Freedom vs. Central Planning
by Ron Paul
As the Olympics wind down, I am amazed at how things change every four years. Many Americans were glued to their televisions to watch the excitement from Beijing, and also heard announcers wax nostalgic with memories of times when the Soviet Union was the USA’s biggest competitor for Olympic gold. There was a time when it was unthinkable that a government as powerful as that of the Soviet Union’s could possibly crumble, yet crumble it did. The irony is that the strength of the Soviet government was also its weakness, as no country, no economic system can remain strong under the crushing burden that is central planning.
Central planning is sold to a hopeful people as a way to solve societal problems, to right wrongs, and bring about perfect justice and equality. Central Planning promises you everything you are entitled to. As a bonus, goods and services produced by others are added to the list of commodities that everyone has a “right” to. Suddenly everyone is entitled to healthcare, housing, education, food, et cetera. It might sound nice that the state will magically provide all these wonderful things, but these rosy promises mask a dehumanizing, ugly reality. The other side of these entitlements is that now the doctor, the builder, the teacher, the farmer are slaves to the all-powerful state. No longer do they serve patients, students, or customers. They work in complete obedience to the state, their only customer.
Central planning will tell you that you are entitled to many things. Liberty tells you that you are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; to whatever you earn, and nothing that you don’t. While it may seem harsh to some, we must look to basic economic truths and to history to see which model is cruel and which model is kind.
The truth is that central planning cannot provide for economic success like freedom can. Central planning makes promises it cannot possibly keep. We live in a world of unlimited wants and limited resources. If you put a massive and powerful government in charge of distributing those resources, it is not a surprise that government and those in bed with government are first in line for those resources. The poor and the middle class - the most hopeful and trusting - are hurt the most, as the state always underestimates their needs and overestimates their ability to pay taxes and absorb inflation.
The Soviet Union’s collapse is a dramatic example of the failure of central planning. Americans celebrated this collapse, not only because it meant less competition for Olympic gold, but it provided hope that with the end of the Cold War, our policy makers could drastically reduce overseas commitments and out of control military budgets. Most especially, we celebrated because with the collapse of Soviet communism it was apparent that liberty, not central planning, is stronger.
Freedom empowers the individual. Central planning dehumanizes the masses. There may always be a struggle for power and government, but for this reason, freedom will always win out in the end. And as we celebrate the accomplishments of our individual athletes in Beijing this year, we must continue to go for the gold here at home, and keep the flames of liberty burning bright.
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Well, a soviet-style central planning economy might be its own worst enemy Ron, but a pure laissez-faire capatilist one isn’t so rosy, either.
You only get what you pay for, and nothing else? So, there should be a privatised police force, answerable to its shareholders? A privatised mail delivery service? A totally privatised school system?
Your argument that the state can’t provide everything for a person is true, no doubt about that. But, to aruge that the ‘liberty’ of the free market is the only response is just as hollow.
There are many things that shouldn’t be ‘for profit’ - if you totally privatise healthcare, than you prevent the poor from accessing care. That might not bother you initially, but it sure will if you happen to catch a disease from a poor person.
You might not care that there are millions with barely enough to eat (or not enough, and in the USA, no less!) but you sure as hell will care if you are mugged by someone starving.
Now, don’t go flipping this to mean that I don’t support capitalism. I sure do. But there are many, many degrees of separation between a totally ‘free’ style of society and one with a strangle hold over its people like the USSR had.
One more thing - I bet you anything that your site doesn’t have the conviction of its belief to 1) leave this comment up or 2) bother to reply.
I do. You’ve got my email, Ron - are you willing to debate your points?
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I am disappointed to hear my friend Ron submit to the old argument of enslaving the masses to get a rail system that is efficient. If it is inconvenient then it will take adjustment. If it if difficult it will take hard work, and if it is unimaninable, then I feel for those who lack and recommend that they read more science fiction. The “unimaginable” has always been pondered by writers. To cite the visions of one exiled writer…Marx, as the final word fails to do justice to the creative spirit.
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Jim,
A purely capitalist society depends on the goodwill of the people as much as a centrally planned society. That’s why we have government. But liberty takes the natural selfish tendencies of people, and pits them against each other, with the government acting as an impartial referee, not throwing games for one side or another as our government tends to do these days.
