Following the recent clashes between the alt-right and the group antifa, some libertarians have debated which group they should support. The answer is simple: neither. The alt-right and its leftist opponents are two sides of the same authoritarian coin.
The alt-right elevates racial identity over individual identity. The obsession with race leads them to support massive government interference in the economy in order to benefit members of the favored race. They also favor massive welfare and entitlement spending, as long as it functions as a racial spoils system. Some prominent alt-right leaders even support abortion as a way of limiting the minority population. No one who sincerely supports individual liberty, property rights, or the right to life can have any sympathy for this type of racial collectivism.
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Antifa, like all Marxists, elevates class identity over individual identity. Antifa supporters believe government must run the economy because otherwise workers will be exploited by greedy capitalists. This faith in central planning ignores economic reality, as well as the reality that in a free market employers and workers voluntarily work together for their mutual benefit. It is only when government intervenes in the economy that crony capitalists have the opportunity to exploit workers, consumers, and taxpayers. Sadly, many on the left confuse the results of the “mixed economy” with free markets.
Ironically, the failure of the Keynesian model of economic authoritarianism, promoted by establishment economists like Paul Krugman, is responsible for the rise of the alt-right and antifa. Despite a recent (and likely short-lived) upturn in some sectors of the economy, many Americans continue to struggle with unemployment and a Federal Reserve-caused eroding standard of living. History shows that economic hardship causes many to follow demagogues offering easy solutions and convenient scapegoats.
Left-wing demagogues scapegoat businesses and the “one percent,” ignoring the distinction between those who made their fortunes serving consumers and those who enriched themselves by manipulating the political process. Right-wing demagogues scapegoat immigrants and minorities, ignoring how these groups suffer under the current system and how they are disproportionally impacted by policies like the war on drugs and police militarization.
As the Keynesian-Krugman empire of big government and fiat currency collapses, more people will be attracted to authoritarianism, leading to an increase in violence. The only way to ensure the current system is not replaced with something even worse is for those of us who know the truth to work harder to spread the ideas of liberty.
While we should be willing to form coalitions with individuals of good will across the political spectrum, we must never align with anyone promoting violence as a solution to social and economic problems. We must also oppose any attempts to use the violence committed by extremists as a justification for expanding the police state or infringing on free speech. Laws against hate speech set a dangerous precedent for censorship of speech unpopular with the ruling elite and the deep state.
Libertarians have several advantages in the ideological battle over what we will replace the Keynesian welfare model with. First, we do not need to resort to scapegoating and demagoguing, as we have the truth about the welfare-warfare state and the Federal Reserve on our side. We also offer a realistic way to restore prosperity. But our greatest advantage is that, while authoritarianism divides people by race, class, religion, or other differences, the cause of liberty unites all who seek peace and prosperity.
The Left is eating our lunch and destroying God and Country; the Right is trying to stop the bastards and reverse the damage, so I will not treat the two sides equally but will help the Right who are trying to help me in this very power lopsided ideological war. TPTB say we should vote for some Democrats and some Republicans to be checks on each other; but the Democrats are Communist and I would rather be run over by a train than vote for any bastard that would even associate with them. TPTB say buy stocks even with your last dollar and hold them for 40 years even if they go down; TPTB would cheat their own mom out her farm with bold face lies if they could.
Mr. Paul et. al., are becoming increasingly hysterical imo. The right is trying to counter the left, who’ve had a decades long head start in dragging us into Marxist Communism. There is nearly zero equivalency here. Those who claim that there is are virtue signaling, or ignorant of the facts. Mr. Paul, have you been compromised?
The right may be trying to counter the left on cultural matters (and rightfully so), but they are extreme hypocrites when it comes to foreign policy and war. That life that they love so much goes right out the window when Chiquita banana and Exxon Mobile’s profit margins are threatened.
Can you provide any links to that assessment? Truly interested. I’ve seen Trump, who is not in any way ideal, attempting to counter and confound the neocons, (are they left or right), by rhetoric designed to bring people to the negotiating table. It’s only been 6 months. Energy is a can of worms. Hate the politics of it, but the products are absolutely essential with only a small handful of corporations controlling it. Just my opinion.
I am just saying that the right has a long history of supporting crony capitalism via the US military, while claiming to defend life here at home. I am completely confused by Trump; what he stands for and what he is doing, so I don’t feel well equip to opine on that.
No problem. Thanks. I guess I’m judging him and his progress based on the the number of attacks from the Despicable side of the aisle and their henchmen in media and and their globalist owners, as opposed to the deplorable side. That’s the level of irrational criticism increases, my confidence in Trump also increases.
