism talk,” and goes on to argue that the weak economy is because of people who “have all sorts of issues that they have to overcome to be successful.” Back in the 2012 election, Mitt Romney attacked the President for discussing inequality in his campaign rally, because those conversations belong in “quiet rooms.” These are examples of Presidential candidates taking important economic issues and placing them squarely in the private sphere.