Let us go out on a limb and posit that World War III, with
nuclear exchanges between the U.S. and Russia, would not be a very good
thing. I know, I know, the accusations will come thick and fast that in
saying this I am in the pay of a certain foreign power, that I am not a
Patriot, that I hate America. Ordinarily, that prospect would suffice to
prevent me from writing about the present threat of war – I do so hate conflict
– but I also have children and grandchildren, and many other loved ones, and I
really do not welcome a nuclear conflagration. So, let us press on.
I posit
that at least most libertarians oppose U.S. neo-con war-mongering. Yes, Reason
Magazine is an exception to this general rule, but they have long ago lost most
of their claim to be members of the libertarian movement. See Justin Raimondo on this matter. Ok, ok,
maybe this is too harsh. Maybe there is still a vestige of the freedom
philosophy embedded somewhere deep in the bowels of this organization. Call the
Reasonites, then, the crony libertarians, or the beltway libertarians, or the neo-con
libertarians. But the overwhelming majority of members and institutions in our
movement must oppose, and bitterly so, any such nuclear confrontation.
Paul
Craig Roberts writes a crucially important essay
entitled “Trump Cannot Improve Relations With Russia When Trump’s
Government and the US Media Oppose Improved Relations.” I don’t much
like what he maintains, because, while there is not a false word in it, it is
the counsel of despair.
A South Park episode asked “What would Brian
Boitano do? I inquire, instead, what could a libertarian do if he were
president? Or, what could Donald Trump do to ameliorate this situation, and
save pretty much the entire globe, if he had a fundamental change of heart in
the direction of our freedom philosophy?
That is simple. If Donald channeled Ron Paul, or became a bit
more like him, the first thing he would do would be to fire his present
secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. No truer words were ever written than these
of Roberts about this man: (he is) “working overtime to worsen relations
between the two nuclear powers by publicly contradicting the President of the
United States, thereby making it clear that Trump is barely even a cipher.” Who
should Trump replace him with? Why, Dr. Ron Paul, of course. Or, if the
Donald wanted to keep Congressman Paul as his eminence gris, chief advisor on
all issues foreign and domestic, then Senator Paul of Kentucky would be a fine
secretary of state. What about the U.S. representative to the U.N., Nikki
Haley, whose specialty seems to be undermining any and all of Mr. Trump’s
libertarian tendencies in foreign policy? Why, fire her, too, of course. Who
might be a good replacement for her? Lew Rockwell would be my recommendation.
Would the Donald be impeached if he undertook these actions?
Well, maybe yes, maybe no. Yes, certainly, if the New York Times, Washington
Post, CNN, MSNBC and others of their ilk had anything to say about the matter.
The libertarian movement would support Mr. Trump if he allowed his foreign
policy instincts toward Russia to prevail, but we account for, oh, three
percent of the electorate. And, how many congressmen can be counted, even in a
big tent kind of way, as libertarian? Less than a half dozen, unhappily.
Who, then, can a peace president Trump count upon to ward off
the real powers that be? Why, the traditional anti-war movement of the left.
But where oh where is the left wing anti-war movement, now that we really need
them? Yes, they only oppose Republican wars, but THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT IS NOW
IN THE OFFING! Bernie, what are you doing nowadays? Why are you not now more
fervently supporting the only president we have at present, the one man who
could avert nuclear catastrophe? You were the only one (along with the junior
Senator from Kentucky) to oppose the recent senate call for further sanctions
against Russia. Which do you hate more; the destruction of Gaia, or Donald’s
weak move in the direction of deregulation of business? Left wing pinko commie
peaceniks: get off your rear ends and let’s get going!
Yes, the Bernie-ites are among the only ones who can come to the
aid of a beleaguered (imaginary) President Trump, faced with impeachment for
attempting to save the world. But there are also our “friends” the left wing
environmentalists, who are always whining about the destruction of the planet,
due to smoking, or coal, or underarm deodorant, or some other such minor
distraction. Hey watermelons (green on the outside, red on the inside): I’ve
got news for you: a nuclear based World War III with Russia will not only ruin
your entire day, IT WILL ALSO DOOM OUR ENTIRE PLANET. This third rock from the
Sun is the only home we have. Do you want to help a libertarian Donald, or see
the Earth blasted to smithereens? (I mention the planet, which you revere, not
the billions of people who will be incinerated in such a disaster, since you
care for the former much more than the latter).
Afterthought: fire Jeff Sessions, too, and replace him with
someone like Mark Thornton, who will strenuously move in the direction of drug
legalization, not prohibition. Have we learned nothing from alcohol
prohibition?
Dr. Block [send him mail]
is a professor of economics at Loyola University New Orleans, and a senior
fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He is the author of Defending the Undefendable, The Case for Discrimination, Labor Economics From A Free Market Perspective, Building Blocks for Liberty, Differing Worldviews in Higher Education,
and The Privatization of Roads and Highways. His
latest book is Yes to Ron Paul and Liberty.
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