The other day, I published this on LRC:
Block, Walter E. 2020. “My High School Buddy, Bernie.” April 9;
Here is a selection of letters, and my responses, I received as a result of that publication:
Letter 1
From: JOHN F. MILLER
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2020 8:00 AM
Subject: Bernie
Dear Dr. Block;
Thank you for sharing your memories of Bernie Sanders. Sanders is a unique personality in a world of indistinguishable political clones. As a regular reader of LRC, I know you have mentioned your past history with Sanders before and it is always fascinating to read such personal recollections.
The reason I write is to seriously encourage you to collect such memories down in a memoir. It would offer a great historical insight into your intellectual development and also provide a unique perspective on your mentors and colleagues in the Austrian School school of economics. I’ll take this occasion to once again thank you for your regular contributions to LRC.
Sincerely,
John F. Miller
Birmingham, Alabama
Letter 2
On Thursday, April 9, 2020, 11:08:31 AM CDT, Walter Block <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear John:
Thanks for your kind words about this short essay of mine.
I see you live near Auburn, AL, so, hopefully, one of these days we’ll cross paths at the Mises Institute.
One of my “criticisms” of my friend and mentor Murray Rothbard was that he never wrote an autobiography. In order to console this loss in my mind I resort to reminding myself of alternative costs, or opportunity costs. Suppose Murray had written his memoirs. Posit that it would have been 500 pages long (he lived an all too short life, but it was a memorable one). This would have meant that 500 pages of his actual writing would not have been written and published. Which 500 pages would I have been happy to see vanish? I’m not sure about this. I think none, but I’m not sure. In any case, this comforts me for him not having written his autobiography.
Now, I don’t put myself in the same category as Murray. I’m delighted whenever my name appears in the same sentence as his as a follower of his, as a person who loved him. I’ve so far lived a longer life than him (I’m now 78, he passed away at 68). Not only is my substantive contribution a small fraction of his, but I failed to take notes of my interactions with people, and my memory in the regard is skimpy. So, I think I can make more of a contribution to our movement by spending the next years of my life doing what I’m now doing (books, articles, op eds, speeches, interviews) than by fully writing up my memoirs.
However, I appreciate your point that autobiographies are also important. I did make a small contribution to that end. This book not only contains my memoirs, but also those of several dozen others of Murray’s friends, followers, Austro libertarians:
Block, Walter E., ed. 2010. I Chose Liberty: Autobiographies of Contemporary Libertarians; Auburn, AL: Mises Institute; available for free here: https://mises.org/library/i-chose-liberty-autobiographies-contemporary-libertarians
My favorite in this book is the one written by Joe Salerno. It brings tears to my eyes every time I read it.
But thanks for the suggestion. I greatly appreciate it.
Best regards,
Walter
Letter 3
From: JOHN F. MILLER
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2020 9:51 AM
To: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Bernie
Dear Dr. Block;
Thank you for alerting me to a book I had no idea existed. I ordered it off Amazon.com today and it is on it’s way to my doorstep. I’ll be sure to bring it (and my copy of “Defending The Undefendable”) for you to sign if I ever attend a Mises event in which you are participating!
As to your musings on Murray Rothbard having never written a biography, that seems to be a fitting praxeological approach that Rothbard of course would endorse. If ever anyone needs convincing that there was a concerted media and academic blackout of both heterodox economic and libertarian theory, they need only to watch some old YouTube videos of a Rothbard lecture. How someone with not only Rothbard’s intellect but also his effervescent wit and personal charm never appeared as a panelist on the television network’s Sunday Morning blab-fests or was a guest on William F. Buckley’s “Firing Line” is all the evidence needed that an orchestrated media suppression occurred.
Thank you again for your kind note.
John
“The bird a nest; the spider a web; man, friendship.” William Blake
Letter 4
Dear John:
Yes, Murray was indeed da man! I’ll betcha that in 500 years Murray’s magnificent contribution will still be studied and revered, while the same will not be able to be said about Buckley.
Best regards,
Walter
Letter 5
From: Tim McGraw
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2020 12:04 AM
Subject: Your Friend Bernie
Hi Walter,
I just read your article about Bernie Sanders on the Lew Rockwell site. Maybe you should have de-pants Bernie at the start line of the track race.
What do you think about Bernie dropping out of the Presidential race, but not giving up his delegates?
And Bernie HAS changed his position on immigration. He’s not always consistent. You say he’s courageous, but he folded over for Hillary in the last election, but then, maybe he wanted to stay alive. LOL.
Take care,
Tim
Letter 6
Dear Tim:
Well, he’s way more courageous than any of the other Democratic candidates who caved in all over the place. Ok, he’s not more courageous than Ron Paul, but, hey, that’s a pretty high barrier to overcome.
Best regards,
Walter
Letter 7
From: Joe Feifer
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2020 9:28 AM
Subject: Bernie Sanders vs Ron Paul
Dear Dr. Block:
I enjoyed reading your reminisces of your childhood friend Bernie Sanders. Courage of one’s convictions is a virtue, but after decades of evidence that socialism leads to poverty and death, not prosperity and life, the term courage ceases to apply. There are all too many like Mr. Sanders. Undeniably talented, but chose Marxism as their world view. It makes my heart sink.
