The Loneliness of Being a Libertarian
Professor John Hasnas spoke to the Charles G. Koch Fellows for the past two years while I was directing the program.
He challenged most of our liberty-minded students with his ideas on common law and most would have labeled him an "anarcho-capitalist" since he espoused such radical views. I always admired him for holding those views, and for having very strong arguments that supported his position (i.e. the fallacy of the importance of the Constitution).
Prior to meeting him, I had almost no interest at all in law. Really. But, after attending his lectures for two Opening Seminars, I felt the inklings of caring about how philosophy influenced law and how law affected public policy. Hasnas also challenged my assumptions about the legal system and our constitution. I think that most conservatives and libertarians highly revere this historical document (Michael Badnarik even teaches an online course on the subject). It is refreshing to hear his arguments on why the Constitution is unnecessary and also why it is harmful.
Hasnas' views fit well with Austrian economics (I also arranged for Professor Boettke and Professor Scott Beaulier to speak at the seminars), since the Austrians purport to look for what institutions are necessary in economic development. They don't advocate giving a pill to a under-developed country (like democracy, a constitution, microfinance) and to just pray & hope that the patient gets better. They see a continuing evolution of institutions to fit the local circumstances.
Anyways, I was inspired to write this blog because I just read an article by Professor Hasnas called "The Loneliness of the Long-time Libertarian."
As a youngish libertarian, I am thankful that I don't live in the 60s and 70s. I don't think I would have had the strength to stick with my libertarian beliefs throughout the past 5 years if I didn't know of all the other libertarians in this world.
Becoming libertarian in the 2000s, was comparably easier (but not that easy). I looked up books to read online (using Amazon.com or other libertarian websites like Laissez-Faire Books). I was also lucky to have a boyfriend at the time who was libertarian-leaning (thank you, Will), with whom I could argue with and discuss policy and ideas.
When I first learned about the IHS, I was so ecstatic and surprised that they were able to find me, a lonely libertarian (later, I learned that the IHS often rents out mailing lists from organizations like the Objectivist Society). IHS then led me on the path to learning about libertarian philosophy more deeply.
I became part of the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellows Program in 2004 and met an amazing group of liberty-minded young folks (although during that year there was an abundance of conservatives). The following two years, I had the fortune to direct the program and to meet more college-age liberty-minded students and also a myriad of organizations and speakers. It was amazing.
So, I am grateful to not be as "lonely" as Hasnas was in the 1960s & 70s. However, we still have great challenges ahead in communicating our ideas, and we can't get comfy in our own libertarian world. I think it's good that I'm taking my journey outside of the traditional libertarian sphere (outside of our li'l group of think tanks and nonprofits in Washington, DC). I hope to find a way to make a bigger difference in this world.
He challenged most of our liberty-minded students with his ideas on common law and most would have labeled him an "anarcho-capitalist" since he espoused such radical views. I always admired him for holding those views, and for having very strong arguments that supported his position (i.e. the fallacy of the importance of the Constitution).
Prior to meeting him, I had almost no interest at all in law. Really. But, after attending his lectures for two Opening Seminars, I felt the inklings of caring about how philosophy influenced law and how law affected public policy. Hasnas also challenged my assumptions about the legal system and our constitution. I think that most conservatives and libertarians highly revere this historical document (Michael Badnarik even teaches an online course on the subject). It is refreshing to hear his arguments on why the Constitution is unnecessary and also why it is harmful.
Hasnas' views fit well with Austrian economics (I also arranged for Professor Boettke and Professor Scott Beaulier to speak at the seminars), since the Austrians purport to look for what institutions are necessary in economic development. They don't advocate giving a pill to a under-developed country (like democracy, a constitution, microfinance) and to just pray & hope that the patient gets better. They see a continuing evolution of institutions to fit the local circumstances.
Anyways, I was inspired to write this blog because I just read an article by Professor Hasnas called "The Loneliness of the Long-time Libertarian."
As a youngish libertarian, I am thankful that I don't live in the 60s and 70s. I don't think I would have had the strength to stick with my libertarian beliefs throughout the past 5 years if I didn't know of all the other libertarians in this world.
Becoming libertarian in the 2000s, was comparably easier (but not that easy). I looked up books to read online (using Amazon.com or other libertarian websites like Laissez-Faire Books). I was also lucky to have a boyfriend at the time who was libertarian-leaning (thank you, Will), with whom I could argue with and discuss policy and ideas.
When I first learned about the IHS, I was so ecstatic and surprised that they were able to find me, a lonely libertarian (later, I learned that the IHS often rents out mailing lists from organizations like the Objectivist Society). IHS then led me on the path to learning about libertarian philosophy more deeply.
I became part of the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellows Program in 2004 and met an amazing group of liberty-minded young folks (although during that year there was an abundance of conservatives). The following two years, I had the fortune to direct the program and to meet more college-age liberty-minded students and also a myriad of organizations and speakers. It was amazing.
So, I am grateful to not be as "lonely" as Hasnas was in the 1960s & 70s. However, we still have great challenges ahead in communicating our ideas, and we can't get comfy in our own libertarian world. I think it's good that I'm taking my journey outside of the traditional libertarian sphere (outside of our li'l group of think tanks and nonprofits in Washington, DC). I hope to find a way to make a bigger difference in this world.