Let’s talk about Ron Paul

If you’ve been paying attention to the goings on in America in the lead up to next year’s presidential elections, you will no doubt have heard many political commentators expressing the view that Ron Paul is the man that everyone has been waiting for. The hero that America needs. What is especially impressive is that this type of praise is happening across the board, regardless of political loyalties or emotional ties.

Now, I’m not going to tell you Ron Paul is a bad presidential candidate. He, in contrast with many in the American political system, is very honest, consistent and forthright with his views. I would whole-heartedly agree with him on many of his political positions, such as his desire to abolish the income tax (and lower taxes in general), and to end the “War on Drugs”.

Best of all, he is a Libertarian who wants to reduce the size of the government and decentralise power, something that seems to me, at least in principle, a very good thing. Although not much of an achievement, he is by far and away the best Republican candidate, and seems to be the most viable alternative to another 4 years of Mr Obama. However, as you can probably tell from the title of this article, I find that Ron Paul’s ideas are fraught with practical problems to their very core. Some of his more ludicrous views, such as his non-belief in both evolution and the separation in Church and State, are regrettable for a man of his intelligence, but their importance is negated by the fact that Mr Paul won’t impose his beliefs on the American people. This, somewhat ironically, is where the main problem lies.

Anyone who advocates individual liberty... must immediately sense a problem when confronted with a democratic system

Essentially, Ron Paul wants decisions to be increasingly made at a state level. Whilst this means, thankfully, that his more ridiculous opinions will not translate themselves into law, it worryingly puts power in the hands of the American people. “But surely,” I hear you cry, “more power to the people is a good thing, right?” This is the point at which the problems of democracy rear their ugly heads.

Anyone who advocates individual liberty (as Ron Paul does) must immediately sense a problem when confronted with a democratic system. Democracy and Libertarianism, in my mind, are complete polar opposites, which are incompatible with one another. Libertarianism, admirably, wants power to be given to the individual, whereas democracy wants power to be given to the majority. The latter establishes a mob-rule mentality, where 51% of the people can completely abolish the rights of the other 49%.

This is the reason that Ron Paul’s America is doomed to fail. In an attempt to liberate individual Americans, Ron Paul will no doubt suppress the freedom of minorities in many parts the United States. In more reasonable areas, where the voters are well educated and have developed a good understanding of the purpose of society, there will not be many major problems. I cannot imagine, for example, there being any problem with the issue gay rights in the state of Massachusetts. However, it is when you examine some of the more bigoted states, particularly those inhabited by swathes of evangelical Christians, that you recognise the social problems that Ron Paul’s policies (or, to be more precise, his non-policies) may cause.

What hope, for example, is there for the individual liberty of a Texan woman wishing to have an abortion, living in a state where the governor, Rick Perry, is allowed to use tax payers money to fund mass prayer events, like one he organised to pray for a halt America’s national decline (whatever happened to the First Amendment?). What hope is there for the liberty of a homosexual couple living in the state of Tennessee, where a recent bill, which has passed Senate clearance, will “prohibit teachers from discussing homosexuality in kindergarten through eighth-grade classrooms?” These instances of asinine stupidity are by no means isolated, as those of you who keep up with American politics will no doubt know. The emergence of discriminatory pieces of legislature seems to happen all too regularly.

When Democracy and stupidity come together, nothing positive ever gets done. It is an unfortunate fact that Ron Paul wishes to divulge powers to people that are far more bigoted than he is. As a man who has garnered respect from all corners of his country, Ron Paul could do so much for the freedom of individual Americans. As it is, his ideas are trapped inside a democratic system which, when combined with inevitably self-centred voters, gives us a situation in which the majority are encouraged to do as they please, no matter what the effects on others might be. Libertarianism can never prevail in a Democratic system.