Time for Mr. Paul to take an honorable retirement….He doesn’t seem to be able to distinguish between the Alt-right, which is a big tent, and socialists like the FBI-run Nazis……Much of what he says in this screed is either not true or irrelevant. Either we defend America and her freedoms, which include freedom to say absolutely anything we want without government or Antifa mob interference, or we are screwed.
Personally, I disagree with Mr. Paul’s entire second paragraph. The entire, or even the majority of the Alt-Right are not obsessive racists, so far as I can tell. Racial hatred and race realism are not one and the same. It seems that Mr. Paul has bought in to the left wing rhetoric that Alt-Right and White Supremacy are synonyms – a very generalized position in my opinion.
Are there elements of fascism on both sides? You betcha.
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As Wittgenstein said, there is a “family resemblance.”
http://www.pegc.us/archive/Articles/eco_ur-fascism.pdf
I am sure Ron Paul does not think that the entire alt-right is made up of racists (just as I am sure he does not think the entire alt-left is made up of Marxists). Indeed much of his support was comprised of members of the alt-right. Granted he should have been more precise with his language.
Paul’s statement is absurd. But if by “racist” he means believing the scientific truth that human groups who evolved in isolation will have different physical, mental, and emotional makeups that are genetic, then Paul is merely confessing his total ignorance of genetics and human history. Many studies, BTW, have shown that babies are very racist, and strongly identify with those who look like them….
Dr. Paul seems to be correct here. The left is in love with state sanctioned — at the point of a gun — welfare (which effects generational poverty, reliance and entitlement). The right is in love with state sanctioned — at the point of a gun — warfare (which effects crony capitalism; monopolistic mercantilism; and the trivialization of killing) The common denominator is: at the point of a gun. Bury the guns; voluntarily embrace the fairness and equity espoused by the left and the sounder morals and personal responsibility espoused by the right. And more than anything embrace truth and liberty.
What Right are you talking about? Everyone in the alt-right has had enough of the Deep State and its endless warfare, not to mention massive Pentagon budgets that accomplish nothing.
I am talking about the establishment right. Being against the deep state; endless war and the massive pentagon budget is surely something to be lauded.
If only this could be true. But I fear Ron Paul and other true Libertarians will now be grouped with the fascist alt-right racists in the minds of the public and no longer be able to accomplish anything of import. Or even be part of the conversation any longer.
They tried to pin the racists label on Ron Paul very early in his political career. I would not be surprised if they did it again.
Since when have either Libertarians or Republican “Conservatives” ever accomplished one thing? They haven’t even conserved women’s bathrooms….
“The alt-right elevates racial identity over individual identity.”
That’s simply not true. I respect Dr. Paul but he is completely out of touch with reality. Less than 5% of the population could ever achieve the kind of liberty that he extols. Far more people want no form of personal responsibility than complete independence, what are you going to do, force them? So if anyone is promoting an ideology bereft of authenticity, it’s him. Racial identity, tribalism, nationalism, whatever you want to call it is a fundamental reality of human existence, why on earth would people ever want to deny a central part of their identity? Because it’s currently unpopular? Wow, so much for rugged individualism and standing up to the collective.
And here’s the other thing, all these people being accuses of being white supremacists or neo-nazis aren’t calling themselves that, they’re being called that by people who don’t even know them because they don’t accept that people have differing views of the world. it’s a slur meant to marginalize, not a definition meant to clarify.
And I agree with him on almost everything, so there’s that…
FWIW, well said.
I am trying to understand what you disagree with Ron Paul about here. He would certainly not maintain that the entire alt right elevates racial identity over individual identity. Some do though and I suspect those are the ones he is talking about. He would also never maintain that people who love and support the government should be forced to adopt freedom. Freedom entails the right to remain a slave — if that is what you want. I also do not think that he would disagree that one has a natural inclination toward their family, culture, religion and even race. But all those things are made irrelevant from a political perspective if liberty is the cornerstone, because people are free to associate with whomever they want and how ever they want. This lays the foundation for the peace and prosperity he is talking about. There is always going to be the aggressive predator who wants something that is not theirs and that they have not worked for, but that is where self defense comes in.
Mercy, I don’t wish to be argumentative, but if you read Paul’s second paragraph it seems fairly obvious that it is his contention that the Alt-Right is racist. No where does he say “part of the Alt-Right” or a “faction of the Alt-Right.” I take that paragraph to mean that in his mind, the Alt-Right movement is a racist movement. That is why I disagree with him. You earlier admitted that he could have chosen his words better, but after reading again it seems to me that he chose the words that he was comfortable with. If my interpretation of what he wrote is correct then again, I disagree with his description of the Alt-Right. BTW, I’ve always been a fan of Dr. Paul, and will continue to be despite his definition of Alt-Right.
I definitely agree that more precision is necessary. A good definition of the alt-right would help.
