Rand Paul Clueless About Race

Libertarians are wary of government telling private businesses what they can and cannot do. But there are times when government must tell a private entity that they cannot impinge on the liberty of another person.

Are Rand Paul's comments on the Civil Rights Act germane to whether or not he should be the next Senator from Kentucky?

Yes.  Let me explain why.

Libertarians tend to be very wary of having the government get involved in telling private businesses what they can and can't do. I can understand that. But I also think that there are times when it might make sense for the government to tell a private entity that they can't do something that impinges on the liberty of another person. For example, people have to eat, or get a job or live in a home. If someone says to a person of another race that they can't eat at this restaurant, or have this job or live in this neighborhood, then that person is being denied their freedom to live as they see fit. The whole problem with racism is that it limited the liberty of a whole people simply because of the color of their skin. The problem with Mr. Paul's answer is that at some level, it isn't very libertarian. Libertarianism is about, well, liberty, and if someone is totally free to live here and there and have this job or that one while someone else is not, that isn't liberty to me.

Mr. Paul may have done himself harm. He will be perceived, wrongly in my view, to be a racist. I don't think he is, but he is rather clueless when it comes to the issue of race. Sometimes, the government does have to step in ensure liberty and justice for all.

Originally published at NeoMugwump.