I find it a bit ironic that Mr. Sanders shares something in common with Dr. Paul. Both were talented track athletes. A race between them in 1950’s would be amusing nostalgia, but a race between them in 2020 would be a watershed. Imagine two presidential candidates so far apart in their philosophies, both brutally honest, laying out their vision for America in front of the entire nation.
What would we do as a nation? I am cynical. I don’t think we could choose. Please give us Biden or Trump or Clinton and their petty insults, gaffs, and tabloid headlines. Or maybe another minority so we can feel so virtuous and carry on, deep state business as usual. Both these men are too scary, too idealistic, for the real world.
Sincerely,
Joe Feifer
Letter 8
Dear Joe:
Ron’s a bit older than Bernie, but the former is probably in better shape than the latter. Let’s arrange a duatholon between them. First, a debate, and then a track race of a quarter mile or so.
Surely, we have to distinguish between courage on the one hand, and economic literacy and morality on the other. I still think Bernie exemplifies the former, but certainly not the latter. He’s a commie, for goodness sake. But, commies, too, can show courage.
Best regards,
Walter
Letter 9
From: John Morzenti
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2020 1:23 PM
Subject: Crazy Bernie
Strangely, while we’re polar opposites politically, were he my next-door neighbor I suspect we’d become good friends. I think Bernie’s wrong about almost everything politically but he’s a tough little scrapper, plus I suspect that both of us just like to argue.
What’s always puzzled about Leftists is that no matter how many people in just the 20th Century alone were slaughtered by Marxist regimes, hundreds of times more than done-in by Adolf Hitler, almost always held up as the foremost bogey-man in human history, Marxism still has its passionate adherents throughout the world. They proudly wear it as a badge of honor, when they should be more properly pelted with rocks, bottles, and bags filled with excrement. Of course Marxism is always judged by its ostensible possibilities but never by its actual horrific and invariable results.
Always enjoy your pieces.
Best,
John
Letter 10
Dear John:
Thanks for your kind comments.
Bernie’s not so little. He’s 6 foot tall or taller.
Here’s my explanation for the popularity of communism, Marxism, despite its horrid effects:
Levendis, John, Walter E. Block and Robert B. Eckhardt. 2019. “Evolutionary psychology, economic freedom, trade and benevolence.” Review of Economic Perspectives – Národohospodářský obzor; Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 73-92; https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/revecp/19/2/article-p73.xml; 10.2478/revecp-2019-0005; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/revecp-2019-0005; https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/here-is-one-of-my-best-scholarly-papers-ever/; https://pennstate.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/evolutionary-psychology-economic-freedom-trade-and-benevolence
Best regards,
Walter
Letter 11
From: paul dawson
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2020 2:41 PM
Subject: Bernie is angry because at his stage in life he has more history than future and that history isn’t rewarding.
A person turns to communism, as Bernie has done, because a representative republic, as is America, is an accounting of dreams. There is an old curse that goes: may you live in interesting times. Bernie has lived in the most interesting of times and has accomplished nothing.
BEST,
Paul Dawson
Letter 12
Dear Paul:
Sorry to disagree with your assessment that he’s accomplished nothing. Yes, he’s accomplished nothing positive, but, surely you’ll agree with me, he has made magnificent contributions negatively.
Well, that’s not totally fair. He is pretty good on foreign policy. I won’t say he’s a Ron Paulian on foreign policy, but he and Tulsi were the best Democratic candidates on foreign policy. Both were at least slightly Ron Paulian. That’s a positive.
Best regards,
Walter
Letter 13
From: Robert Campbell
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2020 3:10 PM
Subject: Senator Sanders
S.S. was born in 1941, he would have finished HS by 1959. SNCC was started in 1960. S.S. didn’t join SNCC while in HS. or you both were held back two grades in elementary school
I expected better source research from Prof Block
BoB Campbell
Letter 14:
From: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2020 3:17 PM
To: ‘Robert Campbell’
Subject: RE: Senator Sanders
Dear Bob:
I stand corrected. I’ll do so publicly. This is one of the reasons I don’t want to write an autobiography: I’m a poor historian.
Best regards,
Walter
Letter 15:
From: Milton Kiang
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2020 7:42 PM
To: ‘Walter Block’ <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Mises Wire submission
Hi Walter, just read your article on Bernie. It was a magnanimous article and shows that we can be civil to our ideological opponents. Good job!
BTW, I still haven’t heard back from Ryan McMaken at Mises.org. I sent the article last Sat. I’ll wait till tomorrow Fri and if I don’t hear back from him, I’ll send it to lewrockwell.com
Cheers
Milton
Letter 16:
Dear Milton:
Thanks for your kind words. Even though he’s a commie, he’s MY commie. I still have a soft spot in my heart for my boyhood chum
Best regards,
Walter
3:04 am on April 11, 2020
