The Philosophers and The Kooks
Commenting on the scandalous Ron Paul newsletters brought to light by The New Republic today, David Bernstein provides some very informative background on the political and cultural forces which produced this situation. I quote:
[T]here are really two disparate groups to whom the limited-government message appeals: philosophical libertarians (which consists of a tiny percentage of Americans, but something like 10% are at least inclined toward a general libertarian perspective), and those who hold a deep grudge against the federal government based on a range of nutty conspiracy theories, ranging from old chestnuts like a freemason conspiracy, a Council on Foreign Relations/Bildeberger conspiracy, or a conspiracy to strip the U.S. of its sovereignty in favor of world government; to variations on old anti-Semitic themes (ranging from domination by Zionist conspirators to domination by Jewish bankers led by the Rothchilds to domination by Jews in Hollywood); to newer racist theories; to novel conspiracy theories about 9/11, the pharmaceutical industry, etc.
Mainstream libertarian groups like Cato and Reason have nothing to do with the latter types, but other self-proclaimed libertarian groups, like the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, play footsie with them. (I recently turned down an invitation to do a book review for an academic journal published by LVMI because I don’t want my name associated with the Institute.) Paul himself seems to have made a career of straddling the line between respectable libertarian sentiment and conspiracy-mongering nuttiness, receiving support and accolades from both sides.
Given Paul’s lame and none-too-reassuring reaction to the scandal, it appears that all of us who wanted a philosophical libertarian to vote for finally are being forced to the realization that Paul is the other type of “libertarian”.
There is one small point of optimism in all this. Paul’s campaign has stirred up a lot of excitement, and the vast majority of it is from mainstream libertarians — people who simply want less war, greater personal freedom, and smaller government. The Satan’s-army-wears-blue-helmets people will remain an ugly but tiny fringe group. Yet the Paul phenomenon has shown that there are more than a few people wishing for a respectable libertarian to vote for.
Jacob,
Have you considered running for President in 2020? (I assume you’ll be Constitutionally old enough by then). If this supposed wacko can make respectable showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, I’m sure you can do at least as well.
Until then, I recommend developing voting software and convincing gullible state election officials to adopt it. That should help your chances a great deal.
-Tyler
Paul may be a wacko, but he’s also a skilled politician who’s been successfully selling different messages to different groups for a long time.
As for my own political ambitions, I doubt I’m enough of a wacko to win the presidency — I’ll be surprised if atheists become electable by 2020. Also, do political candidates have to literally kiss babies? There are limits on what I’m willing to do for power and money.