Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk 1/4/16: Purism is Practical

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Purism is Practical
by Ron Paul

Those who advocate ending,
instead of reforming, the welfare-warfare state are often accused of
being “impractical.” Some of the harshest criticisms come from
libertarians who claim that advocates of “purism” forgo opportunities to
make real progress toward restoring liberty. These critics fail to
grasp the numerous reasons why it is crucial for libertarians to
consistently and vigorously advance the purist position.

First,
and most important, those who know the truth have a moral obligation to
speak the truth. People who understand the need for drastic changes in
foreign, domestic, and, especially, monetary policy should not pretend
that a little tinkering will fix our problems. Those who do so are just
as guilty of lying to the public as is a promise-breaking politician.
Attempting to advance liberty by lying is not just immoral; it is also a
flawed strategy that is doomed to fail.

The inevitable failure
of “reforms” that do not eliminate the market distortions caused by
government intervention will be used to discredit both the freedom
philosophy and its advocates. The result will be increased support for
more welfare, more warfare, and more fiat money. Thus, those who avoid
discussing the root causes of our problems, not those they smear as
impractical purists, are the ones undermining liberty.

For
example, many Obamacare opponents refuse to advocate for true
free-market health care. Instead, they propose various forms of
“Obamacare lite.” By ceding the premise that government should play a
major role in health care, proponents of Obamacare lite strengthen the
position of those who say the way to fix Obamacare is by giving
government more power. Thus, Obamacare lite supporters are inadvertently
advancing the cause of socialized medicine. The only way to ensure that
Obamacare is not replaced by something worse is to unapologetically
promote true free-market health care.

This is not to suggest
libertarians should reject transitional measures. A gradual transition
is the best way to achieve liberty without causing massive social and
economic disruptions. However, we must only settle for compromises that
actually move us in the right direction. So we should reject a
compromise budget that “only” increases spending by 80 percent. In
contrast, a budget that actually reduces spending by 20 percent would be
a positive step forward.

Those who advocate a so-called extreme
position can often move the center of political debate closer to the
pure libertarian position. This can actually increase the likelihood of
taking real, if small, steps toward liberty. More importantly, the best
way to ensure that we never achieve real liberty is for libertarians to
shy away from making the case for the free society.

Sometimes
ideological movements are able to turn yesterday’s “fringe” ideas into
today’s “mainstream” position. Just a few years ago it was inconceivable
that a significant number of states would legalize medical, and even
reactional, marijuana or that a majority of states would have passed
laws allowing citizens to openly carry firearms. The success of these
issues is not due to sudden changes in public opinion, but to years of
hard work by principled advocates and activists.

The ever-growing
number of Americans who are joining the liberty movement are not
interested in “reforming” the welfare-warfare state. They also have no
interest in “fixing” the Federal Reserve via “rules-based” monetary
policy. Instead, this movement is dedicated to auditing, then ending,
the Fed and stopping the government from trying to run the economy, run
the world, and run our lives. If this movement refuses to compromise its
principles, we may succeed in restoring a society of liberty, peace,
and prosperity in our lifetimes.

http://RonPaulLibertyReport.com