It Is Time To Rethink Everything By Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
(2011-04-06 at 00:27:27 )

It Is Time To Rethink Everything By Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

The worst eff ect of the state is intellectual. It puts our brains in a
prison, simply by def ining the terms in which we are permitted to think
and speak. The one non-negotiable point becomes the state itself. You are
permitted to argue about what the states priorities ought to be (bombs
or butter), but not question the fundamental model of a state-dominated
society.

Believers in human liberty have played along with this game for too long.
They have done this for decades. Sometimes they tack right and sometimes
they tack left. What they should be doing is upending the game board
itself. They need boldly to make that fundamental claim of the old
liberal tradition, that society orders itself without the state.
Liberty is the answer in every area of life.

This is precisely what Ron Paul does in his amazing book to be released
April 19: Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Aff ect Our Freedom.

It begins with the big themes about what liberty is and what it is not.
It is not, for example, something that is created by "public policy." It
is not a piece of legislation. It does not emerge from the political
process. Precisely the opposite: liberty is the absence of all these
things. It is what results in the absence of state interference. Liberty
only fundamental requirement is that the state let society alone to
develop, grow, and prosper.

This point of view is hardly heard at all in the political debate today,
which is otherwise hamstrung by partisan wrangling of what the state
should be doing. By the time you f inish the introduction to Ron Pauls
book, you realize that you are going to be treated to a completely new
and radical form of thinking about politics, one that reimagines the
current world in the same way that Jeff erson reimagined his world, and
became the real father of this country.

What is especially brilliant about Rons new book is that he does not just
deal in abstractions. As the title suggests, he takes on 50 diff icult
areas of politics today and shines a new light of liberty on each of
them. I think I am correct in anticipating most readers reaction: there
will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. But the end eff ect will be that
beautiful thing: ENLIGHTENMENT.

The book is arranged alphabetically, which makes the subject of abortion
the very f irst entry. Where do you suppose Ron Paul stands on this
issue? Let us just say that if you think you have followed the
conventional debate, you are in for something completely diff erent.

Ron is a vehement opponent of abortion, and he explains why in ways that
will bring readers around to his perspective (which is that of a man who
has delivered thousands of babies). Then he moves to the entirely
diff erent area of public policy, pointing out that a centralized edict
on this subject runs contrary to every moral and practical dictate of
human liberty. A centralized pro-lif e policy is as wrong as a
centralized mandatory-legalization policy. He wants a repeal of Roe. He
does not want state funding. But if a community wants to permit the
practice, while he would certainly oppose that at the local level, his
view is that the f ederal government should have nothing to say about it
either way.

His position is shocking and out of the mainstream, to be sure, but it is
also supremely practical. In innumerable communities around the country
today, abortion clinics compete with alternative womens clinics to
provide for those in need of pregnancy services. In fact, if you want to
look where the pro-life movement has seen gains, it is not in the area of
political organization but in providing a market service for those who
are seeking an alternative to abortion. This is a case in point of how
liberty serves to work out our core disagreements.

Now, this is only the f irst issue and there are 49 others that he deals
with, and each with a perspective that is surprising, practical, moral,
and balanced in a fascinating way. Unless you are seriously schooled in
libertarian theory, you might f ind it diff icult to anticipate what he
will say. Even if you get the libertarian point of view, Rons argument
and evidence will surprise you.

Consider his writings on privacy, for example. He argues that it is a
violation of human rights for the state to invade our privacy. At the
same time, he argues that it is contrary to liberty for the state to
restrict the right of private businesses to use cameras, websites to
collect information on us, or businesses to investigate credit histories
of their employees. As one application, he favors total drug
legalization but defends the rights of business to drug test.

If anyone else in public life has taken this position - which Ron, as
always, makes very persuasive and compelling in his narrative -I am not
aware of it.

So on it goes through so many issues. He opposes war with the passion of
the Old Left. But he sounds like the Old Right on issues of taxes and
regulations. His writings on terrorism mark him out as a real radical
against the states stupid policies (he says that terrorism is a result
of U.S. foreign policy). At the same time, he has no problem with private
discrimination on any grounds: sex, race, disability, or whatever. On
marriage, he upholds the traditional definition (man and woman before
God) but favors free association: "Why not tolerate everyones definition
as long as neither side uses force to impose its views?"

He gets into sticky areas like the history of Zionism, and here again, I
can promise you that you have never heard this point of view (he
celebrates the original cultural movement but condemns the manner in
which later political ambitions corrupted a great cause). On trade, he
is at once a radical proponent of universal commercial rights and an
opponent of legislated treaties like Nafta. On gun control, he favors it
for the government and opposes it for the individual.

Driving this book forward on page after page are the relentless
surprises, the truth-telling logic, and the speak-from-the heart tone of
the prose. You might agree with all, half, or none. But there is no way
you will think about any of these issues in the same way after being
schooled in the Paulian point of view.

This much is clear: there has never been a book like this to appear from
any U.S. political f igure. It contains not a hint of political
posturing or pandering. Its purpose is not to vault Ron to the top of a
presidential ticket. The ambition of the book can be modestly described
as educational, but the eff ect could be much more. This is the book we
have needed to blow up the rhetorical structure of generations of
political activism and replace it with a completely new vision of
LIBERTY.

This is why the book is called Liberty Defined. When you are lost and
confused about a subject, the right way forward is to begin by def ining
your terms. At last, one man has done just this. He has defined liberty.
And then he has done more: he has shown us that liberty is right,
liberty works, liberty is the only way forward.

With this marvelous and passionate book, Ron Paul has really made a mark
in the literary history of our times. It is a book of courage,
intelligence, and vision. It should become our credo. Ron could be the
founding father of a new and free America and world.

April 5, 2011

Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. former editorial assistant to Ludwig von Mises
and congressional chief of staff to Ron Paul, is founder and chairman of
the Mises Institute, executor for the estate of Murray N. Rothbard, and
editor of LewRockwell.com.

Copyright © 2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or
in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.