By Ron Paul at the Ron Paul Liberty Report
The middle class, which as defined by politicians now includes almost everyone, is angry, fearful, and filled with rage. When politicians address this group it’s frequently defined as “populism,” of which there are many varieties. Whether liberals, conservatives, libertarians, socialists, or authoritarians, when the people become restless and angry, demanding change, the politicians pay attention. This reflects a need to appeal to the masses, and a populist message is well received. But there is never real agreement on the analysis and suggested solutions to the problems. Instead, scapegoats are easily found. Economic understanding is not of high priority, and demagoguery is a useful tool for politically mobilizing the “victims.” Since there are real reasons given for the conditions that exist, competition arises among those who want to take charge of the crisis and benefit politically. This only increases the anxiety and anger of the people, who see themselves as victims of an unfair system.
Until the political economic crisis became readily apparent, most politicians were unaware of the rapidly increasing distortions in wealth distribution. The dangers are conveniently ignored because most people live for the short term. If one is doing well financially, even though the system is financed with the whole country living beyond its means, worrying about preparing for a rainy day seems like wasted energy. However the payment is now coming due, and because few plan or understand it, any threat to benefits – both earned and unearned – creates great anxiety. Fear of being squeezed out of a share of the benefits that come with government intervention becomes the driving force for the whole country. The one group that seems the least worried about current conditions is the “one percent” who are financially secure by living off the special interest financial system. This does not include the wealthy who are financially rewarded for providing products and services that consumers choose to buy.
But even the one percent who benefit from government programs and the monetary system are concerned that the current uprising will interfere with their privileged position.
The size, determination, and anger of the current populist uprising is signaling that huge changes are coming both politically and economically. This generates a competitive blame-game when politicians get involved and try to benefit from the chaos. Republicans blame the Democrats and the Democrats blame the Republicans for the problems. It’s never an issue of philosophy but rather partisanship, personalities, or simply blaming poor management. False perceptions are commonplace as a consequence of government-controlled education that steers people away from the sad realities of economic planning that the people have blindly accepted for many decades.
The fear and anger are only increased by the combination of a failed but never-questioned economic policy, and the demagogues, either ignorant or malicious, who provide magical promises to erase the injustices that are clearly visible.
Though the nature of the breakdown is an economic issue caused by excessive government, those suffering – and the politicians who claim they can restore prosperity – demand more government intervention in our lives and in the economy.
The entitlement mentality is now seen as a fundamental right even though it depends on government use of force to transfer wealth from one group to another. The liberal mantra has always been that the use of force backed up by guns is legitimate and moral. This is accepted as being morally superior to voluntarism for helping the poor. The irony is that it’s precisely this philosophy that impoverishes the middle class, increases the poverty of the poor, and provides the unearned benefits of the crony capitalists who were the recipients of the great bailout in 2009.
We are witnessing the end of an era, but since denial and ignorance prevails few are aware of it. The current special interest entitlement system is on its last legs, but the recipients and the political power brokers believe a change in leadership is all that is needed. It’s not the system that’s at fault, they argue, it’s only better management that is required. It is readily apparent that the failure of this approach is leading to more fear and anger.
Too often the anger is thought to be a partisan issue. The claim is either that it’s all President Obama’s fault or George W. Bush’s fault – yet both parties have followed the same false philosophy of interventionism in both domestic Keynesianism and international empire-building, putting them both at fault.
The people searching for answers conclude the government constantly lies to them. It’s easy to see the system rewarding those who control political power. Concern and understanding the inequities in wealth distribution are not authentic. Ignorance prevails even for the well-intentioned, which results in a deadly erosion of middle class wealth. Debt and deficits are not a serious concern, and both parties continue the endless wasteful spending that only aggravates the pervasive economic inequities that drive the people’s fears.
Most Americans, now more than ever, have become aware of the terrible conditions the Federal Reserve has caused by its policies that result in ever more distortions in the transfer of wealth to the very wealthy at the expense of the middle class. Many people remain apathetic as to the details of Federal Reserve policy, but others recognize that the Fed is the financier of the welfare state and the endless wars that consume wealth. Our ability to issue the reserve currency of the world gives us a free ride for unlimited spending, debt, and borrowing.