I want to take your three examples from your second paragraph, and health care too. First, there should not be privatized police. That is purely a government function and should remain so. Otherwise, the become mercenaries, and that would not be good.
But the other points. A privatized mail service? Ever heard of FedEx, or UPS, or DHL? They already have to compete with the USPS, and they are making a killing while the postal service hasn’t made money in ages.
Privatized school system? Why do home schooled and privately school children consistently score better in every measure than their public school counterparts? I have a feeling its because the only thing the government is good at is collecting taxes and blowing stuff up.
Totally privatized health care is an evil? Its hard to go back and examine the history on this one because all of this modern technology we have has only come about recently, but do you really want to trust the government to run health care for everyone, when the health care it already provides (Medicare,Medicaid, VA) loses about $60 billion a year to just fraud. Now that is just illegal fraud that is discovered, that does not count the inefficiencies or the fraud that goes on undetected.
The fiasco that happened in the aftermath of Katrina was due to an excess of government response, not a lack of it. And in steadily moving to provide a welfare state, we have created a culture of entitlement, where the government owes us something. They owe us nothing but the protection of our liberties. And then they ought to get out of our way and let us build, create, and drive this great country into the future.
President Kennedy asked us what we could do for our country. He should have stopped at the first part of that statement, when he said the wrong question is what our country can do for us. The answer to that question is and should be: nothing.
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Capitalism violates the core principles of libertarianism. It’s a nasty little irony that libertarians and other capitalists don’t want to discuss.
Self-ownership states that I own what I create through my labor. This is core to libertarianism. Also core is non-aggression, which includes theft; don’t steal what you haven’t earned. Yet capitalists violate these core tenets.
If a worker makes a widget, and widgets are worth $10, the worker has earned $10.
The capitalist says the worker owes him half: $3 for the overhead on his widget factory, and $2 for his pocket.
If the workers owned the factory, they could take home $7 instead of $5.
The capitalist is an unnecessary middleman, leeching off the labor of the workers.
He is a welfare recipient, yet he dares to decry welfare.
He is a thief, yet he dares to decry taxation.
He is the worst kind of hypocrite.
A socialist market is not only possible, it is closer to the libertarian principle of participatory government. Socialism means a democratic workplace. Capitalism means a monarchic one.
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Bo Pot’s argument is totally fallacious. The worker in his example does not earn $10 for making a widget, he earns $5 for operating a machine that makes widgets. If the worker can make widgets all by himself he wouldn’t need to work in a factory.
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Print this proclamation and distribute it at the convention:
http://www.TakeBackTheFed.com
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dms’s argument is totally fallacious. It implies that the factory cannot be democratically owned and controlled by the workers.
It is inconsistent to advocate political self-determination but not economic self-determination.
It is hypocritical to decry theft by taxation while advocating theft in the form of surplus value.
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We overlook the mentality that got us here. We allow warlords to control every aspect of our lives. Whether they are the Sudanese, Russian, British, Afghan, Hussein, Kennedy, Bush, Clinton…they are all warlords. We vote for “our” warlord, but this game plays out to no good because there is a learning curve and just because we are the ones who contract out our needs, it will come when the other guys..terrorists..will figure out that in a capitalist world they can contract out their desires. Hire the smartest people, purchase the finest equipment, Offer the highest reward. The serpent devours itself.
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Hmmmm, isn’t the owner of the factory a citizen too? And didn’t he use his own time, money, and skills in order to create this factory? Does he not have to keep everything within the factory organized so as to maintain the place convenient for the worker to create his widget? Sounds to me like the capitalistic system and libertarian views coincide without a problem.
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This may be off-topic, but Sean Hannity called Ron Paul supporters “Ron Paul kooks” on his radio program Friday. His ignorance is amazing. We should protest him and Fox News at his hotel and at the GOP convention. His insults should not go unchallenged.
If you see him at one of the hotels, let us know and we will bring signs challenging him.
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the plan.
this plan would restore the united states to a constitutional republic, by the people of the united states, who by power of the law of the land are entitled to changed their form of government if they so choose.
The united states government today is corrupt. the laws have been passed by a kangaroo court to unbalance the systems of checks and balances that were put in place as the backbone of a constitutional Republic. It is the law of the land, and not the law of a man that determines the coarse of our nation. The laws of the land were established to ensure the liberty of each individual, as enshrined in The Bill of Rights. These rights, as it is so duly noted, are not rights granted by another man. These rights are natural rights. Natural rights that each man, in a free society is born with.
