—–Original Message—–
From: RG
Sent:
To: Walter Block
Subject: Re: Watch The Fusion Libertarian Forum Live
you’re the only libertarian i know (other than my wife) so it’s good to be able to share.
i just read the collection on murray’s short essays from the 60’s. the editor is clearly a fanboy of murray and thinks murray walked on water and was a totally consistent, and invariably correct, libertarian. that was very annoying. there are issues that libertarians have different positions on. e.g. i thought murray’s essays on Israel are off-base. also the claim that murray is the founder and most important cause for modern libertarianism is wrong. Rand, despite her being a very unpleasant, obnoxious person, is the ultimate origin of modern libertarianism (and I think Brandon had a lot to do with Rand acting like she was omniscient. when people treat you like you’re god, it’s hard not to start to think of yourself as god).
the interview is okay but it’s a bit disappointing to hear gary johnson be a bit wishy-washy on certain issues. although, it’s necessary for politicians to do that. being consistently libertarian would alienate too many people. doesn’t really matter since i don’t expect he’ll come close to the 15% required to participate in the first debate and after that he’ll be ignored. RG
Dear RG:
Praise be to your wife.
In my view, Murray was indeed “the founder … (of) … modern libertarianism.” (And, also, pretty much, almost solely responsible for the renaissance of Austrian economics after Mises). Rand was not even a libertarian. She was fine on economics and personal liberty (a bit weak on racism) but she was a war-monger, not a non-interventionist. Her views, then, are consistent with libertarianism on only two out of three issues. If by “and most important cause for” you mean the person who singly converted more people to libertarianism than anyone else, then I’d place Ron Paul as #1 (just a surmise of mine) and Rand, paradoxically, as #2. She must be turning over in her grave. She hated libertarians. She dismissed us as “hippies of the right.” And, yet, she converted more people to libertarianism than anyone except for Ron Paul. I think Ayn acted like a God long before she met Brandon but I’m not sure of this.
I, too, wish Gary Johnson were a more consistent libertarian. Or, even, sometimes, a libertarian at all. But, he is way better than Bob Barr. I hope he breaks that 15% barrier, and, if and when he does, the powers that be don’t raise it to 20% or 25%, although I wouldn’t trust them not to. As to who to vote for, Gary or Donald, see this essay of mine: Block, Walter E. 2016. “Hillary, Bernie, Donald, Gary: A Libertarian Perspective.” June 4; https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/06/walter-e-block/hillary-bernie-donald-gary/
3:51 pm on August 21, 2016
