Ron Paul Makes the Case for Libertarian Optimism

By Adam Dick

​American libertarians have plenty of reason to feel discouraged in this time of the United States government increasingly disrespecting liberty in America and pursuing intervention, including wars, overseas. While prominent libertarian communicator Ron Paul shares concerns about these developments, he also sees much reason for hope. In the final minutes of a new interview at Jay Taylor’s show Turning Hard Times Into Good Times, Paul makes the case for libertarians to be optimistic about the future.

While Paul explains that he sees trouble ahead in America, including economic trouble resulting from Federal Reserve policies, he also says he is optimistic because he thinks “there is a better understanding of the system than ever before.” Elaborating, Paul notes that when he went to Congress back in 1976 nobody had “even heard the word ‘libertarian’” and “nobody ever heard of Austrian economics hardly on the political front,” while now those ideas are more broadly understood, including among students at colleges Paul visits.

Paul continues that he thinks there is “an ideological revolution … out there, but it’s going unnoticed.” Implementing libertarian changes Paul sees as possible when America enters greater crisis and it is clear that major change is needed, comparing the hope offered from libertarianism to actions that must be taken to overcome an individual’s troubles of drug addiction or a drunken binge. The move toward libertarianism, Paul concludes, would not “come from Washington.” Instead, he says, “it has to come from the people” and would be grounded in education.

Listen to Paul’s complete interview, which begins with an in-depth discussion of economic issues including tariffs and the gold standard, here.

This article was originally published at The Ron Paul Institute.