Speaking of American libertarianism as a Baby Boomer fad, I don’t understand the late David Nolan’s grievances against the American political order. He grew up comfortably middle class after the Second World War, went to an elite university (MIT) and graduated with a political science degree, which suggests a lack of economic pressure to become employable. He also overdosed on Robert Heinlein’s novels growing up, a fairly common pathway for Baby Boomer libertarians, it seems. Yet he claims that Richard Nixon’s imposition of wage and price controls radicalized him politically somehow, and led him to forming the Libertarian Party.
Uh, WTF? Hardly anyone remembers those wage and price controls now, and they certainly didn’t cause an economic disaster that required forming a new political party. Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency imposed far more strenuous controls on the American economy during the Second World War, and the country seems to have recovered well from them after the war ended without radicalizing people into libertarians.
It gives me the impression of that generation of American libertarians as somewhat spoiled guys who didn’t appreciate how good they had it.
The American political order in the 1970s was very different from the present day’s. Nixon’s wage and price controls were the straw that broke the camel’s back, in this regard. It’s not surprising that a classically liberal party would be founded in response to them, although ultimately this was a minor factor, if one at all, in shifting prevailing views in such matters.
Hardly anyone remembers those wage and price controls now, and they certainly didn’t cause an economic disaster that required forming a new political party.
The issue isn’t economic disaster but not acting according to certain ideals.
Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency imposed far more strenuous controls on the American economy during the Second World War, and the country seems to have recovered well from them after the war ended without radicalizing people into libertarians.
Roosevelt was a Democrat. Anybody who wanted less price controls then Roosevelt could go to the Republicans.
Richard Nixon was a Republican. Going to the Democrats wouldn’t helped, so he needed a new party.
I’d say the wage and price controls were more important as evidence that the Republican party had abandoned capitalism. Unlike with Roosevelt, that left no major party for capitalists to support.
Speaking of American libertarianism as a Baby Boomer fad, I don’t understand the late David Nolan’s grievances against the American political order. He grew up comfortably middle class after the Second World War, went to an elite university (MIT) and graduated with a political science degree, which suggests a lack of economic pressure to become employable. He also overdosed on Robert Heinlein’s novels growing up, a fairly common pathway for Baby Boomer libertarians, it seems. Yet he claims that Richard Nixon’s imposition of wage and price controls radicalized him politically somehow, and led him to forming the Libertarian Party.
Uh, WTF? Hardly anyone remembers those wage and price controls now, and they certainly didn’t cause an economic disaster that required forming a new political party. Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency imposed far more strenuous controls on the American economy during the Second World War, and the country seems to have recovered well from them after the war ended without radicalizing people into libertarians.
It gives me the impression of that generation of American libertarians as somewhat spoiled guys who didn’t appreciate how good they had it.
The American political order in the 1970s was very different from the present day’s. Nixon’s wage and price controls were the straw that broke the camel’s back, in this regard. It’s not surprising that a classically liberal party would be founded in response to them, although ultimately this was a minor factor, if one at all, in shifting prevailing views in such matters.
The issue isn’t economic disaster but not acting according to certain ideals.
Roosevelt was a Democrat. Anybody who wanted less price controls then Roosevelt could go to the Republicans. Richard Nixon was a Republican. Going to the Democrats wouldn’t helped, so he needed a new party.
I’d say the wage and price controls were more important as evidence that the Republican party had abandoned capitalism. Unlike with Roosevelt, that left no major party for capitalists to support.