The Libertarian Weltanschauung

As Ron Paul and other prominent politicians, of the libertarian persuasion, remain somewhat popular their ideas come out into the forefront. So how should libertarians be seen from other persuasions?

Libertarians have economic and tax policies more like that of conservatives, while their social policies are more like that of the left. The libertarian view on foreign policy and executive power puts them in a category of their own.

During the Republican debates, Ron Paul showed that he was certainly very different from the other Republican candidates, pushing for isolationism, drug legalization, the end of the Federal Reserve among other positions. While Dr. Paul did not show remarkably well in Primary voting, he does have a very devoted following and a strange charisma to match.

While many conservatives can agree with some libertarian ideas, they often dismiss those ideas where there are differences. To quote Ann Coulter from a Q and A at CPAC, “if Ron Paul is for it, and its not foreign policy, then I’m all for it.” While this is a very cute phrase, that sort of dismissive attitude about some libertarian ideas just doesn’t cut it. Libertarian ideas should be viewed more deeply then that.

One very common libertarian position is that the US should pull her troops back from foreign lands and, “stop funding American imperialism.” Then this phrase is often followed by, “we don’t need to export democracy.” The answer to these statements, should be, ’that’s dangerously silly’ and ’flat wrong,’ respectively.

Dennis Prager once said,

“The United States is the greatest force for good in the history of our planet. If you can’t see that living in America, then there is something dark in your soul.”

Think about it, the US military went to great wars in Europe twice, and on to Asia, to aid in the liberation of millions from encroaching tyranny. Yet some libertarians question the need for our involvement in those wars. It is easy to sit sixty years on and dismiss US involvement in those wars. However, one does so while sitting in a Japanese designed car, listening to music on German designed speakers, on an Israeli designed computer (yeah that little country is a partial result of World War II) while being cooled by a German manufactured air conditioner, with Japanese designed electronic controls, in a new Indonesian manufactured shirt and shoes from the Philippines.

As far as the exporting democracy thing goes, Japan, Germany and The Philippines seem to demonstrate that exporting Democracy works. Obviously US involvement had nothing to do with other Democracies like Israel or Singapore (wrong). But once again none of that matters, the libertarians say that foreign involvements were not part of the founding Father’s plans. However, that being said, during the Revolutionary War and the war of 1812, I’m sure glad the French weren’t libertarian.

The libertarian view of the Founding is a pretty selective historical recollection. To buy that assertion one would have to ignore the history of the Founding Fathers. Monroe oversaw the relocation of slaves to Africa (nation building anyone), Hamilton pushed for the creation of the first federal Army, and Washington accepted command of it, if nominally. During Adam’s Presidency many of the Founding Fathers were pushing for American involvement in the war between France and England (wouldn‘t that have been intervention?)

Modern day libertarians, like Evan Eland, are even criticizing the creation of the Navy and Jefferson’s “questionable” involvement in the Barbary Coast wars. However, nearly every time a libertarian pours himself a cup of morning coffee, buys his wife a diamond ring or watches Casa Blanca, he distantly benefits from those wars.

Criticizing the Louisiana Purchase was an executive overstep is another argument of the libertarians. That is certainly a case of Thursday morning quarterbacking, can you imagine what the US would be like if France or even Spain had kept a large segment of the South? Now a libertarian wouldn’t support the inevitable war that would have resulted. Or, in the mind of a libertarian was the Monroe Doctrine an executive overstep? Man those Founding Fathers should have listened to the, well…um…Founding Fathers?

,Moreover, Ron Paul apparently doesn’t see that contradiction of being a representative from Texas, decrying American involvement in foreign wars. I guess Dr. Paul forgot the Alamo. Another great selective criticism of history is the libertarians who attack Lincoln’s overstepping his executive powers as they fly from Washington DC to Nashville to and then to New York, all sans passport.

But none of that matters to a libertarian. To paraphrase the libertarian Matt Groening, of the Simpsons cartoon fame, in the words of his character Ned Flanders, “I’m going to a place that only ever existed in the minds of us (libertarians). Their minds are made up and they have righteous indignation to rationalize it.

In the end, conservatives should generally embrace the fiscal conservative part of libertarian philosophy, accept their social policies on the merits of the arguments and clarify the fallacies of their foreign policies. However, Ron Paul is a Republican and should remain so. This should be the model of most rational libertarians.