I’ve been noticing something lately that worries me, and to make matters worse, I think I might be on the other side of this one from my hero Ron Paul and even the great Murray Rothbard! Disagreeing with Ron Paul doesn’t worry me – I disagree with him from time to time – he’s my hero more because he has the courage of his convictions than because I share those convictions (though I usually do), but disagreeing with Murray Rothbard is a much bigger deal for an anarcho-capitalist!
Fortunately, the disagreement is about tactics more than principles, but still it worries me. Rothbard and Paul both tend toward the “take what you can get” approach to political gain, and I’m not one to refuse libertarian inroads anywhere I can find them, but I do feel that an eyes-wide-open attitude is increasingly in order and events unfolding as I write are about to demonstrate exactly what we libertarians need to keep our eyes open to. The powers that be are picking and choosing our liberties for us not as a compromise but as a trap—a trap not only to play into their hands to increase power at the top, but even worse, to make libertarian principles look utopian and irresponsible. Here are a few examples…