The source of those rights is Almighty God. Today, there are some that may not believe that it is God, and that is ok. We must still maintain our republic, in order for future generations of men to know Love, Beauty, and Liberty, and consider these wonderful works, and their source. The founders of the Republic of the United States, being men, had in their possession the foresight to create a republican form of government in order to produce a nation free of tyranny for their children. However, since they were men, they were misguided in their idea of a freeman, and a mistake that lingers with us in these united states was the idea of slavery. Today, the concept of slavery has been applied deliberately to most Americans. Each american that holds debt in the fiat paper money system has enslaved future generations of Americans, and is impeding the creative spirit of those young people who have no voice in the current era of greed and corruption. In order to re-establish our Republican form of government, I propose the following actions, that are to be taken by those governed under the laws of these united states.
Since our republican form of government is a government of law, then it is in our best interest to restore the judicial branch of our government as we see fit. Like any system, there are operating parameters that must be free to operate correctly in order to achieve the desired results. The results that we are getting from the system are not the results that the majority of americans are happy with. What must happen then, is that Justice is restored to the land quickly, efficiently, and with little or no violence. This can happen.
The most fearful sight in the eyes of men who sit and judge, are the men who have been judged unrighteously. It is these men, these americans that i call on today to set things straight.
The actions will require that Americans be the best they can be.
What must take place by action of the people is the removal of the current Supreme court justices, and new Judges sworn in to uphold and protect the constitution of the United States.
a highly synchronized flash mob will appear, remove the justices from office, New justices will be sworn in to office. Their duty at that moment will be to dismiss the sallied judges from their post, and establish a position of constitutional establishment and hearings to bring criminals in the executive and legislative branches of government to justice immediately. At the same time, the dept. of the treasury will be relieved of their duties in relationship to the federal reserve and the IRS, and the repeal of all non-constitutional acts regarding the principles of fiat money will be enacted. I believe that the system that was established by the founding fathers of these united states, if allowed to work properly, and with support of the governed, will restore liberty, and prosperity to the people of America.
flash mobs at every state capital, as an extreme show of force. synchronized.
all military hospitals open to the public for immediate treatment of civilians.
all miliary organizations to be on high alert for outside interference.
this is a civilian matter, and full support by the military would be appropriate.
flashmobs around UN, to show that the US is a sovereign country.
flashmobs will show that all politically motivated gain must be for the good of the american people.
The new supreme court, with the aid of the rest of the dept. of justice, will investigate ALL wars, both future and present to determine their true nature.
All Secret Service protection of former presidents will be terminated.
All Treasury dept. police forces will stand down, and officers may be given leniency, for testimony.
Of all avenues of action, i believe that this action on the part of and by the american people, to strike at the root of the nation’s problems, is the most just, and gives support to our form of government. It upholds the traditions of liberty and freedom. It removes the wires and threads of corruption that have stopped the wheels of liberty from turning, and gives credence to the system of balanced government that lead to the formation of the greatest ideas of liberty ever to bestow mankind.
If then, current and elected officials such as the president still want the job after the restoration of the laws of that land, and they are elected by the people justly, and legally, then so be it. It is not one man that governs the united states, it is the law of the land, and that law and the system in place to assure that the laws are just, must be allowed flourish. Americans will once again be free to determine their own destiny if they so choose.
This plan would require the assistance of all people of color in our land who call themselves americans. Our black brothers, our white brothers, our indian brothers, our chinese brothers, our irish brothers our American brothers are asked at this time, are you willing to break the yoke from the backs of our children and the future generations of children? Because today, every child born in America is born under the slave-atude of debt, and poverty. To restore the laws and procedures of the land by force of unity and solidarity can be our only goal.
