In campaigning for Ron Paul I am often asked "Why is he so different?" or "What makes him so special? He's just another politician."
This is a tough question. I mean, where do I start? Ron Paul is so different, in so many ways, from all the other candidates that it's like comparing apples and bowling balls. Ron Paul is not "just another politician." He's a whole different species.
What first attracted me to Ron Paul 20 years ago was the fact that he is a student and scholar of the Austrian School of economics. Most of the other candidates have absolutely no training in economics whatsoever, and the few that do are followers of completely different economic traditions.
The Austrian School is so named because it started in Vienna during the 1800s. When Hitler annexed Austria into the Third Reich, the Austrian economists fled. Some went to Switzerland, some to Great Britain and a few to the US. One of the Austrians to settle in the US was Ludwig von Mises. He taught at NYU and wrote many books and articles. His most famous work is "Human Action" which is a massive volume that contains literally everything you'd ever need to know about economics.
The Austrian School of economic thought is now centered in Auburn Alabama at the Mises Institute, named after Ludwig von Mises. All economists who follow this line of thought are refered to as "Austrians," even though they may actually be as American as apple pie.
The thing that sets Austrian economics apart from other schools of economic thought is the fact that the Austrians do not deal with abstract concepts and meaningless statistics like GDP, etc. Austrians examine human beings. They seek to understand what motivates the human animal to behave in the way that he does. They seek to discover the natural laws that govern human action and apply those laws to the issues that confront us. The result of this approach is that Austrian economics provides solutions that are truly humane.
Ron Paul discovered Austrian ideas while he was in medical school. He ran across a copy of Fredrick von Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom." He went on to read the works of von Mises and others. And, as Ron says:
Although the works were magnificent, and clarified many issues for me, it was more of a revelation to find intellectuals who could confirm what I “already knew”—that the free market is superior to a centrally planned economy. I did not know how a free market accomplished its work, and so the study of economics showed me this, and how to build a case for it. But, like many people, I did not need to be convinced of the merits of individual freedom—for me that came naturally.
There are some people who criticize Ron Paul for what they perceive as his inflexible stands on many issues. I applaud him for that and I understand where he is coming from. Again, to quote Dr. Paul:
My association with the Austrian School of economic thought has been invaluable to me, but so have the personal testimonials as to the character of Mises. He never yielded to any temptation to soften his stand to be more acceptable to the conventional economic community, which proved him to be a man of strong will and character. If he had softened his stands, his recognition during his lifetime would have been enhanced. But his goal was economic truth, not a prestigious academic position and superficial acclaim. His determination and consistency were buoyed by the confidence that he was right, and that rectitude was all that mattered. Mises was always a gentleman, kind and considerate of all, and I have tried to emulate him. When the world of economists and politicians is going mad, it is difficult to respond with quiet and deliberate discussion. Yet this response served him well and enhanced his ability to teach. In due time, his quiet voice and those of his students will be heard, despite the shouting and demagoguery that afflicts Washington, D.C.
I have had the opportunity to meet Dr. Paul and even to spend several hours in conversation with him. My own personal impression is that Ludwig von Mises would be proud of his student.
The Austrian economists are the ones who proved conclusively that there simply is no brand or version of socialism or collectivism that can be made to work. It was Mises who proved that economic calculation is impossible in a socialist society. Again quoting Ron Paul:
Today, it’s hard to believe that it was a major breakthrough in economics
for Mises to show logically that under socialism prices cannot be established and economic calculation is impossible. Is it any wonder that socialist nations, without subsidies from a capitalist nation, are unable to feed themselves? This is why the threat of communism would be greatly reduced if only we could stop our elected officials from bailing these countries out. Only force enables a system to survive without a free-market pricing mechanism.
Only force enables the socialist system to survive. That one simple idea is the reason that so called "socialist utopias" always and everywhere become totalitarian dictatorships. It is the basic, fundamental reason why only a truly free market economic system is compatible with the kind of individual, personal liberty we as Americans are promised by our Constitution. Ron Paul is the only candidate for President who exhibits any understanding of this crucial principle.
