Guest Post by Ron Paul
Recently several prominent social and populist conservatives have attacked libertarianism. These conservatives, some of whom are allies in the fight against our hyper-interventionist foreign policy, blame libertarianism for a variety of social and economic ills. The conservative attack on libertarianism — like the attack on the freedom philosophy launched by leftists — is rooted in factual, economic, and philosophical errors.
Libertarianism’s right-wing critics claim libertarianism is the dominant ideology of the Republican establishment. This is an odd claim since the Republican leadership embraces anti-libertarian policies like endless wars, restrictions on civil liberties, government interference in our personal lives, and massive spending increases on welfare as well as warfare.
Anti-libertarian conservatives confuse libertarianism with the authoritarian “neoliberalism” embraced by both major parties. This confusion may be why these conservatives blame libertarians for the American middle class’s eroding standard of living. Conservatives are correct to be concerned about the economic challenges facing the average American, but they are mistaken to place the blame on the free market.
The American people are not suffering from an excess of free markets. They suffer from an excess of taxes, regulations, and, especially, fiat money. Therefore, populist conservatives should join libertarians in seeking to eliminate federal regulations, repeal the 16th Amendment, and restore a free-market monetary system.
Instead of fighting to end the welfare-regulatory system that benefits economic and political elites at the expense of average Americans, populist conservatives are promoting increased economic interventionism. For example, many populist conservatives support increased infrastructure spending and tariffs and other forms of protectionism.
Like all forms of central planning, these schemes prevent goods and services from being used for the purposes most valued by consumers. This distorts the marketplace and lowers living standards — including of people whose jobs are temporally saved or created by these government interventions. Those workers would be better off in the long term finding new jobs in a free market.
Anti-free-market conservatives ignore how their policies harm those they claim to care about. For example, protectionism harms farmers and others working in businesses depending on international trade.
The most common complaint of social conservatives is that libertarianism promotes immorality. These conservatives confuse a libertarian’s opposition to outlawing drugs, for example, with moral approval of drug use. Many libertarians condemn drug use and other destructive behaviors. However, libertarians reject the use of government force to prevent individuals from choosing to engage in these behaviors. Instead, libertarians support the right of individuals to use peaceful means to persuade others not to engage in destructive or immoral behaviors.
Libertarians also support the right of individuals not to associate with, or to subsidize in any way, those whose lifestyles or beliefs they find objectionable. Social conservatives object to libertarians because social conservatives wish to use government power to force people to be good. This is the worst type of statism because it seeks to control our minds and souls.
Most people accept the idea that it is wrong to initiate force against those engaging in peaceful behaviors. Libertarians apply this nonaggression principle to government. Making government follow the nonaggression principle would end unjust wars, income and inflation taxes, and the destruction caused by the use of force to control what we do with our property, how we raise our children, who we associate with, and what we put into our bodies. Making governments abide by the nonaggression principle is the only way to restore a society that is free, prosperous, and moral.
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One of the best I’ve read by Mr. Paul. Bravo.
Rock head Ron Paul is at it again.
Libertarians ideology leads to 20% high status and 80%low status.
The substitute status that held the 80% together with the 20% was the status of the team, tribe,or nation.
I m low status but my team has Michael Jordan on it.
I’m low status but America is #1.
That’s what kept it together .
Gibberish.
It’s better than 20% low status, 80% dead, which is what the commies want.
“Status” is all in your mind
My biggest issue with libertarianism is that it only works if everybody plays by the rules. Psychopaths, sociopaths, other countries, and international corporations are not going to play by the libertarian rules.
You’re right, Annie.
Not playing by the current rules that lack integrity is one of the reasons why his presidential run came up short, and his Congressional voting record stands in stark contrast to the majority.
Common sense and extraordinary integrity to do the right thing is rare and uncommon.
Thus, The Swamp, Corpratocracy, and an immoral societal trend sweeping the globe.
Corruption, Power, and Greed.
Go with the flow;
Maintain control.
RP didn’t “come up short”. He was just one old man up on stage in a bad suit, but he changed things. There would have been no Tea Party and probably no Trump without RP’s two runs. Let’s wait another ten years or so and see where we end up.
His campaign was badly run. It was so bad I figured he really didn’t want to get elected. Just get his message out.
The TEA Party was a direct result of a rant by Rick Santelli on CNBC.
