Ron Paul, Racism, Bad Arguments

I’ve become absolutely fascinated by the number of arguments I’ve seen recently about Ron Paul and racism. It doesn’t much matter to me if Ron Paul espouses racist ideas or has simply associated himself with people who do. But what amazes me is the lengths to which some people will go to defend Paul against any statement that doesn’t simply and straightforwardly crow about his many obvious virtues.

But my favorite argument of them all (here, here, and here, for example) is the one that says Ron Paul can’t hold any racist beliefs because he’s a libertarian and libertarianism is inherently an anti-racist philosophy insofar as it discourages any thinking about groups and only focuses on individuals (and their rights).

To see why this is nonsense, consider the following statements:

• Leaders of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union or any of its Eastern European satellite states couldn’t possibly have owned private property because they were all committed Marxists and Marxism is inherently opposed to private ownership.
• Throughout history, Christians have always been forgiving to one another and have always treated all human beings with the respect befitting their dignity because the Christian Bible teaches that forgiveness is one of the highest human virtues and that all human beings, as the beloved children of God, are brothers and sisters.

I could go on and on with these, but I’ll stop with just two. The logic in each one is delightful, except that we all know the statements are false.

Holding a particular philosophy, religion, or doctrine does not mean that a person necessarily follows its every tenet, or even its central one. People are notoriously bad about applying their beliefs consistently.