I started watching the NBC comedy, Parks and Recreation many years ago, before I began identifying as an anarchist. It was well before that actually; this was when I was right on the cusp of discovering libertarianism. 

Like many viewers, I immediately fell in love with the character Ron Swanson. Some critics even called him the best comedy character since Seinfeld's Cosmo Kramer. Those are some bold words!

I fell into libertarianism around this time, and I was delighted to discover that my new favourite character shared my views. There aren't many anti-government characters on TV that are anything other than stereotypical conspiracy-theorist weirdos or violent thugs. Ron Swanson seemed like a breath of fresh air.

But after watching Parks and Rec many times over, I've noticed more than a few inconsistencies. Below I'm going to review a variety of moments from the show to reveal the mixed-up libertarianism of Ron Swanson.

Ron Swanson the Anarchist

In the quote above, for those who are a little slow on the uptake, "all this" refers to the government. For each of these categories, I'm just going to drop a few different quotes and try save my commentary until the of the section.

"I don't want this parks department to build any parks, because I don't believe in government. I think that all government is a waste of taxpayer money. My dream is to have the park system privatized and run entirely for profit by corporations. Like Chuck E. Cheese. They have an impeccable business model. I would rather work for Chuck E. Cheese. Everything operated by tokens. Drop in a token, go on the swing set. Drop in another token, take a walk. Drop in a token, look at a duck."

“There is only one bad word: taxes.”

In the long quote above, there are clearly some issues that any anarchist would immediately recognize. Primarily that without government, corporations would not exist. The corporation is a government-created entity. But the spirit of the quote is anarchistic: government shouldn't exist and we don't need it to carry out our ideas, individuals and groups of individuals will come up with solutions.

Ron Swanson the Libertarian*

*some of these quotes could fit into the Anarchist category, but I decided that unless a line is explicitly anarchistic, I'd file it under libertarianism. Capiche? 

"Whatever happened to, 'Hey, I have some apples, would you like to buy them?'
'Yes! Thank you!'
That's as complicated as it should be to open a business in this country."

"The government should not prop up a failed business. That would be like giving food to a mortally wounded animal instead of slitting its throat and properly utilizing its meat and pelt."

"Libertarianism is all about individual liberty and should never be defined by the terms, 'liberal' or 'conservative'."

"This is your lunch. Now you should be able to do whatever you want to with this, right? If you want to eat all of it, great. If you want to throw it away in the garbage, that's your prerogative. But here I come, the government, and I get to take 40% of your lunch. And that, Lauren, is how taxes work."

"When I walked in this morning I saw that the flag was at half-mast, I thought, "All right, another bureaucrat ate it!"

"Why the government is involved in an art show is beyond me."

There were more quotes I could have dropped here, but the list was getting a little long. All of these lines are so good, and a few of them represent the first time I've ever seen libertarianism given a fair shake on a mainstream TV show. Unfortunately, Ron's good libertarianism is ruined by what comes next...

Ron Swanson the Conservative

In one episode, a former Parks Director tells Ron that marijuana should be legal. As a libertarian, Ron should agree that weed should at least be decriminalized. Instead, Ron answers like a grumpy conservative: "Sorry, I can't hear hippies."

In another situation, the government wants to replace their food carts in the parks, with food service from a local candy company called Sweetums. Ron supports this action because he loves privatization. But this isn't privatization. The government is still making the choices for what people can buy and eat in the parks, their just handing it off to a corporation. You know what that's called? A government-created monopoly. You know what Ron Swanson should say? "That sounds like the government meddling in private enterprise."

These moments reveal a Ron Swanson who isn't an anarchist or a libertarian. He's a right wing conservative who supports government actions that favour big business and legislate arbitrary moral codes. 

Ron Swanson the Flag Worshiping Statist

“America: The only country that matters. If you want to experience other ‘cultures,’ use an atlas or a ham radio.”

"History began on July 4th, 1776. Everything before that was a mistake."

"This is America. You wanna live in North Korea? You can live in North Korea. I don't want to. I want to live in America!"

I don't know what to say about these quotes. They totally fly in the face of the Ron Swanson who wants to see the government crumble to the ground. Why does he love America so much? It doesn't make any sense.

Conclusion

Look, I know that the intent wasn't to write a political treatise. They were just out to make a comedy. I can understand that. But it bothers me that they don't seem to understand one of their main character's defining traits

Either the writers were just sloppy, or they simply don't really know what a libertarian is.

I still love the show and I still love Ron Swanson. But I can't help but cringe at a few of these moments.

Seth

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