Ron Paul Wants to Repeal the 20th Century
September 14, 2007
This post, written by Ian Welsh, originally appeared on Agonist
I've mostly stayed out of the Ron Paul discussions at the Agonist. But I think it needs to be pointed out that what Ron Paul wants to do is essentially repeal the progress made in the 20th century. Radical de-federalization would mean endgangering civil liberties in large parts of the country - the US did not de-segregate because the states wanted to, it desegregated because the Federal government made the States do so at the point of a gun.
The entire network of laws and institutions created by the New Deal and the Progressive era would be swept away if Ron Paul's plans were to go through. The US would move back to uncontrolled capitalism even more ugly than what it has now. While the government is currently not controlling the excesses of business, it has most of the tools to do so. Ron Paul would take away those tools, along with most of the tools used to enforce civil liberties (when a Democrat is in government, anyway.)
I've mostly stayed out of the Ron Paul discussions at the Agonist. But I think it needs to be pointed out that what Ron Paul wants to do is essentially repeal the progress made in the 20th century. Radical de-federalization would mean endgangering civil liberties in large parts of the country - the US did not de-segregate because the states wanted to, it desegregated because the Federal government made the States do so at the point of a gun.
The entire network of laws and institutions created by the New Deal and the Progressive era would be swept away if Ron Paul's plans were to go through. The US would move back to uncontrolled capitalism even more ugly than what it has now. While the government is currently not controlling the excesses of business, it has most of the tools to do so. Ron Paul would take away those tools, along with most of the tools used to enforce civil liberties (when a Democrat is in government, anyway.)