My fellow americans, Let freedom ring.
this is a plan. This plan would require the formation of a panel of citizens to manage, organize and plan these actions. The panel would choose new Supreme court Justices based on constitutional guidlines, and a new constitutional ammendment would be put in place to better assure a future government guided soley by the constitution, and the people who support it. The changes necessary in the United States after the reestablishment of Justice are great. The problems are severe. The solutions are difficult. The task is overwhelmingly complex. It is now, or never. It will be the greatness of America will shine, or it will be the boot on our necks. We must first allow the system to work properly, and after maintain its workings. There will be many years of additional challenges to our form of government, but it will be that we the people have spoken loudly, and clearly, and unitedly, with one voice, that the time has come to end the occupation of our lands by corrupt political, and financial entities who care not of our freedoms, our liberties, or our children. The history of our great nation is filled with coruption and death, but it is also filled with passion, and love, and laughter.
Today, I bid you good luck, and godspeed.
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On the whole worker-widget thing that Bo Pat is rambling on about: capitalism IS economic self-determination!
I presume your widget worker isn’t forcibly asked to work in the factory for $5? So he has every right to quit and go work somewhere else to earn more if he feels his labor is worth more? He’s also more than welcome to be an entrepreneur and develop more efficient widgets, thus reaping the economic benefits of his own ingenuity? If that’s not self-determination, I’m not sure what is.
But if you mean to say that requiring people to live and work in some sort of communal labor society — where nobody is allowed to be entrepreneurs, where nobody earns a profit from their work, where no amount of hard work grants you any marginal benefit — if that is what you call “economic self-determination” I can only say you have a very perverted idea of what liberty is.
Libertarianism is laissez-faire capitalism to the utmost, my friend. It’s inherent to the definition. If you don’t like it, you shouldn’t presume to call yourself a libertarian… perhaps go elsewhere and start a socialist widget factory. We’ll be amused to see how it works out for you.
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Bo Pot,
The capitalist took the risk and invested his own capital and time into building the factory to make the widgets in and establishing the distribution channels to sell the widgets.
Your example is over simplified. For a decent but slightly irrelevant example of a factory attempting a socialist type system check out the 20th Century Motor Company in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.
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hey Bob..using the “mob instinct” to “influence” the masses is what got us here. That’s how politicians are elected. Perhaps a rereading of “The Ox-Bow incident” is in order. Mobs are great for lynchings if a lynching is what you are after, but these things usually do not work out well for the lyncher or the lynchee.
Capitalism is a fine game, but all of the pieces on the board are owned by those who will forever be nickle and dimeing us for setting foot on their space. That is just a devious form of slavery, like poll taxes, property taxes, “seperate, but equal”. The few at the top swear that they are equal. If you so much as approach them, you will be arrested. But I rant.
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I’ve come to the dance late. I’m learning a lot about Ron Paul, but wish I could hear from people who’ve been with him for a while. Why should I get behind RP? What does he mean to you personally? I mean, I know the issues. I know what the GOP’s all about. But I want to know why you relate to RP. I feel pretty disaffected now and need company! You can tell me here or email me directly at whyronpaul@gmail.com. Thanks. Steve J.
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Ron Paul makes a lucid argument against central planning. He makes it clear why he works for America in a way distinct from both official big party nominees.
I live in Massachusetts, where the state indeed chokes its people. Massachusetts health care, though high-speed and even compassionate within certain terms of extent, can be outdone. Ron Paul describes an America where the doctor really gave the flying care about a patient. In the past century, the 20th century, a patient could even have his leg tended to by a physician in exchange for personally given him a chicken (yes, poultry).
Early this year, however, my offer to pay flat-out cash to receive health care from a practicioner who did not provide for MassHealth clients such as myself
was refused by the very practicioner
NOT OUT OF HIS OWN DECISION
but according to Massachusetts state health administration restrictions.
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So guys~ how are we protected from the abuses of the factory owners who need more capital to expand and have shareholders to satisfy?
There are limited “other” jobs and the boss demands more time from me.
In fact all owners all over demand more time for less pay to gain more profit for more expansion.
Don’t give me some idealistic “we’re in this together” crap so the worker is happy to help the factory expand as it increases their productivity as well.
How is Ron Paul going to protect the worker from today’s abuses?
You see, the revolution is very much about changing HOW WE THINK about our fellow humans and how we treat them.
But where do we start?
Well no more bail outs, that’s for sure! If the biz fails it fails.
But then what happens to the thousands of unemployed when there is no job for them to go to next?
Who will help them?
These are the kinds of questions I have for Rep. Paul.
We are going to have to reinvent our society and I need some inspiration to think outside the box in the manner that is being offered.
