Salon is currently running an article entitled “Confessions of a recovering Libertarian: How I escaped a world of Ron Paul hero worship” that was published Wednesday by Dustin Petzold, a Washington-based writer, who goes on a diatribe disparaging individuals with anti-government views.
Petzold presents the case that libertarianism can be a middle-of-the-road political philosophy – which obviously it cannot – and that he is no longer under the hypnotic spell of Ron Paul, anarcho-capitalism and politically paranoid zealots. The long-winded piece does nothing to logically dispel libertarianism or those who are involved in the liberty movement.
The website has been running a series of these articles that talk about former libertarians or Ron Paul supporters who have transformed into liberals for whatever reason. The common theme that is usually purported in these types of articles, whether it’s on Salon or other blogs, is that Ron Paul represents libertarianism and that he is the libertarian deity.
This is a false presumption. No matter how great Paul is and how many people he woke up, he is not the authority figure of the non-aggression principle, Austrian Economics and capitalism. Paul, who is currently undergoing the educational route, is someone to look up to and admire, but not signify as an apotheosis.
The concept of freedom and liberty didn’t begin during the 2008 presidential campaign. The desire to be free from the chains of government and authority is inherent inside of all of us, and it isn’t just because of Dr. Paul. Libertarians want to be free from the government stealing their money, dictating what they can and cannot put in their body and telling them how to run a business. Libertarians understand the unintended consequences of government policies.
When it comes to libertarianism, voluntarism or anarcho-capitalism, there are plenty of leading figures to cite – Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises, Frederic Bastiat, Henry Hazlitt – and not just Ron Paul, which is something Petzold neglected. These authors who dismiss libertarianism as just some cult of zombies confined to Facebook and social media are being disingenuous, supercilious, insulting and immature.
No, libertarians don’t have a single monolithic mind that is controlled by Ron Paul. This means that not every single libertarian is paranoid that the world is against him or her. This means that not every single libertarian locks themselves up in their room reading Ayn Rand. This means that not every single libertarian frowns upon sports, motion pictures or general entertainment.
Just like any other movement, there will be some crazies who think the moon is actually an alien base and uninformed persons who will regurgitate what a leader will say. Libertarianism isn’t immune from this. But to exit this political philosophy because “I am not that kid anymore” or that it’s “extreme and rigid” is ridiculous.
Supporting private property rights, a person’s right to drink raw milk or to launch a business that allows individuals to use their car like a taxi service isn’t “extreme and rigid.” Instead, the better descriptors would be honorable, honest and caring. Voting for someone who can steal someone else’s money and redistribute it to another person is the philosophy of “extreme and rigid.”
Libertarianism is more than just Paul, Peter Schiff, Rothbard or Mises. It’s about freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without facing the various barriers placed in front of you by the colossal machine of bureaucrats and cronyists.
Here is a great quote from economist Milton Friedman:
“The world runs on individuals pursuing their self interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn’t construct his theory under order from a, from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t revolutionize the automobile industry that way.”
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