I am a HUUGGEE fan of Ron Paul. But I cannot seem to continue supporting him, because of my recent interest in anarcho capitalism. According to ancap, all government is equally evil. No government can be pro-capitalist at all.In such a case, how can ancaps continue to support Dr Paul. By voting for Dr Paul, I almost feel that I am legitimizing the socialist American state and I cannot see how minarchists such as Dr Paul can ever give up their power and allow a transition to a fully capitalist system. How can socialist statism lead to capitalism?
So don’t vote for him. He’s an enemy in his position (being a politician), but a friend to the cause, having almost single-handedly introduced large new groups of people to the concept of liberty. (Regardless of whether he’s sympathetic to voluntaryism.)
I’m pretty sure Ron Paul is against all forms of aggression, which wouldn’t make him a statist.
… 4min+
That’s good, because Ron Paul’s real goal is self government / anarcho-capitalism, instead of a return to the Constitution. The strategy merely differs. His role is educational, i.e directing folks to Libertarianism and Austrian Economics. He acknowledges that voting (in Congress) won’t change anything.
Read this & this.
Actually a state monopoly on defense and law, which he advocates, is a form of aggression. If he’s in favor of private defense contractors, that’s great, but I haven’t heard anything like that so far.
Except he’s never advocated it, when compared to a voluntaryist society. So you’d be erecting a strawman. Philosophically, the question you need to ask is “Compared to what?”
COMPARED to what we have now, would you prefer a return to the size of government as outlined in the US Constitution? (Obviously leaving aside the fact that it would only grow in size again).
He’s in favour of self government, the reason you’ve never heard that is because every single question he gets asked comes from a statist perspective.
When he was asked from a stateless society perspective, he agreed. Now watch the video.
Ron Paul.. isn’t he the guy with the picture of Rothbard hanging in his office? [;)]
Nevermind, for some reason I read something he wrote and interpreted it as him being against all forms of taxation. Apparently I was wrong.
He was asked on Fox during the GOP race whether he was against all taxes. He said yes.
lol, I’ll go ahead and retract my previous statement then.
Do you have a source or video available? I believe you, but I’d like to see it myself. Thanks.
He may theoretically be against all taxes but he will still continue the welfare and entitlements systems till the people are “cured” of it. Well hopefully they will be one day after Ron Paul gets into office.
Ron Paul’s value lies in his ability to educate the general public. He is an outsider working within the establishment not necessarily for power, but rather to direct people to Austrian economics and libertarian political philosophy. Introducing people to anarcho-capitalism requires low doses of truth. Disillusionment with the state (or with anything for that matter) is not something that can happen quickly. If someone had attempted to introduce me to Hoppe back when I was an establishment conservative, I would have been revolted and refused to hear any more of it. Ron Paul helped me bridge the gap between my initial support of the “mixed” economy and my current advocacy of unhampered free markets. It is necessary for many people, myself included, to have intermediary steps between the common left/right paradigm and a philosophy of voluntarism.
I think Ron Paul probably is about as close as you can get to ancap and still be a politician who gets elected. He is on the national stage and getting people interested in libertarian/ancap ideas. Vote for him anyway.
Likely because it is not something which can be said in under 20 seconds, and thus, would be misconstrued. People need a primer to learn about anarchism. We have been entrenched in statism since we are born. We are taught to reject anarchism out of hand. Ron Paul was/is trying to spark the fire of liberty for those who have never heard of it. His books are a clear indication that he is urging others to find their own way to freedom. He is not suggesting his way is the way, or that it is even a way at all.
How do you continue to welfare and entitlements without taxes?
No, Ron Paul is getting people interested in Constitutionalism. Which is an improvement but its not the full realization of libertarianism.
Is he going to abolish all taxes immediately? If that’s the case, I agree there can be no more welfare for social parasites. However in a realistic scenario, he’d have to continue taxes for a few more decades at least I think.
No, Ron Paul is getting people interested in getting the government & state out of our lives. In an age of manufactured consent, he uses the constitution as a rhetorical tool.
He pimps Austrian Economics and Libertarianism. Those who are interested begin the journey and if they are logically and principally consistent - they make it to voluntarism. He gets the ball rolling.
Eh, to a degree. He isn’t calling for privatization of legal services or defense or roads for that matter. Has anyone given him Walter Block’s book? [:P]
Well I never denied that. A lot of people got started on Ron Paul. I did too. However, where he stops isn’t really a stop or at least its not a coherent stop. You talk to constitutionalists and they just arbitrarily announce where government stops as if they can sustain in a static vacuum. Their theory necessitates a uniform cultural outlook concerning the role of government which could never actually be obtained.