Ron Paul is an isolationist.

[Elwar]

Ok, as I was about to attempt to discredit a news source that referred once again to Ron Paul as an isolationist, I went to dictionary.com to show that no Ron Paul is not an isolationist.

So here's what I found at dictionary.com on the definition of isolationism:

isolationism - the policy or doctrine of isolating one's country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements, etc., seeking to devote the entire efforts of one's country to its own advancement and remain at peace by avoiding foreign entanglements and responsibilities.


So...I guess he is. It also says that the US was isolationist up until WWI.

 

[torchbearer]

Ok, as I was about to attempt to discredit a news source that referred once again to Ron Paul as an isolationist, I went to dictionary.com to show that no Ron Paul is not an isolationist.

So here's what I found at dictionary.com on the definition of isolationism:

isolationism - the policy or doctrine of isolating one's country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements, etc., seeking to devote the entire efforts of one's country to its own advancement and remain at peace by avoiding foreign entanglements and responsibilities.


So...I guess he is. It also says that the US was isolationist up until WWI.

one part your eyes must have skipped over:

foreign economic commitments

How many times has Ron said, we should trade with countries?
To be a complete isolationist, you'd have to be a protectionist on trade.

 

[Epic]

the policy or doctrine of isolating one's country from the affairs of other nations

nope

 

[coyote_sprit]

Dictionary.com isn't the de facto standard for words in the English language. And isolationist to me is someone who isolates from all foreign matters and the only way you can do that is by forcing people not to interact with foreigners. This is the definition shared by most and it certainly doesn't sound like RP's platform to me.

 

[Jeremy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolationism

Look at #2.

So Pat Buchanan is one, but not Ron Paul.

 

[lester1/2jr]

BUchanan is closer to an actual isolationist because he favors more protectionism.

the word does get misused a great deal.

 

[Elwar]

one part your eyes must have skipped over:


How many times has Ron said, we should trade with countries?
To be a complete isolationist, you'd have to be a protectionist on trade.

I saw foreign economic commitments as something like NAFTA or any of the other many trade agreements...which Ron Paul opposes.

He's for free trade for all, but not trade agreements...

 

[torchbearer]

I saw foreign economic commitments as something like NAFTA or any of the other many trade agreements...which Ron Paul opposes.

He's for free trade for all, but not trade agreements...

how can you be an isolationist if you want free trade with nations?
Paul objects to Nafta because it isn't free trade, not because its trading with other nations.

 

[Elwar]

how can you be an isolationist if you want free trade with nations?
Paul objects to Nafta because it isn't free trade, not because its trading with other nations.

Exactly...he's against "foreign economic commitments"...which would be free trade.

Perhaps I'll stick with the wikipedia version, I know he's not protectionist.

 

[Wampy]

Edited for idiocy...

 

[pacelli]

Looks like the entire campaign, CFL, and forum have been trumped by.... dictionary.com. Next thing you know, we'll analyze the meaning of the words in "war on terror" and agree that we should be fighting it.

 

[max]

i have a problem with the word itself...no matter how it may be defined...

we should coin the term "Neutralist"

 

[virgil47]

It would appear that Ron Paul is indeed an isolationist as he is for free trade without any commitments. The type of trade he claims to want is like someone walking through a flea market and doing some shopping or bartering. This type of trade is well and good but has no guarantees that the same trade partner will be willing to engage in trade with you the next time you need something. Trade without some form of commitment to your trading partner is not trade. It is shoping.

 

[Pacis]

Weird how liberals and conservatives who promote ludicrously stupid, autarchist ideas like "energy independence" are never accused of isolationism..

 

[silverhawks]

If isolationist means "should not be marching troops over most of the planet while bankrupting citizens in the process" or "not becoming slowly subject to the insane whims of a global government" or "not being part of a manipulative transnational corporate central banking network doomed to failure"...SIGN ME UP FOR ISOLATIONISM.

 

[torchbearer]

It would appear that Ron Paul is indeed an isolationist as he is for free trade without any commitments. The type of trade he claims to want is like someone walking through a flea market and doing some shopping or bartering. This type of trade is well and good but has no guarantees that the same trade partner will be willing to engage in trade with you the next time you need something. Trade without some form of commitment to your trading partner is not trade. It is shoping.

it is trade. and every transaction should be voluntary and negotiable.
that is trade. flea markets are trades. Shopping is the act of looking for trades.

 

[Pacis]

The only thing Ron Paul wants to isolate is the criminal American state.

 

[Wampy]

Weird how liberals and conservatives who promote ludicrously stupid, autarchist ideas like "energy independence" are never accused of isolationism..

I don't think it is stupid at all to consider the stability of your sources of energy. The stability of those sources can directly effect the entire economy. Purporting a desire to be less at the mercy of such things is not stupidity.

What is stupid, is to insert the feds into the market, bow to the demands of unions and "environmentalists" and others to the point where a natural desire to produce energy as close to home as possible is squashed in favor of whatever best fits with current government "incentives" or "disincentives".

What is stupid, is to claim that one desires energy independence while disrupting the market with all sorts of fed intervention in the marketplace. As with most every other industry, there is no need for further regulation or incentivization of the marketplace, merely a removal of government from the marketplace.

 

[virgil47]

it is trade. and every transaction should be voluntary and negotiable.
that is trade. flea markets are trades. Shopping is the act of looking for trades.

If shopping is the way to go then why are there contracts for anything. All contracts are is a form of formalized trading agreements. If this is wrong then why does anyone expect to have an employment contract. If you can not count on being paid the same amount in each pay check then you can not plan for your future. The same applies to trade contracts. If a country can not count on buying products or raw materials at a set cost for a period of time then that countries economic future is in doubt. Very few businesses will be willing to invest in a country that has an unstable economy. Without trade agreements of any sort contracts and of course contract law no longer have any reason to exist.

 

[YumYum]

one part your eyes must have skipped over:


How many times has Ron said, we should trade with countries?
To be a complete isolationist, you'd have to be a protectionist on trade.

What is the difference between a "complete isolationist" and an "isolationist"?