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The problem isn’t about playing by the rules. The first issue is……
Who’s rules?
Is it the rules of:
I can do whatever I want?
I can do whatever I want as long as I don’t hurt anyone else?
What does ‘hurt’ anyone else actually mean?
What is the meaning of ‘hurt’?
Who is an anyone else?
I’m afraid life isn’t this simple.
@plucky are you really that cognitively deficient? Look up the definition of Libertarian. Those rules.
Answer the question Annie. Then, take my post @ 3:30 and answer that question.
Which strain of Libertarian? Gary Johnson? William Weld the socialist wannabe? Ron Paul? Howard Browne? The Pro-Abortion or Anti-Abortion Libertarian?
I mean… is a human embryo human or is it something else?
Does conception the beginning of a 3rd life? Remember…. we want to be scientific too!
The anarchist Liberatrian?
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-kind-of-libertarian-are-you-721655
Which Libertarian?
like I said earlier…. it ain’t THAT easy!
@plucky It is that easy. It really is. Psychopaths are not going to follow the rules regardless of what the rules are. Fix the psychopath problem first and then if you want to argue about the minutiae of the exact definition of libertarian and the differences between libertarian and free market or anything else go right ahead. PS I’ve been (small l and capital L) libertarian pretty much all my life but now I’m a realist. Psychopaths don’t follow the rules so it really doesn’t matter what the rules are as long as you have psychopaths. E.g. Look at the Constitution and what we have now.
And demanding that I answer your questions is about as far from libertarian as you can get. LOL
You bring up rules again, but you’re unable or unwilling because you know you’re lost the argument already.
Realist’s are those who deal with reality. I presented a conversation I’ve had with two leading Libertarians unless Paul and Browne really weren’t Libertarians, and you don’t have an answer. That’s the reality.
Your last line is a cop out. You don’t have an answer for it, so you deflect. Sounds a lot like most politicians today. You have NO answer for the scenario’s I presented, nor do you have answers for what ‘rules’ are.
Nor can you deal with the plethora of ‘Libertarian’s’ within the Libertarian party.
That’s why the LP is pretty much a ghost. Even the young and woke of Libertarianism don’t want their pet projects to go the way of the Federal Trash bin.
Hence Johnson and William ‘Mass Socialist’ Weld.
LOLOLOLOL Reality is that the psychopaths will always ignore whatever the rules are so the rules are irrelevant. That’s what I started with. That’s what I ended with. You have no rebuttal to that because it is true and I’m the one deflecting?? Your questions are irrelevant. Your pathetic name dropping is irrelevant. You’re the one who can’t handle the reality of your irrelevance. You want to argue minutiae about your irrelevance find someone else. You want to whine and stomp your feet because I don’t play YOUR game, go right ahead. It is SO mature! LOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO….
Enough LOL’s for you?
The mentality you show is the prime reason the LP party will never make true inroads. The LP is basically the party of pro-murder on multiple levels and pro drugs which cause death.
There is very little forward thinking within it’s ranks unless you want to do dope or ask for a doctor to kill you. Children’s play.
sociopath [ soh-see-uh-path, soh-shee- ]
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sociopath ON THESAURUS.COM
noun Psychiatry.
a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.
What is antisocial?
What is criminal behavior and who defines it?
What is a MORAL?
What is a CONSCIENCE?
Who defines what is MORAL?
Again, using words without examples is well, Communist in many ways.
Are you a commie?
johnson in 2012 was a good candidate,johnson 2016 was not a libertarian–
I’d beg to differ with you. He’s always been a space unit. It was only a matter of time before he showed what was really in his head. It came out and people laughed at him.
If there was EVER a time for a 3rd party to put a scare into the 2 party system 2016 was it. Nobody liked either candidate, and the best the LP can field is a redo of Gary ‘Space Shot’ Brown and Bill ‘Socialist’ Weld!
In a libertarian society the “rules” would restrict the predatory behaviour of sociopaths. The opposite of the current arrangement.
Sorry, but that’s not all that happens in society. Where do you put the sociopaths? How are they housed? Who pays for it? etc..etc..etc..etc..etc….
@Voltara not substantially. They’d just find a less obvious way to break the rules.
what rule and which sociopaths? Try my 3:30pm post below.
