We heard an interview yesterday on NPR with Ron Paul, a libertarian candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination. He sounded very sincere and reasonable and made some important points contrary to current political "wisdom". But then I realized his underlying assumption, which makes him a bad choice for governing a complex nation.
He assumes that this country was founded to promote individual liberty. I think those who wrote the Constitution would disagree. Their idea was to have the liberty to govern ourselves rather than be governed by a foreign power. Personal liberties were an afterthought. Even then, many of these signers went on to curtail "personal liberties". Like George Washington leading the troops against a tax rebellion, the Whiskey Rebellion. Like the "Alien and Sedition Act" signed by John Adams.