Middle class anger results because the evidence is now available that the system is failing and the politicians offer only vague platitudes and rash promises that few citizens believe. The factions that compete for government benefits become more competitive and angry as they see the financial pie shrinking and the ability of government to deliver on their promises failing.
When benefits, seen as entitlements, shrink, the recipients become fearful and angry and demand political action. This means more handouts, whether it’s for the rich or poor, without any understanding as to why the system is failing. The demagogues, who are aware of the problem, are quick to use this discord to gain greater political power while ignoring the true nature of the problem and the changes needed.
It’s easy for presidential candidates to respond to legitimate concerns that have prompted the anger and fear. But if there is little understanding of the true nature of the problem and the proposed solutions, this won’t help to quiet the disgruntled electorate. The groups that claim they are being mistreated more than others will continue to be varied and increasing in numbers.
Slogans and clichés, though they have been helpful to the politicians in the past, will not be believed and will only increase the anger. This leads the candidates to compete to be the most authoritarian in their promises to take care of everybody’s demands.
The problems have been developing for almost 100 years. Progressivism, which was accepted in the early part of the 20th century, cannot be reversed by any single election. Vague political promises to patch up the system currently being used will no longer suffice.
Real wages and the standard of living of the average American family have dropped in the 21st century and are almost where they were back in 1971 – the year we completely abandoned the gold standard. The ongoing crisis is deeply structural and not a management problem. Those who still spout the idea that stopping waste, fraud, and abuse in order to finance the perpetual demands of the people without a major overhaul of our political and economic system have no credibility and the people know it. Too many remain convinced that debt is not a problem and more debt and more monetary inflation is what is needed to restore economic growth. The masses have been taught and conditioned to believe that unlimited government spending and debt is the solution and not a cause of the crisis.
But, it is a problem. As long as our politicians and the American people remain in denial, the problems will get much worse, the anger will accelerate, and violence in our cities will increase.
The current ongoing destruction of the middle class and the anger it causes are the big issues we face. Economic conditions are the overriding issue, but the least understood. Most Americans are aware that the politicians are in over their heads and are not providing any sensible answers to the dilemma. Believing that a left or right wing noisy demagogue will save us is wishful thinking.
Ignorance of economics has allowed years of excessive spending, but that is coming to an end. The entitlement mentality claims it’s a strictly moral issue for the government to take care of people in need. A combination of bad economic policy and confused morality has created the conditions that are threatening us today – not only in the US but worldwide as well.
We must wake up and realize that much of the wealth the average American has enjoyed for decades has been an illusion, built on debt and a bizarre form of money. But the payment is now coming due and no one wants to accept the obvious: we are unable to pay for our extravagant spending on domestic welfare to both the rich and poor, while maintaining an unaffordable world empire. The result has only been anger. There is no understanding that market forces are now required and that the debt must be liquidated in order to restore economic growth to the system.
The question of who must pay is a major political and economic one. Currently the middle class is aware of a major problem, but doesn’t have the foggiest understanding as to the causes or the solutions. So far the penalty has fallen on the shoulders of the middle class with a loss of good jobs, inflation, and a lot lower standard of living – something the government is unwilling to acknowledge. The fact that there’s a lack of understanding of economic policy contributes to the growing socio-economic crisis and the fear and anger that continue to worsen.
The politicians are scurrying around searching for those they can blame for the crisis. Actual answers from the candidates are secondary to who achieves the political power to distribute a shrinking economic pie.
WHO’S TO BLAME?
Who gets blamed depends solely on the political persuasion of the accuser. If it comes from a leftist politician it’s always free markets, profits, not enough government transfer payments to the poor, not enough government spending, and of course, greed – regardless of how one’s money was earned. The solution is always to raise taxes.
If it comes from a right or populist politicians, it’s immigrants, China’s unfair trade and currency policies, threats of terrorism, Mexico border policies, and an urgent need to sacrifice liberty for safety, xenophobia, or not enough militarism. Too often the blame is couched only in partisan terms – it’s the Democrats fault; it’s the Republicans fault; or it’s all Obama’s fault or George W. Bush’s fault. Philosophic views are not important, only effective demagoguery is.
