From: S
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2019 11:30 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Ron Paul vs. Reason
Dr. Block,
Referencing the phrase “I regard a person’s view of Ron Paul as a litmus test for libertarianism. Reason has not passed the test”, how has Reason failed this criteria? If you could be so kind as to share this with me, it would be greatly appreciated. Have been a devoted follower of lewrockwell.com since the year 2000 and Ron Paul since the 2008 election and am intrigued by this litmus test (you might have expounded on it previously and I missed it). Have never been a big fan of Reason’s website, doesn’t begin to intrigue regarding the political landscape (and other types of issues) the way lewrockwell.com does, not even close. Thank you for your tireless efforts regarding the advancement of Austro-libertarianism (Rothbard Libertarianism, Ron Paul Libertarianism – hopefully one of these covers your economic and philosophical discipline), it is greatly appreciated.
Scott Key
Dear S:
You are entirely correct. In this note of mine
A Debate Between Walter E. Block and Adrian Moore, Vice President of the Reason Foundation, on Marijuana-Impaired Driving https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/a-debate-between-walter-e-block-and-adrian-moore-vice-president-of-the-reason-foundation-on-marijuana-impaired-driving-and-for-the-soul-of-libertarianism/
I did indeed take Reason to task for failing my “Ron Paul litmus test.” How so?
It was due to an interview that Katherine Mangu-Ward did on Ron, during his campaign for president:
To say the least, she was very negative about my man Ron; she showed no admiration, deference, esteem for him. I asked Brian Doherty, also of Reason, why she was not fired immediately. His response was that Reason allows a variety of opinions on the part of its spokesmen. Suppose an employee of the Mises Institute were to trash Ron Paul like she did. The very idea is inconceivable. Such a person would never have been hired in the first place by this organization. And, while I cannot of course speak for the MI, if such a person were, somehow, mistakenly hired by that organization, he would have been summarily let go.
This is not because the MI does not also allow a variety of opinions. I do not agree with Ron on 100% of all issues; I disagree with him, for instance, on abortion. He is pro-life, I am an evictionist. But, whenever I part company from him, I do so in the most respectful, complimentary, courteous way I can, because I recognize him for what he is: one of the most important, profound, and significant leaders of the libertarian movement. The same could not at all be said for Katherine Mangu-Ward.
That is why Reason does not pass the Ron Paul litmus test.
Best regards,
Walter
1:37 am on June 28, 2019
