Regardless of what they say or think, Paul is doing well in the debates. Can't believe the media support of those blowhards Romney and Guliani.
Ron Paul, GOP Martin Luther?
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
It is a founding principal of Sound Of Cannons that the Internet represents a profound revolution – a brand-new communication technology. The previous communication revolution involved the Gutenberg Press, some 500 years ago. Once people could actually read the Bible, many became disenchanted with the corruption of the Catholic Church. The result was the Reformation, which in turn damaged the Church’s ability to bestow, upon Kings, a divine right to rule. The ruling elite took a step backward, variants of republican governments emerged and, eventually, neo-classical, "free-market" economics evolved via the "Austrian" school. The operative mechanism in the Reformation was a monk named Martin Luther who nailed a thesis to a church door in Germany, containing complaints about the Catholic Church and its corruption. In modern America, and around the world, the Internet is serving as a kind of Gutenberg Press, exposing viewers to free-market principles that were downplayed or mis-represented by ruling elites in the 20th century. It is almost taken for granted in modern Western society that freedom and individual “human action” are the best hope for the species’ continued advancement. But, throughout the 20th century, individual freedoms were whittled away, and “group rights” substituted. One may argue that now, thanks to the ‘Net, a new Reformation is taking place – one that emphasizes free markets over state power and freedom over federal “executive orders” and presidential “deciders.” But the question then becomes, who will provide the “operative mechanism”More and more free-market observers are asking this question in a whisper: When free-market historians (and there are such) write about the early 21st century, will they identify presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-Tex) as the operative mechanism of a New Reformation? Ron Paul is a longtime free-market thinker. His message stands in stark contrast to others’ at the GOP presidential debates. His points “speak truth to power” much as did Martin Luther’s. The historical parallels are interesting and perhaps not coincidental. It is true that Martin Luther was a religious "zealot" (in modern terms) who made statements, especially about the Jews, that are today seen as extraordinarily offensive. But seen in the context of the widest sweep of history, Luther was a "change-maker" who consolidated and gave voice to widespread dissatisfactions. Ron Paul, no "racist" of any sort, might be seen as doing the same thing via the GOP debates.Without the Internet - and 'Net polling which shows a tremendous reaction to Ron Paul's message - his points about freedom and the US constitutional republic would have much less public resonance. It is the combination of man and message that is causing the stir. No matter what happens to Ron Paul or his campaign, his current on-line success shows that the larger trends regarding the Internet are intact. The spread of knowledge about free-markets - and how the West has drifted away from them - has already gone too far. Thanks to the Internet, the world lives in "interesting times." Will another Martin Luther soon emerge? Is Ron Paul a precursor of such? A variant? Time will tell. (Additional Martin Luther info added June 6, 2007)
It is a founding principal of Sound Of Cannons that the Internet represents a profound revolution – a brand-new communication technology. The previous communication revolution involved the Gutenberg Press, some 500 years ago. Once people could actually read the Bible, many became disenchanted with the corruption of the Catholic Church. The result was the Reformation, which in turn damaged the Church’s ability to bestow, upon Kings, a divine right to rule. The ruling elite took a step backward, variants of republican governments emerged and, eventually, neo-classical, "free-market" economics evolved via the "Austrian" school. The operative mechanism in the Reformation was a monk named Martin Luther who nailed a thesis to a church door in Germany, containing complaints about the Catholic Church and its corruption. In modern America, and around the world, the Internet is serving as a kind of Gutenberg Press, exposing viewers to free-market principles that were downplayed or mis-represented by ruling elites in the 20th century. It is almost taken for granted in modern Western society that freedom and individual “human action” are the best hope for the species’ continued advancement. But, throughout the 20th century, individual freedoms were whittled away, and “group rights” substituted. One may argue that now, thanks to the ‘Net, a new Reformation is taking place – one that emphasizes free markets over state power and freedom over federal “executive orders” and presidential “deciders.” But the question then becomes, who will provide the “operative mechanism”More and more free-market observers are asking this question in a whisper: When free-market historians (and there are such) write about the early 21st century, will they identify presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-Tex) as the operative mechanism of a New Reformation? Ron Paul is a longtime free-market thinker. His message stands in stark contrast to others’ at the GOP presidential debates. His points “speak truth to power” much as did Martin Luther’s. The historical parallels are interesting and perhaps not coincidental. It is true that Martin Luther was a religious "zealot" (in modern terms) who made statements, especially about the Jews, that are today seen as extraordinarily offensive. But seen in the context of the widest sweep of history, Luther was a "change-maker" who consolidated and gave voice to widespread dissatisfactions. Ron Paul, no "racist" of any sort, might be seen as doing the same thing via the GOP debates.Without the Internet - and 'Net polling which shows a tremendous reaction to Ron Paul's message - his points about freedom and the US constitutional republic would have much less public resonance. It is the combination of man and message that is causing the stir. No matter what happens to Ron Paul or his campaign, his current on-line success shows that the larger trends regarding the Internet are intact. The spread of knowledge about free-markets - and how the West has drifted away from them - has already gone too far. Thanks to the Internet, the world lives in "interesting times." Will another Martin Luther soon emerge? Is Ron Paul a precursor of such? A variant? Time will tell. (Additional Martin Luther info added June 6, 2007)
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