UPDATED: Another thing about Ron Paul
Another thing about Ron Paul… Despite my own anti-electoral position, I can’t fail to acknowlege that he’s “growing” the libertarian movement. Watch the video.
Gotta love this line:
“The Republican base? We’re the Republican acid.” — Rachel
Hat tip to: Lew Rockwell
As I said before, I’m starting to see this particular campaign as a potential black swan event — but this reflects a shoring up of the right-moderate end of the libertarian spectrum that enables a harder push towards the left-radical end. The last thing ideologically advanced libertarians should do is flock to the GOP and Ron Paul’s campaign. Remember, our work is seperate as are our goals. Ultimately, the last government — the one we abolish — will probably be some sort of “libertarian” one as a reflection of the popularization of our ideas.
UPDATE: User DH sent me email about trouble posting the following comment. I’ll look into that, but first here’s DH’s comment followed by my response:
“Paul is attracting more people to libertarianism, but I’m a bit concerned about how many people he’s going to repel if he keeps on and that post-LA riots material comes to the fore. I think enough of the normals already have it in their heads that when they hear about free markets, limited (god forbid *no*) government, and libertarianism in general, that there’s an at least subtle elitism and racism involved. I can’t help thinking that if he makes it through New Hampshire with as good an impression as he made in South Carolina and people start digging, there’s going to be some major blowback to libertarians in general, as they try to separate him further from the GOP. And if that loathsome slug Dondero is telling the truth in this case, and Lew Rockwell was the author of that alarmist trash, another major outlet for libertarian thought is going to be discredited.”
While I’m not aware of the post-LA riots material DH is referring to, I would say that the situation apparently calls for an immediate and thorough left libertarian critique, in line with what I’ve been saying about critical support. Please send me links to the material mentioned or post your own critiques of it.
UPDATE 2: Followup here.
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