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In the early fifties, many on the Right said that the usual principle of nonintervention had to give way to the fight against communism because this was a uniquely evil threat facing the world. We have to put up with a "totalitarian bureaucracy" within our shores words used by W. Buckley for the duration in order to beat back the great threat abroad.
And so Leviathan grew and grew, and never more than under Republican presidents. Then one day, communism went away, the regimes having collapsed from self-imposed deprivation and ideological change. A few years went by after when the Right was inching toward a Paulian consistency. Then happened, and the great excuse for Leviathan again entered the picture.
Never mind that, as Congressman Paul pointed out, the crime of was motivated by retribution against ten years of killer US sanctions against Iraq, US troops on Muslim holy lands, and US subsidies for Palestinian occupation. No, the American Right bought into the same farce that led them to support the Cold War: Islamic fanaticism is a unique evil unlike anything we've ever seen, so we have to put up with Leviathan again!
Well, Ron Paul didn't buy into it. He is unique in this respect, and this is especially notable since he has been under pressure from his own party at a time when his party has ruled the executive, judicial, and legislative branches.
He stuck by his principles, and not merely as a pious gesture. His critique of the post warfare state has been spot on in speech after speech. He foresaw the failure of the US invasion of Afghanistan.
Here are some key points. This was ok, I liked it from a historical perspective to be able to read what Ron Paul had spoken about years ago. May 14, Cormacjosh rated it it was amazing. What would be inconsistent would be to favor activist government at home but restraint abroad, or the reverse: As perfectly as such things can translate into a book, they do. Not only does this Paulian view have a precedent in American history; it sums up the very core of what is distinctive about the American contribution to political ideas. How intervening in other countries affairs did not strengthen America's National Security, and how doing this caused all sorts of problems for America from the Iranian Hostage Crisis and more enemies to Al Q An interesting and pretty exhausting read of Ron Paul's stances on the many issues of US foreign policy from the start of his membership in the House of Representatives to around
He never believed the nonsense about how US bombs would transform Iraq into a modern democracy. He never went along with the propaganda lies about weapons of mass destruction. Nowadays, we often hear politicians say that they have changed their minds on the Iraq War and that if they had known then what they know now, they never would have gone along.
Well, hindsight is child's play in politics. What takes guts and insight is the ability to spot a hoax even as it is being perpetrated. In any case, they have no excuse for not knowing: Ron Paul told them! The freedom to trade internationally is an essential principle. It means that consumers should not be penalized for buying from anyone, or selling to anyone, regardless of their residence. Nor should domestic suppliers be granted anything like a monopoly or subsidized treatment. Nor should trade be used as a weapon in the form of sanctions.
Ron Paul has upheld these principles as well, which makes him an old-fashioned liberal in the manner of Cobden and Bright and the American Southern tradition. He has also rejected the mistake of many free traders who believe that a military arm is necessary to back the invisible hand of the marketplace. For Ron Paul, freedom is all of a piece. Ron Paul's singular voice on foreign affairs has done so much to keep the flame of a consistent liberty burning in times when it might otherwise have been extinguished.
He has drawn public attention to the ideas of the founders.
He has alerted people to the dangers of empire. He has linked domestic and foreign affairs through libertarian analytics, even when others have been bamboozled by the lies or too intimidated to contradict them. He has told the truth, always.
For this, every American, every citizen of the world, is deeply in his debt. In fact, I'm willing to predict that a hundred years from now and more, when all the current office holders are all but forgotten, Ron Paul's name will be remembered as a bright light in dark times.
We can't but be deeply grateful that Ron Paul's prophetic words have been collected in this book. May it be widely distributed. A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship is a compilation of floor speeches to the U.
In A Foreign Policy of Freedom, Ron Paul presents his thoughts on foreign policy in . we can set for the world by protecting freedom and liberty here in the USA. Ron Paul has always believedthat foreign and domestic policy should If you recognize the line of thinking in this set of beliefs, it might be.
House of Representatives by Congressman Ron Paul. The book was published as an accompaniment to his campaign for the presidency of the United States in the election. The first edition includes a foreword by Llewellyn H.
The cover depicts detail from the painting Declaration of Independence , by John Trumbull , "courtesy of Architect of the Capitol". Paul and the book were featured on a crowded The Tonight Show on October 30, , and host Jay Leno was able to get Paul to autograph his copy after the show. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The rise of an eclectic anti-statist movement". Archived from the original on