Thanks to Ron Paul, libertarianism of a certain stripe may be more popular than ever, and its influence on the Tea Party and the broader conservative movement is not hard to see. All the same, this brand of libertarianism is never going to "cross the chasm," as the marketing folks like to say. It's destined to remain a minority creed, and that’s not because most Americans are stupid or immoral. It’s because libertarians have done a terrible job countering the widespread suspicion that theirs is a uselessly abstract ideology of privilege for socially obtuse adolescent white guys. Ron Paul sure isn't helping.
HT: KPC
Shame Milton Friedman wasn't still around. He could articulate libertarianism better than anyone. Ron Paul is from Texas, so he will always have that "red neck" stigma.
ReplyDeleteI saw him a while ago on Jon Stewart, and he was pretty incoherent. He made one or two ok points, but mostly he sounded confused. Milton Friedman is definitely the master. Luckily, there are lots of good academic libertarians around. Too bad that they don't have much of a say in the world of politics.
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