CAPITOL HILL BLUE on The Revolution: a Manifesto

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The audacity of intellectualism
April 24, 2008 - 1:34pm

I just finished reading Ron Paul's new book, "The Revolution: A Manifesto" (hardcover, Grand Central Publishing, 192 pp) and I have to say that it far exceeded my expectations.

This brilliantly written indictment of the political establishment not only points out the folly of our system as it is today, but clearly defines how returning to the roots of our republican (that's republican form of government, not the party, just to clear up any misconceptions) ideals would not only solve the majority of our problems, but would lead America back to being the kind of nation we would all be proud once again to call home.

These days, where "hope" is the best we can expect, and "change" represents a shiny new package on the same faulty product; where political debates are carefully crafted sound-byte factories for the drive-thru voter; where the candidate that can lie the most convincingly or looks the best while doing it has the advantage, it's truly a breath of fresh air when someone comes along and simply tells the truth.

As with his Presidential campaign, this latest work defies partisan politics and shows the reader what it means to live in a free and prosperous society, and what it would take to attain that goal.

Here are a few tidbits...

p.74, referring to regulation and subsidies.

"Once government does become involved in something, intellectual and instutional inertia tends to keep it there for good. People lose their political imagination. It becomes impossible to conceive of dealing with the matter in any other way. Repealing the new bureaucracy becomes unthinkable. Mythology about how terrible things were in the old days becomes the conventional wisdom. Meanwhile, the bureaucracy itself, with a vested interest in maintaining itself and increasing funding, employs all the resources it can to ensuring that it gets a bigger budget next year, regardless of its performance. In fact, the worse it does, the more funding it is likely to get - exactly the opposite of what happens in the private sector, in which those who sucessfully meet the needs of their fellow men are rewarded with profits, and those who poorly anticipate consumer demand are punished with losses".

p. 64, referring to racism.

"Racism is a particularly odious form of collectivism whereby individuals are treated not on their merits but on the basis of group identity. Nothing in my political philosophy, which is the exact opposite of the racial totalitarianism of the twentieth century, gives aid or comfort to such thinking."

"Government exacerbates racial thinking and undermines individualism because its very existence encourages people to organize along racial lines in order to lobby for benefits for their group. That lobbying, in turn, creates animosity and suspicion among all groups, each of which believes that it is getting less of its fair share than the others."

Since Paul is also an established doctor, his insights in to our health care problems is nothing short of enlightening. I would literally have to post the entire chapter, it's that good.

In his own words..."We don't need to start a brand new revolution...All we have to do is restore the original Constitution". This book not only explains why this isn't such a radical idea, but it also illustrates why it is necessary for the continued survival of this nation.

I hope all who read this post, Democrat and Republican alike, will consider the modest investment ($22.00 retail) in a great piece of writing from possibly one of the last great intellectual statesman this country will ever see.

Thanks.