Strict Libertarianism doesn’t quite fit where we are at RIGHT NOW.
Ron has suggested a interim period…for instance, he has said in an interview that he wouldn’t just kick people off of welfare because they are too dependent to know what to do.
So maybe these work for welfare programs to wean people off is a start. But but not all work is meaningful or for purposes of retaraining. Some are a continuation of enforced slavery!
Just trying to figure this out and see the actual picture beyond the concept.
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Both parties are showing ads with huge banks of industrial corporate windmills.
All middlemen should be minimized wherever possible. Replacing our dependence on oil by building a corporate windpower industry just maintains the idea that we (as in “the people”)are dependent. How about home generated power? Removing individuals from the grid one at a time sure seems like a better solution.
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drevik, mvr and Mark Ramina need to Google “surplus value.” The solution isn’t to grovel to a different capitalist for a higher wage, it is to cut the capitalist middleman out of the equation and take home ALL the value earned by the worker, minus overhead. There is no reason the market cannot continue as-is, with businesses owned and run by the workers. We the people should cut out the capitalist like we cut out the king.
Further, mvr is simply another ignorant Internet libertarian who doesn’t understand the origins of right-wing libertarianism, which is a relatively recent phenomenon. The “definition” of libertarianism was originally left-wing, because its originators understood the issues I’m discussing, unlike the simple-minded von Mises disciples who hijacked the term.
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Dear Ron,
I’ve lost all respect for you. I voted for you during the primary and you lost. Why can’t you get on board with McCain like everyone else? Is your ego that big? Get off your high horse and get on board with McCain-Pailin and try again in 4 years like everybody else!
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@ Jay
Clearly you do not understand what it means to have principles and stand for something you believe in. For Ron to compromise his own principles, solely to support another candidate, would be for him to disregard everything he stands for.
Too many people stand for nothing and cannot understand what it means for another to hold true to their beliefs, especially in the face of adversity.
Ron may not be a candidate, but he has earned and maintains more respect than most if not all politicians for the very reason you criticize him - he is committed to real change and is unwavering about that and will not endorse values he does not believe in, rightfully so.
He many garner your favor for abandoning what he believes in to support John McCain, but many of his supporters would likely abandon him if he were to do just that.
It is unfortunate that his message and what it means to stand for something is lost on you.
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Nathan,
People like you need to get everything your way. Quit acting like a spoiled little rich kid and get on board with McCain-Pailin. That is why we have a primary. He lost fair and square. I will not let Obama win an election because of me being stubborn.
I also now think Ron Paul is wimpy. I like the fact that we stick up for the little guy.(Georgia)(Iraq) I hope our country always has the courage to do the best we can in this regard. We should just do a better job of using a heavier hand of force when we do decide to commit to war. If we did, the other countries would start purring like kittens.
I like being the big guy on the block to protect others from the bullies. You can go suck your thumb in the corner and look the other way and the rest of us will stand up to evil in this world.
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Barr/ Paul 2008
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C. Jodon,
Go get em tiger
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I wish I were in fact a rich kid as you say, but unfortunately I am not. How ironic that you are now supporting a candidate who is extremely rich.
If you no longer like Ron Paul or support his positions that is fair. The issue I take with what you said and further more with your reply, is that I doubt these would be your opinions today if Ron Paul were the candidate. If Ron Paul had won, he would not have changed his positions or been ‘wimpy’ in your mind.
However now that he has lost, you have seemingly reversed your opinions and world view. If Ron Paul had won he would have remained in favor of a troop withdrawal and in favor of not taking part in other global conflicts abroad. If you have always liked being the big kid on the block, why did you ever support Ron Paul in the first place? That stance is far removed from what he believes in.
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Hey Nathan,
The war was one area i didn’t agree with him on but i liked almost everything else. He’s weak. Very weak. But i do agree with him on reducing government,taxes etc. etc.
Like i said before… can’t have everything. I did vote for him to make a statement in the primaries and would support him if he was on the ticket.
All good things must come to an end and it’s over for him. I guess i thought he would throw his support behind the winner of the primaries like everybody else once he realized he wasn’t the choice. The fact he didn’t gave me pause to rethink what i had originally thought about him.
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Yeah.. If that Jesus guy had just gone along with the program he may have been made governor of Israel.
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