Too often it leads to a desire for a tyrannical type of government, coming from both the far left and the far right, that makes rash promises as to the ease with which the problems will be solved. We’re constantly being told that what we need is a new tougher boss who will get things done, without knowing exactly what policies will be pursued.
It’s easy to find scapegoats – either racially motivated or based on faulty economic thinking. Little blame is placed at the door of the Federal Reserve’s ridiculous monetary policy, which has been so destructive. Negative interest rates are not topics in the presidential debates or the campaigns. Simply, one side blames economic downturn on the free market and another side blames the lack of tariffs and too much labor competition. Political changes are much easier to bring about by placing blame than by getting people to understand the true cause of our economic problems. The sad part is, it’s the economic explanation of poverty and the unfair distribution of wealth that is the issue that drives all political rhetoric while searching for scapegoats. The answers are out there, but we have a long way to go to convince the citizens and the leadership in this country who claim that more government is the solution.
The fear of ISIS is used to justify the dangerous foreign policy we follow – a policy that has significantly contributed to the economic crisis, with trillions of dollars spent in recent decades on unwise militarism. Blaming foreign terrorism for our economic and debt crisis may have been a goal of Osama bin Laden, but only we can take the responsibility for the spending excesses for which we are now being forced to pay.
There’s been little disagreement among the candidates that sacrificing personal liberty under today’s circumstances is required to provide security. It’s easy for the politicians to blame too much liberty – both economic and civil – as the problem. There should be little doubt that our crisis does not come from too much freedom, yet this issue is of no concern for the candidates.
Some blame the crisis on inefficiency in government management and claim that ridding the system of waste, fraud, and abuse will be enough to solve our fiscal problems and control the deficits. Therefore nothing needs to be cut, or so they say. There’s no recognition that government by its very nature is based on theft, threat of violence, and control by the privileged few.
Blaming various social groups instead of flawed policies is a frequent exercise. Racial distinctions are convenient for gaining a special benefit and are the source of social and economic friction. There’s no incentive to objectively see cause-and-effect in the problems that generate fear and anger. This makes it very difficult to unemotionally solve the injustices that our system of government planning has generated.
Equal justice under the law is constantly being abused. It’s easy to blame racism for all the problems while ignoring the war on drugs and true causes of poverty, which are the major contributing factors to our dilemma.
The authoritarians cannot resist blaming free markets and sound money for our economic ills and they never make an effort to distinguish between free markets and crony capitalism in their accusations. Ignorance and a desire to increase the role of government in our everyday life provide a convenient argument for a bigger and more intrusive government. Today even declared socialists are well received with their promises of unlimited “free stuff.”
The defenders of central economic planning, a powerful central bank, sacrificing liberty for security, and foreign interventionism to maintain an empire will never blame themselves for their contributions to the crisis. Therefore, expect anger and fear to accelerate. Do not expect the 2016 election to enlighten the people or the politicians.
Big government enthusiasts are always looking outward and for others to blame. But without some introspection it is guaranteed that the social friction now building will get worse. False blame creates bad solutions.
Terrorism is a real threat. The consensus of both Republicans and Democrats is that the only cause is “radical Islam.” Any other suggestion elicits charges of un-Americanism and a willingness to ignore danger. It is suggested that any support for those who seek a peaceful resolution to international problems are unpatriotic and endangering our country. Claiming our foreign policy of occupation and preemptive war significantly contributes to the danger of terrorism is unthinkable, but suggesting that we carpet bomb countries in the Middle East draws loud cheers. This is hardly a setting for making our country safe from terrorism. Blaming others for our failed policy of maintaining a world empire while never looking at our own shortcomings is acceptable to most Republicans and Democrats.
Not only do the demagogues blame others for our foreign policy failings, they also blame others for our weak economy. The threat of terrorism, that we helped to create, is also used to justify our government’s attack on civil liberties here at home. The politicians never assume responsibility for our out-of-control budgets since neither party truly believes that deficits are a serious problem. In fact, both sides cooperate in spending and ignoring the deficits because both sides want to increase spending. Sometimes it’s for domestic welfare and other times the spending is for “rebuilding” the military; most of the time they want both.