The Austrian economists also teach that there is no "third way." Every society must ultimately choose to be free or to be a totalitarian dictatorship. There is no middle ground. There is no center. We must choose one or the other. As Mises said:
Men must choose between the market economy and socialism. The state can preserve the market economy in protecting life, health, and private property against violent or fraudulent aggression; or it can itself control the conduct of all production activities. Some agency must determine what should be produced. If it is not the consumers by means of demand and supply on the market, it must be the government by compulsion.
Again it is only Ron Paul who demonstrates any understanding of this principle. All of the other candidates place themselves somewhere in the middle, the middle that cannot exist. The middle that is unstable and must tip one way or the other. The Democrats seem, by their behavior and proposals, to favor tipping toward the socialist idea. The Republicans give lip service to tipping the balance toward the free market, but their actual behavior in office demonstrates that they have no clue that they are simply playing into the hands of the socialists. That, or they are deliberately complicit.
Ron Paul is the only candidate who understands what money is and why sound money is so vital to our economy.
Politicians inevitably destroy money when they gain control of it, and attempt to make it a mere product of the State, completely separate from any commodity sought by the consumer. Mises understood how the money issue became as much a political issue as an economic one. His insights helped me to oppose both liberal and conservative excuses for deficits. Both factions, regardless of rhetoric, depend on a fiat money system and inflation. These hide the exactions necessary to continue government financing while serving the special interests who get the new money before the depreciation is recognized by the general public. My support for legalizing competition in currencies has obviously been influenced by the Misesian explanation of money. This is one area where we can even get the monetarists to agree. Mises explains that money—like any commodity—has a marginal utility, and its value is set subjectively. This has helped me refute the pure quantity theory of money as presented by the Chicago School. Money as a commodity must have a quality to it, and consumers must trust the money for it to function—something increasingly absent today. Once this is understood, there is no mystery as to why the bond market acts as it does, and why interest rates are “too high,” as the monetarists and Keynesians have proclaimed.
Ron Paul is the only candidate who understands that inflation is a tax. As the Federal Reserve (a cartel of private banks that is anything but "Federal") increases the supply of money, real value is gradually taken from anyone holding money. This value is transferred from the people who have earned it and given to those with enough political "pull" to be first in line to receive the new money. This is why the corporations that do business with the Federal government (like Haliburton) see their profits skyrocket while the poor continue to get poorer.
Every single one of the other candidates - of both parties - is either completely ignorant of these principles or - even worse - is in on the scheme and has no intention of changing things. This alone makes Ron Paul the only person worthy of being President.
But there is so much more to Ron Paul. He takes the ideas he learned from the Austrian economists and he applies them to every aspect of our political lives. His firm belief in non-intervention by government in the economic lives of its citizens leads him to question to validity of government intervention abroad. Alone among the candidates, Ron Paul has a profound understanding and sense of history.
When Ron Paul looks at a problem, any problem, his first instinct is to ask "What caused the problem?" He is by training a medical doctor and any doctor will tell you that you can't begin treating the patient's illness until you know what caused it. Only then can you prescribe a treatment that will actually work. When Ron Paul looks at a problem like terrorism, he first asks "Why?" Why do some people in the world hate America with such passion that they fly airplanes into buildings or strap bombs to their chests? Unless we understand what motivates people to such drastic action, we will not ever solve the problem. If we continue to believe the lie that "they hate us for our freedom" we will be stuck fighting an ever escalating "war on terrorism." This "war" will go on for decades, if not centuries. We will not win. We will lose our liberty. We will become slaves to the security state.
Only Ron Paul understands this. Only Ron Paul has taken the time to fully research the history of the Middle East. Only he has learned that it is 1000 years of intervention by the West that has caused this problem. From the Crusades to the building of the British Empire to the partition of Palestine, to the partition of India, to the overthrow of the elected government of Iran, to the sanctions against Iraq, the people of the Middle East remember that all the West has ever done to them is bomb, kill, maim, occupy and control. Is it any wonder they resent us? Only Ron Paul understands that when one of our bombs or stray bullets kills someone's child, parent, uncle, cousin or friend we have turned a moderate Muslim into a radical. And this new radical will likely take the rest of his family with him when he goes to hear the radical cleric speak out against the "great Satan America."
