In a recent interview, Charles Koch says that he had once avoided the public limelight, but now, in response to attacks, he has been more willing to speak out.  He says, “I always followed what the mama said to the baby whale. She said, ‘Son, the time you got harpooned is when you spout[ed] off.’ So, I’ve followed that, and what I didn’t realize is my body was full of harpoons already, so what difference would it make if it got a few more?” Why has he been attacked? He answers that he is a classical liberal, and those who support government control over our lives do not want to have an open discussion in a marketplace of ideas about the merits of their programs but, to the contrary, want to shut down opposition. This is an excellent point; but it raises the question, does Koch himself favor an open discussion with those libertarians who disagree with his ideas and tactics? His relentless endeavors to isolate Murray Rothbard, formerly his mentor, strongly suggest that he does not.

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