Where have all the libertarians gone?
Michael Moynihan grills me on whatever happened to the 'Libertarian Moment,' which seemed like a foregone conclusion a dozen years ago.
Last week, I appeared on my former Reason colleague
’s new 2Way interview show, The Moynihan Report, to talk about the Elon Musk/Donald Trump breakup, the state of national politics, and whatever happened to the ‘Libertarian Moment,’ a concept created by and me back in 2008 to describe the mass personalization of everyday life that we believed was remaking every aspect of American life, from business to culture to, eventually, politics. (Matt and Michael, along with Foster, are the hosts of the excellent podcast, to which you should give a listen if you haven’t yet or lately).What began as a Reason cover story during the dark days of the financial crisis arguing that ‘despite all leading indicators to the contrary, America is poised to enter a new age of freedom,’ grew into the 2011/2012 book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong with America. In 2014, The New York Times Magazine published Robert Draper’s cover story, ‘Has the ‘Libertarian Moment’ Finally Arrived?,’ which featured me, Matt, Fox News’ Kennedy, and Rand Paul, who was leading most GOP polls of presidential hopefuls.
My conversation with Michael is good discussion of why libertarian sensibilities didn’t dominate politics like they seemed poised to—but also why a return to limited government and laissez-faire economics and culture may well be in the offing. Better late than never, right?
Here’s the show’s writeup of the conversation, which takes place on YouTube and is powered by 2Way, an innovate, interactive platform that is hosting shows with an eclectic group of people like
, , , , and .Scroll further down to watch my Q&A with Michael on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple.
Nick Gillespie, Editor-at-Large of Reason joins The Moynihan Report to talk about where all the libertarians have gone.
(00:54) Elon's Troll
(03:31) Libertarian Moment
(08:08) 70s Freedom
(11:06) Tariffs
(16:48) Agony of Abundance
(23:20) Populism
(29:58) Culture War
(37:33) Amanpour's Fear
(48:26) Big Takeaways
(56:32) Questions --
The Moynihan Report is an in-depth 1-on-1 interview program broadcast live from 2WAY’s New York studio on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8pm EST. Hosted by Michael Moynihan (The Fifth Column, VICE News), the show centers around lively conversations with the most influential people in culture, politics, media, and beyond–not just to unpack their opinions on current events, but to better understand what makes them tick. Each episode also includes the opportunity for Michael and guests to engage with the live at-home audience via the 2WAY platform. If you are interested in participating in upcoming episodes, please register at https://www.2way.tv/moynihan
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And check out my home base of Reason, the magazine of ‘free minds and free markets.’ It’s been around since 1968, I’ve worked there since 1993, and it’s the best source on the planet for news, politics, culture, and ideas from a libertarian perspective.
Nick your recent comment about how much libertarian thinking is winning really caught my attention. You can get stuck in the moment and lose sight of the real picture.
Overall, things are much more libertarian than just twenty years ago. In Ohio, Governor Taft first signed a concealed carry law in 2004. Now, Ohio is one of 29 states with constitutional carry with no need for a permit from the state. Ohio and other states including that state up north has also gone from medical marijuana to legalizing recreational use. Ohioans are also able to set off consumer grade fireworks on certain dates barring any local laws.
Enjoyed the conversation especially after technical difficulties were fixed. One thing I like about libertarians such as you and Moynihan is the ability to talk with people of a different opinion. Moynihan just had Brace Belden, a self-identified Marxist on his show.