Ron Paul and Self-Ownership

January 2, 2012

With the Iowa caucuses a couple of days away, one candidates support base stands out above all. Ron Paul’s supporters are highly motivated and energetic. No other politician has built a support base like Dr. Paul. But why are so many people into Dr. Paul? And why do his supporters believe that he is right on most, and sometimes all, issues. I do agree with most, but not all, of Ron Paul’s beliefs. At times I feel like his beliefs are definitely correct, but under what logic was I believing this? They all stem from the same logical foundation; the doctrine of self-ownership.

When analyzing political issues, it is important to remain neutral and detach yourself from any ideologies. Also, one must make the distinction between opinion and fact. Lets examine the doctrine of self-owner ship. The doctrine of self ownership states that we, as individuals, own our property/body. And that property is fully in our control because no one has the right to tell us what we can and cannot do within our property/body. This is considered freedom. Slavery and parental control are when one is not free due to the oppression of the other party in power. The oppressor has the oppressed under their control which makes the oppressed the property of the oppressor.

When one analyzes Ron Paul’s beliefs, they do coincide with this doctrine. For example, he wants to hand over the issues of legalizing all drugs to the states because the Federal government has no right telling us what we can and cannot do. In this situation, the federal government acts as the oppressor dictating our actions; they prevent us from having full control of our property/body. Also, he beliefs in a non-interventionist foreign policy which is a reflection of the doctrine of self-ownership. We as a sovereign country, cannot go into other property/country and tell them how to live their lives. However, we may make mutual agreements/treaties to better both parties. By applying the doctrine of self-ownership, no one can force beliefs or action upon another party. In doing so, we use force and oppression. Force and oppression will result in retaliation. And retaliation leads to the harm of both parties.

With that being said, one must believe the doctrine of self-ownership, which is freedom, to be correct in both the state of nature and in a civilized society. Once that is established, it becomes apparent how Ron Paul’s belief’s may be the most accurate and appropriate.