The most significant economic problems we face today – the $210 trillion of unfunded liabilities, the $19 trillion national debt, along with our overblown foreign debt – are dealt with by ignoring them as the platitudes and excuses flow.
The financial markets will eventually make it clear that the debt has become the most significant issue. It’s crucial that proper blame is placed on the spenders and Keynesian apologists who argue it’s not a problem. Without proper blame, understanding how to achieve economic growth is impossible. The people are justified in being fearful and angry because the magnitude of the crisis is becoming more evident every day, and they no longer believe what the leaders of the country have been telling them. Wishful thinking for a political savior to rise up and rescue us is just that: wishful thinking.
Lack of knowledge and understanding of the crisis has ignited hatred between the factions seeking to take charge, escape blame, and satisfy the demands of the current victims. As the truth of the seriousness of our crisis becomes more apparent, only a few are reassured that there is a politician who has an answer. It has been suggested that the description of what we’re facing is that one party is a party of “know nothings” and the other is a party that knows all the “wrong things.”
REAL ISSUES IGNORED
Since there has been a lot of blame and no understanding, no serious solutions have been offered. The big problem is that in spite of different rhetoric coming from the two parties, there’s little difference in fundamental political and economic beliefs. With the dramatic personal charges being made by the candidates, the important issues are avoided. This must be on purpose. Since no one has answers, it’s best not to draw attention to their ignorance and to the total failure of both political parties to solve the problems.
The issues avoided are numerous, including especially the debt and the $210 trillion of unfunded liabilities. And even as our as our economy steadily weakens, no serious debate occurs. When the subject comes up it’s for narrow political reasons and no solutions are offered. It’s abundantly clear that to both sides, debt is not of enough concern to actually lead them to entertain the idea that spending should be reduced. That would be bad politics. Both sides support “rebuilding the military” by increasing military spending. Though there is no real threat, we continue to spend about as much as everyone else put together. Domestic welfare spending is treated the same way. Some will continue to claim that cutting waste, fraud, and abuse will provide the funds necessary to continue our spendthrift ways. That’s been talked about for decades to appease the people, without success. There are far too many “debt danger deniers” in Washington to expect spending limitations to emerge.
The US can still borrow from foreign sources since we are the issuer of the world’s reserve currency. Reality declares that this will come to an end – and soon if we yield to the temptation of placing exorbitant tariffs on our trading partners and starting a trade war.
For us to continue our spendthrift ways, it will require the Federal Reserve to monetize the debt at an accelerating rate without loss of confidence in the dollar. In the campaign there’s no talk of getting rid of our central bank, as Andrew Jackson did in 1833. Today the authoritarian big spenders on both sides are totally dependent on the Fed in the short run to constantly create massive amounts of new money out of thin air. Yet it’s the middle class that suffers the most from this policy. No one is talking about how the Fed created the crisis, nor do they realize what lies ahead for us as a consequence.
The ignorance regarding monetary policy makes it impossible to understand the problems of recessions, depressions, inflation, huge debt, massive mal-investments, unfair distribution of wealth between rich and poor, and how the cost of excessive government gets dumped on the middle class and increases the poverty rate. A lack of desire to help is not the problem. The problem is the politicians’ ignorance of the business cycle and their obsession with resisting corrections of the mistakes that are a natural consequence of interest rate manipulation by the Fed. One can only imagine the mistakes that will evolve from negative interest rates! The only saving grace will be that market forces will eventually overwhelm and the needed correction will come, but unfortunately with a lot more pain and suffering.
So far the only solutions that are offered are more of the same policies that have created this current crisis – a crisis that has generated anger and class warfare, more spending, more debt, more taxes, more regulations, and more warfare. This will lead to a lot less freedom for everyone. Without understanding the problem, anger will continue to build and will result in greater violent confrontations.
