Reagan's understanding of freedom (the "negative" freedom which leaves people free to determine their own lives) stands in contradistinction to freedom as understood by our friends on the Left (a "positive" freedom that seeks to free everyone from pain, suffering, risk, and inequality).
But Paulite libertarianism understands freedom in the sense of "I'll go my own way, and you can go to H*ll if you so desire." It shares with conservatism a deep wariness of government power, which is infinitely corruptible, even as the Left embraces government power as the answer to the infinite corruptibility of individuals.
Paulites thus felicitously cloak themselves in the Constitution, which enshrines the principle of limited government.
Read on . . .
But what Paulism does not do is envision the nature and role of the United States as a nation. And from its very first days, the US has been an aggressive, expansionist, seafaring power, dedicated to economic prosperity, and with both the desire and the justification to take a large role on the world stage.
Some interesting thoughts on Ron Paul's campaign and the ideas that are behind it. The idea that seems to underlie all of his positions is that America can and should isolate itself from the rest of the world. This idea is not only clearly wrong in my opinion - it is dangerous. America is a part of the global economy, and it has a key part in that economy. The world has become much more of a place where nations cannot go their own way. That is just as true for America as it is for China or even smaller countries. Our fates are more tied together than ever, and we need to come together more than ever to solve the problems we face.
1 comment:
Ron Paul would not be able to impliment such total isolationism, but he can pull people out of their thinking in a box. Here's a great article about Obama fans turning to Ron Paul:
http://spirituallibertarian.blogspot.com/
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