Joker in the pack

Now that both Tom Tancredo and Fred Thompson have pulled out of the US primaries, things are looking pretty grim from an old-right perspective, but at least Ron Paul is providing some colour and contrast.

Paleo-libertarian Ron Paul seems to be the Republican equivalent of Obama in terms of attracting interest from younger voters, especially males in their early twenties. Libertarianism has had a strong following among young, college educated males in the US since the 1950s, and through the works of Ayn Rand its appeal has spread throughout North America and Australasia.

Hence the strong presence of libertarian blogs in the New Zealand blog scene, and the odd kiwi Ron Paul supporter ( well at least 3 anyway).

Libertarian philosophy, with its emphasis on logic, freedom, opportunity and non-interventionism, resonates strongly with the young university undergraduate who is keen to travel and hopes to influence the seemingly irrational world in a positive, rational direction.

Admittedly, the libertarian urge often quickly tries up after a few years in an insanely pricy, dysfunctional big city, or an overseas expedition to exotic lands, where laissez-faire doesn't just mean low taxes, but a hands-off policy to just about everything from road safety and law and order to water supplies. Certainly that's how I soon good fed-up with the wild idealism of the libertarian right.

Nevertheless, in these days where a challenging game of Halo III constitutes intelligent human interaction, it's nice to see some grass roots political enthusiasm from intelligent young males.

And of course, Paul's not just a libertarian but a paleo-libertarian, one of those libertarianism in one country types, who realises that social and economic freedom isn't going to last long if the country goes bankrupt or too many people flood in from those "interesting" countries.

So even seasoned older codgers like myself can get a little satisfaction from Ron sticking it to neocons.

I look forward to seeing the Ron Paul show, blimps and all, gracing the pages of the Internet for many weeks/months to come.