‘Strangely Austrian’

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The New York Sun

For a measure of how the impact of Congressman Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty is starting to be felt even at Europe, feature the op ed page of today’s Financial Times. Its leading piece is by one of the London daily’s star columnists, Gideon Rachman, and runs under the headline “Why I’m feeling strangely Austrian.” It’s a wonderful reprise of the lay of the land, ideologically. He sees four broad emerging trends, which he calls “rightwing populist, social democratic-Keynesian, libertarian-Hayekian and anti-capitalist socialist.” We would label them — veeery broadly — Sarah Palinites, Paul Krugmanites, Ron Paulists, and Barack Obamans.

In any event, Mr. Rachman notes that Dr. Paul has recalled dining with Hayek and being inspired by Ludwig von Mises, “another economist of the Austrian school.” He writes that this explains Dr. Paul’s “otherwise baffling remark” after the Iowa caucus, in which the Texan said: “I’m waiting for the day when we can say we’re all Austrians now.” He calls Dr. Paul the “purest advocate of a powerful conviction on the American right that the US is afflicted by an over-mighty state.” He notes that “Paulite suspicion of central banks that threaten to debase the currency is powerfully echoed in Germany — where the Hayekian right is horrified by the operation of the European Central Bank . . .”

Mr. Rachman doesn’t predict which trend will set the tone for the new age. But he offers this confession: “Under normal conditions I would probably sign up with the social democratic tendency. The Tea Party is not my cup of tea.* But I spent the weekend reading newspaper accounts of the ever more incredible figures that may have to be poured into the bail-outs for banks and countries in Europe. Then I turned the page to read of demands for more protectionism and regulation in the EU. For light relief, I then went to see ‘The Iron Lady’ — the new film about Margaret Thatcher. The whole thing has left me feeling strangely Austrian.”

Strangely, indeed. The importance of the column lies in the fact that Mr. Rachman is not just any scrivener. He is the chief foreign affairs commentator for the leading Keynesian newspaper in England. Here he is kvelling over Ron Paul and the Austrians. Mr. Rachman’s column didn’t actually contain the word “gold.” But maybe that’s because the last person who ventured onto the FT’s op-ed page to suggest a role for gold — it was none other than the president of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick — was denounced for his audacity the following day in an editorial in the FT itself.

Our instinct is to congratulate Congressman Paul, particularly on an afternoon when the voters of New Hampshire are still casting their ballots and we don’t know what kind of signal will emerge. It’s a reminder that his ideas have legs and that if one sticks to them long enough, the world will come around. And let us congratulate Mr. Rachman, too. If, on the morrow, the FT comes out with an editorial denouncing its chief foreign affairs columnist, may he take inspiration from the gumption of Ron Paul and the 30 years of mockery he has endured to get to this moment of truth.

_____

* His erstwhile king, George III, wasn’t all that crazy about it either.


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