Only Ron Paul understands and has the courage to say that 15 of the 19 Sept 11 hijackers were not from Iraq, they were from Saudi Arabia, our supposed ally. Only Ron Paul has the understanding and the courage to say that Iraq did not attack us and we have no right to invade them. Only Ron Paul has the courage to say that the greatest moral threat we face today is our own abandonment of the just war theory. We have adopted as our official policy the policy of preemptive war that was invented by Adolf Hitler. Only Ron Paul understands that America has lost the moral high ground and in doing so has earned herself the animosity of the whole world. Only Ron Paul understands that we have never been as isolated as we are right now. Never has America been so alone in the world.
There are those who criticize Ron Paul by saying that he is an "isolationist." Paul says that it is our current policy that has isolated us from the world. Ron Paul has wisely called for our return to the advice of the Founders who said we should have trade and friendly relations with all nations and alliances with none.
One of the most striking things about Ron Paul is that he has been warning us for years, even decades, that our policy is wrong and will bring us nothing but great harm.
In February of 2001 Ron Paul said in Congress:
If we were truly concerned about our security and enhancing peace, one would always opt for a less militaristic policy. It is not by coincidence that US territory and US citizens are the most vulnerable in the world to terrorist attacks.
Note the date on that quote. It was 7 months before the attacks of 9/11. Ron Paul has been saying this ever since he first entered politics in 1974.
Ron Paul is also the only candidate who expresses concern over the expansion of the power of the president. He saw this coming a long time ago and tried to warn us. Note this quote from 1987:
It is mind boggling that extensive emergency powers are available to the President. Literal dictatorial control of the country is available to an aggressive president faced with a contrived or real crisis. The executive orders, which have the force of law, are issued on a routine basis. Secret agreements and commitments by our presidents are routine and no longer considered unconstitutional.
Is he some kind of magician who can foretell the future? No. He is simply a wise and knowledgeable man who has done his homework. He has studied the ideas and ideals upon which this country was founded. He has studied history. He has studied economics from the masters. He is simply able to read the writing on the wall and tell us where our foolish policies are taking us.
Other candidates are of the type of leader that looks to see which way the herd is running, rush to get in front and yell "This way! Follow me." They tell the people what the people want to hear.
Ron Paul is the type of leader who looks farther down the path and sees that we are headed over a precipice. He is calling out to us "Don't go that way, I've seen where it leads. We must change course now or we will lose our liberty." He is the only candidate with the courage to tell the people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
There are those who say Ron Paul is too far away from the "mainstream." Well, I certainly hope so. Look where "mainstream" ideas have brought us. Once we had the strongest currency in the world. "Sound as a dollar" was the phrase commonly used to describe something solid, reliable. Now our dollar is worth a tiny fraction of its former value and continues to lose value every day. The "mainstream" did that by allowing the government to abandon the gold standard in favor of paper money.
Once we were the most revered nation in the world. Now we are the most reviled. The "mainstream" did that by abandoning our traditional noninterventionist foreign policy in favor of constant meddling in the affairs of other nations.
Once we were the richest nation on earth. Now we are the biggest debtor nation. The "mainstream" did that by developing the welfare/warfare state with its runaway deficit spending.
Once we had the largest manufacturing base in the world. Now we import almost everything from overseas. The "mainstream" did that by agreeing to so-called "free trade" deals that are in reality regulated trade deals formulated to benefit only the super-rich. The "mainstream," with its deliberate policy of inflation, has destroyed our ability to save, and savings are the source of the capital we need to keep our factories up to date.
Yes, Ron Paul is about as far out of the mainstream as you can get. And thank goodness that he is. We now have the opportunity to get rid of the "mainstream" and restore sanity to our government.
I recently attended one of the presidential "debates." While all the other candidates on the stage spewed the official party line, only Ron Paul spoke about peace. Only Ron Paul warned the audience that our policies were leading us toward our own destruction. When the debate was over, the other candidates disappeared back into whatever holes they hide in when they're not on TV. Ron Paul was the only candidate to climb down off the stage and mingle with the people. Ron Paul was the only candidate to have hundreds of supporters outside the venue waving signs. Ron Paul was the only candidate to have a tug boat steaming up and down the river festooned with signs. Ron Paul was the only candidate to have a huge rally after the debate. Ron Paul was the only candidate to stay at the rally until every single one of his supporters had the chance to meet him and shake his hand.
Ron Paul is the only candidate worthy of my vote.
In short, Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate. Period.