It’s sad that we’ve been dragged through the mud for so long that a beneficial discussion of Ron Paul’s ideas seems simply unachievable at this point. That’s what all this drag queen tranny athlete 60 “youths” ransacking walgreens 10000 illegals a day flooding over the border and on to the dole unable to even comment about on social media without being censored bullshit is… fucking MUD. The mud is so thick that you can’t even get to the conversations about real issues.
We can discuss that, but those who are getting ‘changed’ from men to women or visa versa are doing that on group healthcare packages. I refer to my post from 3:30 today.
Unless Libertarian’s give the true answer of… EVERYONE pays their own healthcare individually you’re not a Libertarian.
As someone who used to be a Libertarian and voted for Mr. Paul and Harry Browne on a couple of occasions, he ‘s got a few things wrong. As he said conservatives lump all together, he did likewise.
This is a very specific issue in which I spoke to Mr. Browne about a couple of times.
Let’s take smoking pot or any other drugs are concerned.
The Libertarian (including Mr. Paul I assume) would state anyone should be able to do drugs up to and including heroin, fentanol, etc…. any drug.
When you are ODing, what should happen?
Should the ‘pigs’ come and bale you out and narcan your arse?
If they do, who should pay for it?
Well, a ‘good’ libertarian would say I (the one who needs narcanning) would since THEY are responsible for themselves and choose to do it.
Yet, I’ve never heard Mr. Paul and I know Mr. Browne didn’t believe in true libertarianism because both would say your insurance company should. The problem is….. I am also an insurance policy holder, therefore, I should not have to pay for your narcan anymore than you should pay for my viagara.
Yet, NEITHER would say they want individuals or families to pay the ENTIRE cost of insurance out of their own pockets. THAT would be the TRUE libertarian view.
You bought it…. you own it.
You need viagra? Man up. Literally.
Why should I have to pay for your sex change operation?
private insurance that you freely buy is not the same as govt coercion–
Who pays for the group insurance you purchase Tampa?
Is anyone else involved in the group outside of say….. yourself?
If so, why should anyone else in the group pay for a sex change operation if you wanted one?
What about your alcoholism or being narcanned. Specifically speak to the specific instances of who would pay outside of yourself because if you’re a TRUE Libertarian………
You’d not ask anyone to pay for you.
I expected something about David French,
It’s the sin that destroys, individuals, families, liberal cities and nations Ron.
The sin.
We didn’t have these problems to this degree 50 years ago because generally people knew abortion, gay lifestyles, transvestites, narcotics, pedophilia, perpetual welfare, satanism, feminism, illegal immigration, living on credit, severe overspending, kids out of wedlock, extreme selfishness and on and on and on were wrong.
All the individual liberty in the world won’t save individuals, families and nations that normalize and perpetuate sin on a mass scale.
Without mass national repentance our days are numbered regardless of personal liberty.
And you know what Eyes… Ron Paul KNOWS that! As does Rand.
Then that’s where they need to begin the conversation. It’s not just a sidebar it IS the conversation.
Liberty apart personal responsibly and religious morality is just a dead man walking.
More specifically christian morality
Eyes, you just laid an ax to the root of what is wrong with all humanity. And why the USA & the rest of the world systems will fail. Ben Franklin told a woman that the Constitutional Convention had given her & the rest of the Colonies “A Republic, Madam. If you can keep it.” We allowed God to be illegally removed from much of the public square & now look at the sordid mess the USA has & is becoming.
Another man from Ben’s day said the Republic they had given would only work under a certain circumstance: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams
There are many similar quotes from the US Founders.
Liberty apart from Nature’s God will end in one or another form of servitude & death. Jesus Christ is the only way to be introduced to Nature’s God, Elohim, the Father of Jesus.
SamFox
Eyes and Sam…. exactly.
A supposedly true libertarian who wouldn’t tell others they have to pay or share in their need for narcan, ambulance, SUDS rehab, etc….
They’d say either they do themselves, or maybe those who WANT to help, but never would you tell me I am FORCED by government or an insurance company to have to pay for what I deem as reprehensible.
Need to move your clock back another 10-15 years.
I was a Senior in high school in ’69 and there were plenty of drugs, Viet Nam was raging, women were burning their bras, the sexual revolution was starting up, kids out of wedlock and the government was spending everything they could and robbing SS trust fund for more.