American libertarianism is dancing to the shock-jocks
Eric Gisin
By Jurek Martin
Published: September 25 2009 13:23 | Last updated: September 25 2009 13:23
Every day, my spam in-basket receives as many as half a dozen long e-mail screeds, apparently from
a bunch of Greek libertarians who revere the thoughts of one Basil Venitis, identified only with
the cult-like words "the best Athenian orator".
The delete function removes them, invariably unread, from my system in a nano-second. But America
is discovering it cannot consign libertarianism to such instant oblivion, as it might have been
fooled into thinking it had when the latest of Congressman Ron Paul's many campaigns for the
presidency sank, without much trace, in last year's Republican party primaries.
For it is becoming increasingly evident that libertarianism is a common thread in the patchwork
quilt of vocal opposition to Barack Obama's attempts to change the way America is run. Not only
does it pull many of the organisational strings behind the often raucous public protests of the
last few months, but its essential philosophy, that the less government the better, is espoused by
some of the titular leaders of the mob.
Chief among these is Glenn Beck, the radio and television demagogue who emotionally peddles
socialist-and-worse conspiracy theories to an unquestioning audience four hours a day, five days a
week. He is threatening to usurp Rush Limbaugh as the Chief Denunciator of all things liberal, as
witnessed by the fact that Time magazine, admittedly not the publication it was, put him on its
cover last week with a near-fawning profile.
I find that Mr Beck, deliberately or not, sometimes walks close to what I would regard as a form of
incitement to insurrection, no light matter in a country with so many susceptible people who happen
to possess guns. It may be no coincidence that in these noisy times threats against Mr Obama's life
are running many times what they were against any previous president, putting the Secret Service
more on edge than usual.
But if you listen to his rambling rants, as I force myself to from time to time, the libertarian
strain in his thinking becomes quite clear; far more so than Mr Limbaugh's, whose shtick is much
more of the authoritarian but orthodox anti-liberal variety. And where El Rushbo deploys bombast
and heavy-handed sarcasm, Mr Beck, often near real or fake tears, comes over as much closer to
Howard Beale in the film Network - "I'm as mad as hell and can't take it any more."
Garden variety libertarians devoted to notions of economic and personal liberty might be
uncomfortable with this combustible approach, but they are not above going along for the ride. That
certainly seems to be the case with former Congressman Dick Armey and his pressure group Freedom
Works, as well as more established outfits such as the Ayn Rand Institute, named after the author.
Both have been active in organising the tea party, town hall and Washington protest events that
marked this summer.
Mr Armey, once number two Republican in the House of Representatives in spite of a sometimes very
impolitic temper, has never hidden his libertarianism. Nor, for that matter, did Alan Greenspan,
ruler of the Federal Reserve for so long. The fact that the role of government expanded so much in
the presidency of George W.?Bush induced Mr Armey to resign from Congress. The ambitious Obama
agenda has obviously given him new energy.
Of course, there has long been a libertarian strain in the Republican party, though it has often
been discounted on specific policy issues, such as support for a strong military and opposition to
abortion. But, as a cause, it has always lacked a leader of unquestioned stature and political
savvy (Ronald Reagan was never a true believer and the eccentricities of Congressman Paul, who is,
kept him on the margins).
Times have changed. It was Newt Gingrich, before he ever became Speaker of the House in 1995, who
brought the rightwing commentariat into the Republican tent, and now the cart is before the party
horse. The party now dances far more to the tunes of Mr Limbaugh, and increasingly Mr Beck, than to
its leadership, assuming there are differences between the two. Republican congressmen who dare to
dissent from either frequently have to apologise for their heresy.
The great question is whether all this thunder is confined to the hyperactive right or is achieving
wider resonance. I suspect the former, at least for now. Even a casual look at the angry
participants at tea parties and town halls reveals a collection of the disaffected and
dispossessed, mostly older, whiter, poorer and less well-educated than the population as a whole,
and with myriad motivations, of which belief in libertarianism cannot be high among them.
Still, a debate about the role of government has been ignited, far from the first time in American
history. It may not be as intellectually elevated as that engaged in by the Founding Fathers but it
bears some resemblance to that generated by the social policy reforms of FDR and later LBJ. It even
has its own Coughlins and Winchells, the early radio polemicists.
To my mind, libertarianism, which embraces some attractive positions, gives the movement a
respectable veneer that today's hooligan protagonists (Messrs Beck, Armey etc) do not command in
their own right. Maybe I will go back to listening to Mr Limbaugh, but, for the Greeks, the finger
will be on delete.