The systematic attack on our privacy, private property rights, and other civil liberties is not an issue getting any significant attention in the 2016 election. The politicians don’t talk about it because they have chosen to ignore it. It’s just not a serious problem from their perspective. Too many people have come to accept the principle that safety and security are far more important than worrying about personal liberty. The 9/11 attacks and a hyped-up fear of ISIS have pushed this false idea that sacrificing liberty for security is necessary. The American people for a long time have been accepting this principle and have come to believe that it’s a fair trade-off.
The sad consequence of our foreign policy of interventionism, which has been supported by both Democrat and Republican politicians, has drawn no significant debate in 2016. The only argument has been over management style. No one makes the case for rejecting the notion that we have a moral duty to be the policeman of the world. Our military presence in over 130 countries is of little concern to the candidates. The burden of a $1 trillion per year military budget has elicited no warning that this spending is excessive and a tremendous economic burden to our economy.
The contest unfortunately is to see who can sound the toughest and most jingoistic regarding dealing with the al-Qaeda and ISIS. This has led to the xenophobic targeting of Islam and refusing to even consider that our bipartisan foreign policy of preemptive war, occupation, and sanctions is a contributing factor in stirring the hatred that indeed makes us all less safe.
Logic should tell us that continuing the same policy that has stirred up hate and retaliation, that serves as a recruiting tool for the radical jihadists, will only put us in greater danger. The financial burden, the attacks by our own government on our civil liberties, and the greater threat to our national security are all related to our radical interventionist foreign policy, which has been endorsed by both Republican and Democrats for decades.
There’s been no concern expressed about the collapse of the current Keynesian economic system. This huge financial and social event will significantly increase the fear and anger the American people are already experiencing. Therefore there is no reason to expect any positive changes as a consequence of this year’s election, regardless of who wins the presidency. Unrealistic promises and blaming various scapegoats for our problems will only result in more anger and violence. A better understanding of the problems we face is vital if we expect to preserve both liberty and prosperity.
Failing to recognize the significance of a major era ending is compounded by the lack of concern and ignorance regarding the “deep state” or the shadow government. This is the unidentifiable special interest groups and individuals who are actually in control of our government – regardless of whether the Republicans or Democrats are nominally in charge. If the American people understood this, they would realize that elections mean little more than pacifying the electorate with the false belief that the people actually have a say in the affairs of state.
Great concerns about the threat of al-Qaeda and ISIS help direct attention away from the real crimes committed within our borders, like the ill-conceived war on drugs and a justice system out of control. Asset forfeiture is ignored as a serious problem and is strongly supported by law enforcement agencies.
The original Constitution listed essentially six federal crimes. Today there are 4500 federal crimes on the books and over 400,000 regulations – most written illegally by the executive branch – and we hear nothing about this horrendous legal problem. Our courts do not provide equal justice, which justly infuriates the victims of this system of injustice. Militarization of the police and police brutality are out-of-control, yet the recipients of stolen goods known as “government benefits” have no compunction in demanding the use of violence to get what they have been taught they have a right to have. The result is that inner city violence is not going to be reduced with this election.
As the economic crisis worsens and the cities explode, with different factions competing for the handouts, there will be calls for military force and initiating martial law. This is a non-issue in the current political debate and without understanding the significance of this problem will not be recognized. It will only get worse. Most of the candidates have indicated that they would use whatever military force is needed to quell domestic unrest regardless of the Constitution.
If there’s a discussion of danger within the United States, the demagogues will say the threat comes from ISIS and is the reason they demand an increase in military spending. They remain in denial that our presence in the Middle East is precisely why there’s a threat here. Unfortunately the worse the conditions get here at home, the greater will be the demand for a more authoritarian leader to take charge and solve the problems they don’t understand. The campaign of 2016 will not bring about any significant improvement in the problems that precipitated the anger and generated our political and financial crisis that they have ignored.
THE ANSWER
A philosophic revolution is required. The American electorate is very angry and is demanding changes. Though the anger is justified, the exact cause and correction for it is poorly understood. Economic conditions are a driving force but are not recognized as such. There is no realization that the cataclysmic events that will be associated with an end to the current era require revolutionary changes in our economic and political thinking.