The goals and beliefs of the Alt-right:
https://www.counter-currents.com/2016/03/the-fight-for-the-alt-right/
Let’s look at his statement again-
“The alt-right elevates racial identity over individual identity.”
Could you be any more of a hypocrite than that?
He summed up the beliefs of every single person who identifies as Alt-Right as a monolithic group over their individual identity. That is a complete contradiction of his previously stated beliefs. He doesn’t know every single person he’s lumping into the alt-right identity, their motivations or their beliefs, he’s just making a group judgment. I know plenty of people who identify as “alt-right” and some of them are not White, some of them are not concerned with race, etc.
And I supported him in ’08 and ’12 and I recall clearly how he was smeared by the media as a racist and an anti-Semite, has he forgotten what it’s like to be falsely accused by the media and prominent public figures of something like that? The why is he jumping on the bandwagon now with the exact same smears?
Humans are both individuals and part of larger social organisms- families, tribes, ethnicities, races and nations. Being aware of your place in these groups and being proud of it is not sinful or immoral and to suggest that it is inherently wrong is patently absurd. Don’t individuals have the inherent right to decide for themselves what they prefer to believe or whom they may associate with? What’s libertarian about excoriating people for their personal choices?
We’re so far down the path of mass delusion that there are no off-ramps left to take. Seeing Dr. Paul on the short bus with the rest of the madding crowd is heart-breaking.
I guess my position boils down to this: I do not believe he meant what he said. He is human and I am giving him the benefit of the doubt for old time’s sake. I suppose there is a possibility he is jumping on the short bus, but why would he do that? He has spend his entire career on our side and I am sure he saw how miserably a compromised position benefited his son in the last election cycle. I think he is guilty of using imprecise language, not switching side. But I am open to persuasion if future articles contain the same generalizations.
Years ago I was having a discussion on a forum with someone who was getting hammered for it, but kept telling us that we’re all going to be extremely disappointed when we finally understand Dr. Paul’s career. This was during the era I was donating to him, attended one of his rallies, and would tell everyone I could about him.
At the time I said I’m sure he’s basically allowed to be a pressure release valve and knows he’ll be stopped if he’s ever *too* successful, but it’s worth it to him to get the message out in whatever degree he can. The person insisted that that’s the most generous way of interpreting what Dr. Paul understands about his role.
It was a conversation that stuck because of the delivery style of the person, the lack of urgency to convince anyone, but the solidity with which they held their ground. It stuck in much the same way your parent tells you something that you know is right, but you are fully incapable of internalizing it yet. Years later the parental comment keeps turning over, making more and more sense.
🙁
Are you saying that he decided to deliver a consistent message which purposefully lacked the urgency to convince others because he was role playing in the deep state’s drama? I guess that is a possibility, but why attribute a compromised motive to a situation that can be explained by limited talent? He always struck me as intelligent and well read but lacking in rhetorical skills. I guess I really don’t know though.
As I pieced together from the person’s comments, Ron had/has awareness of the necessary information to break apart the problem. However he knows that to speak it out loud would result in rapid destruction of himself and people he cares about.
So he’s been speaking about symptoms and good ideals his entire career… nothing disingenuous about what is actually spoken. The thing the person was emphasizing we’d be disappointed in is what he knew, didn’t speak about, but could have… and that the entire time he knew that by doing so he was acting more as a social heat sync for the growing discontent than a viable counter.
Which is why the generous interpretation is he was earnestly putting out what he could even if he knew it was all futile and in practice counter productive without putting on the table the other stuff he knows.
Again, it’s just a person on the internet, and I’m simply relating that the person’s demeanor plus the passing of a decade has kept that conversation rattling around in my head stronger than most conversations I’ve had in my life.
I see what you are saying. I think it is true that no meaningful change will occur until the bodies of martyrs start piling up. If you are not willing to go down with the ship for your cause, you are unlikely to get too many people excited about it. It is kind of morbid, but it seems to be the case. Thanks for relaying the conversation; very interesting.
I respect him, but Paul is totally wrong on immigration, which means nothing but the destruction of our country, which is our property.
Libertarianism is a suicide cult. You will not survive as an atomized individual, when your enemies are acting as a collective to destroy you and your posterity, picking the individuals off one at a time.
Ron Paul does not appear to comprehend the struggle at all.
Libertarianism does not call for atomized individuals. It calls for voluntary association. People are social by nature and will associate. They just should not be forced to associate.
Lots to disagree with the great RP here …. esp that 2nd paragraph.
But, I’m at a disadvantage here. I still don’t know what an alt-right is or, if I is one. How long has that label been around? A few months? Not looking for an explanation. Don’t really give a shit.
alt-Stuck
The Alt-Right are moderate Republicans that win.
Tired of liberal lies, conservative failure, and libertarian inaction.
raz, I like it.