Ron Paul and the New Libertarianism

Although libertarianism is often stereotyped as the creed of the pimply teenaged computer nerd, the controversy over Paul’s racist newsletters highlights the candidate’s origins in a darker kind of populism. Between 1988 and 1996, Paul’s newsletters to his constituents and supporters brimmed over with virtually every far right obsession and hatred—from conspiracy theories about the Trilateral Commission to racist suggestions that New York be renamed “Zooville.” Paul has since apologized and distanced himself from such views, and even his opponents admit the newsletters probably don’t reflect his current or true beliefs.