Since the problems are poorly understood it was guaranteed that a blame game by all concerned – the politicians, the voters, the victims, and the political parties – would result. Scapegoats are found and blamed – guilty or not. All this prompts a variety of answers with wild promises made by socialists and crony capitalists. Demagogues with magic solutions are everywhere to be found.
Ignorance, along with a struggle for power by those who claim they have the answers, ignores the actual causes of the social divide that are not readily apparent in the current election. Some are pleased with this lack of discussion since it could identify those responsible for the mess and the failed ideas that need to be rejected.
A serious discussion about the role of government is needed in order to redirect the failed course upon which we find ourselves. Different types of governments reflect the degree to which the people choose to live in a free society. The form of government that was proposed by the Founders is no longer recognizable. This fact explains the conditions that have generated the anger and fear that is prevalent today. Nobody likes to hear it, but the answers are not available to us unless we change the people’s attitudes about the role the government should play in our lives, the economy, and in the world.
The only real answer to a failed interventionist/authoritarian system is to replace it with a system of nonintervention and voluntarism. It has to be based on the moral principle of liberty and non-aggression permitting all things peaceful. The false moral principle of government-directed “humanitarianism” must be intellectually refuted as a false God.
Utilitarianism and pragmatism are code words for avoiding all viewpoints held by those who love liberty and only want to be left alone. Unregulated non-violent voluntarism is rejected as not being beneficial to the “common good.” It is argued that government-mandated equality is superior to any desire for individualism and self-reliance.
Utilitarianism, pragmatism, and economic planning go together, which always leads to dependency and corruption of economic and political power. Sadly the result is that only the powerful and wealthy special interests thrive. A society that condones even a small amount of authoritarianism is compromised by rejecting the basic tenants of liberty. The system then grows like a cancer until that society is destroyed, which we are now in the process of doing to ourselves.
When virtue becomes a government mandate, it makes it impossible for individuals to achieve it, which further destroys the social and economic order. Instead the result is: taxes to force people to be charitable; torture to protect the state; drug wars to improve behavior; elimination of privacy to protect government secrecy; thousands of laws and regulations to monitor our every action, all of which are performed in a non-virtuous manner. Only when efforts to improve oneself and others are done in a voluntary and nonviolent manner does it represent virtue. Government efforts, whether it’s to improve one’s personal behavior, legislate economic fairness, or direct the affairs of other countries only serves to inhibit virtue. This leads to society’s collapse, along with war and poverty. For liberty to work society must have a virtuous people who reject the use of all aggressive force, especially when it’s used by government in the name of humanitarianism.
Even the 400,000 federal regulations and the 4500 federal laws cannot save a system of mandates that violates the moral standards that are vital to a moral society. Free markets are superior to government economic planning. Government rules on personal behavior cannot instill moral standards. Bombs, sanctions, and occupations of other countries cannot make the world safe or more prosperous.
All these efforts result in the loss of liberty. Under these conditions a republic cannot exist. The system will always fail and the people will suffer. The solution will then have to be in the form of a revolution, hopefully peaceful, and with the insistence on recognizing the natural right to life and liberty.
The worse the conditions get the louder the demagogues’ promises become. Competition between demagogues produces sharp rebuttals, and supporters of different candidates become overtly competitive and violence is threatened. With no understanding of the cause of the problems, arguments over solutions will vary. Since real evaluations and authentic solutions are absent it only incites more anger.
Since the 2016 election distracts from the real issues, the correct solutions will not be believable. The system is broken and not fixable. Attempts to do so only lead to frustration that further divides the people. Under these conditions the guilty don’t want to hear the truth and deny it if they do.
Whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and John Kariakou are despised for telling the truth and are more likely to be punished than those who were criminally negligent.
H.L. Mencken had it right: “The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself,” and come to recognize that, “the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable.” But will the campaign of 2016 answer these concerns? Remember that while living in an empire of lies, pursuing truth is considered treasonous.
Simple anger is not equivalent to understanding the predictable evil of authoritarian government. It’s the fear of losing the immoral benefits along with corrupt government that stirs their anger. The failure of the current system reveals the lies, the senseless wars, and the disdain for the people’s rights to life liberty, and property that generates the anger now being expressed by the masses.
