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Rothbard, “Ron Paul and his Critics” Liberty (August 1987)

Liberty magazine August 1987 coverFrom the vault: Murray N. Rothbard, “Life or Death in Seattle,” Liberty (August 1987): 39–42 (advertised as “Ron Paul and his Critics” on the cover). The modern libertarian movement is larger now largely because of Ron Paul’s 2008 and 2012 runs for US President on the Republican Party ticket (and more radical and Austrian, less minarchist and more anarchist, even if less well-read),1 but he first ran as a Libertarian in 1988. In fact when I was in law school at LSU I went to him speak in a classroom on the LSU campus during this campaign (and voted for him then as well as the other two times he ran). 2

Rothbard’s discussion of Ron Paul and his campaign in the inaugural issue of  Liberty magazine, August 1987 will be of interest to the PFS audience.3 It appeared in the Politics section, along with a piece by R.W. Bradford, writing under one of his pen names, Chester Alan Arthur, “The Libertarians’ Quandary,Liberty (August 1987): 36–39.

  1. more radical etc.: Kinsella, “Stephan Kinsella on the Logic of Libertarianism and Why Intellectual Property Doesn’t Exist,” in LFFS, p. 625; Kinsella, KOL492 | Menger Institute Podcast #6: Property Rights, Patents, Anarchy, Technology, Long-Term Hope for Freedom, and the Technological Death of the State, Kinsella on Liberty Podcast (June 13, 2026), transcript around 13:23; Alan D. Bergman, Adopting Liberty: The Stephan Kinsella Story (2025), p. 59. []
  2. See Kinsella, “My Years with the Mises Institute,” Property and Freedom Journal (May 2, 2026); My Failed Libertarian Speaking Hiatus; Memories of Mises Institute and Other Events, 1988–20192026; Kinsella, “Stephan Kinsella on the Logic of Libertarianism and Why Intellectual Property Doesn’t Exist,” in LFFS, p. 649; A Tour Through Walter Block’s Oeuvre, section “Objectivist Criticisms“; KOL268 | Bob Murphy Show: Law Without the State, and the Illegitimacy of IP (June 10, 2019), transcript at 6:31. []
  3. See Laurence M. Vance, “Murray Rothbard and Liberty Magazine,” Property and Freedom Journal (July 6, 2026). []

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