Anonymous asked: I'd love to hear your thoughts on Ron Paul/Libertariansim/America's obsession with freedom. While I believe in the merits of capitalism, and the individual's right to govern their own morality, and I support uncensored internet, pulling US troops from the middle east and other things ron paul supports I feel strongly creeped out by his ideology of returning to the constitution and championing individual freedom over all else. He gives me images of an alocolyptic Mad Max type of world.
I think that freedom is necessarily an American ‘value’. it’s central to the way we think about ourselves and our relationships with each other, based on the philosophical biases of the people who invented our government.
I think that very few people who claim to be libertarians in this country in this day actually understand what it entails. I think people feel seduced by a fiscally conservative ideology that is socially liberal. I can maintain some of the bias of my conservative upbringing while still liking gay people. I am part of a new ‘movement’ that differentiates me from others. it’s built for hipsters, and I’m not saying that derogatorily—I’m a hipster and have been at times enticed by libertarianism.
but the sexy thing that makes Ron Paul stand out in a sea of Republicans—that he allows for certain freedoms that we all want, and we all know we love Freedom capital F because we are American—overshadows other implications of his view that I’m not sure people perfectly understand
that said I think that negative rights (Google negative/positive rights re: Isaiah Berlin if you’re not familiar with this term) are the only objectively warranted political system, and that each society should decide within itself which types of positive rights they want to add on top of that.
which is really just to say that I don’t think that Ron Paul and/or libertarians are totally off-base, just that there (negative) subtleties of this view that are often not recognized or appreciated by his/its followers.
