No More Kings
I like Ron Paul better than all the other candidates, and yet I don’t want to play a part in making him a master over others and myself. The ring cannot be used for good.
Stefan Molyneux has been a significant influence on my progress in the area of understanding the nature of the state. Today’s comic is actually a very succinct way of saying what he says in a bit more long-winded manner in the video linked below.
I am following his lead in so far as I don’t really expect to convince Ron Paul’s enthusiastic supporters to stop campaigning for him this close to the first primary. However, perhaps once the campaign is over, and assuming Stefan is right about the futility of this campaign for shrinking the state, then people will be closer to understanding his point of view, a point of view that I share. If we’re wrong on this prediction, well I agree with him that that would be wonderful! I’ll gladly accept the embarrassment of being wrong if this endeavor actually manages to shrink the state to any significant degree. For instance, if the IRS actually gets abolished, I’ll have to give kudos to the Ron Paul supporters and eat my words.
Good luck!
Update 1/12/08: The Power to Get Away With It is an excellent article that attempts to express the idea behind this cartoon in words.
Cartoon Text (Why is this here?)
Ron Paul: Give me the ring, Frodo! With its power, I can lead the forces of liberty to victory!
December 14th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
What if all of the anit-Paul folks manage to make an impact in Ron Pauls channces of being elected? How will you then know if he would have been a success or not?
What is gained from actively trying to discredit Ron Paul?
December 14th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
My cartoon isn’t aimed at Ron Paul personally. It is meant to point out the violence of the state and points out the irrationality of trying to shrink the state by becoming part of it. Tolkien’s ring of power was capable of corrupting the purest of beings, even angelic figures like Gandalf. That’s how I see the state. I’m quite confident that no good can come of the attempt even if he wins, and that he may actually do harm to the liberty movement by justifying the existence of such a violent institution with his campaign. I’m not a Constitutionalist. I’m a voluntaryist. Constutionalism failed.
If Ron Paul were to actually succeed in winning, something I seriously doubt, I would predict two steps forward and three steps back in the liberty movement as the beneficiaries of the state* and the mainstream media spin every negative thing that happens as a result of Ron Paul’s actions.
*I don’t consider the average citizen to be a beneficiary of the state. We’re it’s slaves. The beneficiaries are those pulling all the levers- the central banks, fat corporations, unions, and other large and wealthy institutions lobbying for a piece of the power that allows them to use force for their personal gain.
December 14th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Are you suggesting that we can get rid of the state without the special interests or the media complaining about it?
December 14th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Not at all. I’m not trying to play the political game and rally people behind me to take control of the state and impose my will on others. I’m just doing my small part to dissolve the illusion of legitimacy of the state in enough people that the tyranny of the state becomes too burdensome to maintain. Who can be the convenient target of such media criticisms if many separate individuals withdraw their support for this violent institution? My case is stronger when I point out the immorality of such action and also avoid the hypocrisy of engaging in the very behavior that infringes on our liberties in the first place, i.e. the political process.
We have a herculean task before us to change a culture of violence. Politics and the media will always follow the culture. Trying to do it the other way around is putting the cart before the horse. I don’t claim to know exactly what it will take to accomplish the huge task of such a culture shift. I can only start my little brushfires in the minds of a tireless minority and hope they are inspired to pass on the message. However, I can confidently say that justifying and promoting the violent state while trying to shrink the state is counter-productive.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Brilliant! I still support Paul though.
I suspect he will be the last liberty candidate to make any real progress. If he does not win the rules will be changed yet again to prevent any liberty minded candidate.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Ron Paul **IS** Frodo. He’s the one bearing the burden of taking the ring to be destroyed.
December 16th, 2007 at 2:58 am
The One Ring is a powerful metaphor for a reason: it’s completely true. If the power can’t manage to corrupt you, it’ll pass itself around into the hands of your enemies so it can be wielded. The problem isn’t who is holding the ring, but that it exists and that people want it.
Thanks for posting in the context of that video by Stefan Molyneux. I have found this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z-fhCFkISM to be extremely helpful in laying bare his arguments for how we can rationally achieve personal, ACTUAL freedom from the power of all the “One Rings” in the world.
December 16th, 2007 at 3:24 am
Lord Acton would be proud.
Ron Paul supporters, noble though their motives may be, are attempting to buy their own freedom with the freedom of their children and grandchildren. Setting aside any concerns regarding the morality of political action (totally immoral, in my opinion), from a purely pragmatic perspective the Ron Paul “Revolution” is doomed to failure, a fate it will share with every other effort to wield the political means to achieve some end. It cannot be so wielded, as the record of history clearly shows, and as Ron Paul supporters would do well to learn.
December 18th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
RP is Frodo? *laughs* More like Boromir, in my view.
Excellent cartoon.
December 18th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Dale,
I love your cartoon, even if I disagree with the premise. After the RP campaign, for good or ill, (and I believe a win, even a single primary win would be good) there will be a massively connected and invigorated (or angry) network of liberty lovers. Your message will be valuable in helping activate some of them to a different world view.
As usual I disagree with V. Doomed to failure depends on the goals of the movement. The goal of the movement is liberty and changing the debate. RP may force republicans to be a party for liberty. By changing the debate (as Howard Dean did in forcing Democrats toward ‘progressivism’) the movement will have fought a rearguard action to give you apoliticals a chance to pull of your social revolution. Try pulling that off in a tru police state.
I’m not even remotely convinced by Stefan’s diatribe, aside from the fact that he says (in other casts) that he wouldn’t defend himself with force, I think he’s set up a strawman. Teachers rioting. Those punks can hardly get up the energy to teach, much less riot.
December 20th, 2007 at 1:19 am
The Ridley Report has picked this up … a story about the cartoon airs tonight.
December 20th, 2007 at 1:19 am
….at http://RidleyReport.com
December 21st, 2007 at 6:20 pm
My “cartoon” response.
https://www.nhteaparty.org/index.php/topic,586.0.html
December 22nd, 2007 at 7:15 am
I like it!
January 4th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
It just occurred to me, as I was reading Russell’s potluck thread at NHUndergroung, what I think is wrong with the metaphor in your cartoon.
Someone had to carry the damn ring to the fire. Someone who doesn’t want the power of the ring but just wants to be free of it. This to me, sums up my differences with the apoliticals. Someone has to carry the ring to the fire. Ron Paul may not be our Frodo, but eventually someone will have to be.