If the people continue to deny that government by its very nature throughout the ages has been notoriously inept, immoral, and corrupt, a solution is not possible. The only result will be a new government based on the same immoral principles. Nothing positive will occur. Basic moral principles of liberty, self-reliance, and strict limits on government power, are required if progress for peace and prosperity is to be achieved.
This type of government cannot exist without a philosophical revolution regarding the proper role of government in a moral society. The election of 2016 will not guide us in that direction. It doesn’t even deal with the crucial issues of our time, and certainly not with the moral principles underpinning a free society. The conflict between candidates and parties is superficial and personal – without substance. The 2016 election will change nothing. It’s a great distraction from the policies that have delivered the current crisis to us. This is done on purpose since there is general agreement in both parties on the major issues and it’s not to their advantage for the people to understand this.
The major issues that both parties and their candidates agree upon include: the central bank’s monetary policy; welfarism; federal government involvement in education and medicine; the drug war; privacy abuse; preemptive war; foreign interventionism; and the US as the policeman of the world with increased spending for the military.
The 2016 election won’t make any difference in any of these areas. The American people continue to be deceived into believing elections are serious affairs that affect our future. The Deep State will remain in charge regardless of the outcome and few will even be aware of the invisible fist that rules over us.
The whole process is a charade and no policy of substance is debated. The election will turn out like all the rest. The momentum toward bigger and more intrusive government will continue. The process distracts from what is really going on; sometimes out of ignorance and sometimes just out of wishful thinking; sometimes on purpose. The process has everyone looking in all the wrong places for the answers. The answers can only be found in an intellectual revolution that refutes the authoritarians who sanction government-directed aggression in all areas of society. What we need is to define and endorse the proper role of government in a free society. There is no serious talk in the campaign of the crucial issues that need corrected if we expect to escape from the mess we’re in.
Following are a few of those concerns that should be addressed.
There is:
- No talk of liberty and its moral foundation;
- No talk of how conservatives and liberal authoritarians are equally harmful;
- No challenge to the entitlement mentality;
- No challenge to the bipartisan support for empire;
- No challenge to the unsustainable debt accumulation;
- No challenge to government secrecy and the government’s violation of the people’s privacy;
- No concern for the violation of private property rights;
- No understanding of how our foreign policy endangers our security;
- No understanding of how free markets regulate economic activity for the purpose of serving the consumers;
- No concern for government aggression in controlling habits, people’s bodies, thoughts, economic choices, prices, or wages;
- No condemnation of the current doctrine of preemptive war;
- No concern for our participation in worldwide organizations that cede political power to the elites at the expense of national sovereignty;
- No mention of why sanctions are a prelude to war;
- No demands that the insane war on drugs be ended;
- No understanding that personality clashes and name-calling is a substitute for dealing with the issues;
- No awareness of the need for a philosophic answer to our crisis.
When it’s discovered that excessive government interference in voluntary and peaceful activities is the culprit, it will become clear that the solution can only come by successfully presenting the case for liberty. It will follow that reining in the government will be a necessity – not an option.
The awakening will arrive when we face a total societal breakdown – once it’s realized that the accumulation of massive debt is unsustainable and the dollar suffers the consequences, which will negatively affect all Americans and many throughout the world. But it also provides an opportunity to open the door to a free society. Without the cost of war and welfare in a new system that accepts the moral principle of free markets, sound money, private property, and voluntary contracts, prosperity and peace will break out.
The limited role for government in a republic is to provide equal justice for all, including the protection of life, liberty, and property. It becomes destructive when governments overreach and instead become the greatest threat to liberty and justice – something from which we are suffering today.
Sadly these issues will not cross the minds of the leaders of either major political party at this time in our history. But they will when an upcoming generation of young people, enthusiastic about the cause of liberty and with a growing awareness of the problems, concludes that:
LIBERTY IS THE ANSWER!
Source: Campaign 2016 – Significant or Superficial? – the Ron Paul Liberty Report
