Modern Libertarianism: A Brief History of Classical Liberalism in the United States

by Brian Doherty

In this lively new history, Brian Doherty provides a concise, thorough account of the intellectual roots of the American libertarian movement, with helpful summaries of key figures, institutions, and events. Modern Libertarianism effortlessly combines historical insights and intellectual profiles of important figures, including Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman, and Barry Goldwater, well as of key institutions such as the Foundation of Economic Education and the Mont Pelerin Society. A superb introduction for the newcomer, yet rich and varied enough for others interested in the tradition, Modern Libertarianism is a tribute to those who advocated for the cause of political liberty in America in the 20th century.

Genres: History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published February 25, 2025

Reviews

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid introduction for those interested in tenets of libertarianism and its “prophets” with particular emphasis to its development in the United States.

Doherty keeps an enthusiastic (and overly optimistic!) tone in showering praise in the achievements of humanity since the early 20th century that were due, in his opinion, to the virtues of the free market and lack of government intervention or statist policies – a claim that he posits almost as a ‘given’. While I am sympathetic to at least some of the libertarian ideas (such as its progressive nature, egalitarian treatment of citizens without prejudice, constitutional limited role of government, etc.), I find it implausible that “free people would spontaneously develop the institutions that a healthy and wealthy culture needs,” in which case “things will on balance work out best that way.” Nor do I believe the rosy picture the author paints when he claims that “Americans now spend less than half their income on basic necessities, compared with 80 percent at the turn of the 20th century,” or that “the real prices have overall been falling”, or that “the area of the earth covered by trees has grown” – all of which are either naïve or ill-intentioned manipulations of definitions or numbers: definition of “basic necessities” has evolved, the real prices have actually risen dramatically in the last few years (conveniently overlooked by the author), and even the “areas covered by trees” is misleading as they do not necessarily translate into an improvement in biodiversity of the planet.

Notwithstanding my reservations above, Doherty provides a good survey of the proto-libertarians (or at least what could be considered as thought-leaders) such as Thomas Gordon, John Trenchard, Richard Cobden, Gustave de Molinari (theoretician of how protection could be provided as a private-market service!), Bastiat (his ironic petition on candlemakers against the sun is a great read!), and Herbert Spencer. The last character in particular, with his work Social Statistics can be said to have laid the groundwork for the “right of people to ignore the state” (yes, anarchic hues.. 😊

The author’s “tour” continues with Carl Menger, von Mises, and Hayek, the pillars of Austrian economics (the real foundation of libertarian movement) with their emphasis on the use of money in determining the market value of things, and the effects of government interventions. The manipulation of “aggregate demand” was indeed a particularly hot topic between Hayek and Keynes as the former insisted that Keynes’ suggested policies of pumping money would have disruptive effects and was merely to “trick workers into acquiescing to a real wage cut through inflation that they would not tolerate if they knew it was happening” (not wrong, in my opinion).

The book does not cover just the economics aspect of it though. Though I do not agree with most of the ideas (from what I could tell at least), I became acquainted with Isabel Paterson, and Rose through some references to their works (God of the Machine and the Discovery of Freedom respectively), Wilder, both (self-made women, a rarity in those times, admittedly) seem to be bent on unbridled individualism, power of ideas, and laissez-faire economies as the highest planes of human spirit.

Somewhat less tangential but certainly interesting is the section of the book that analyze the association of the “right” wing of politics with libertarianism in the USA, and the misperceptions/misunderstandings that it entails through prominent players of the times such as Read, Rothbard, Chodorov, Spooner, Sameul Edward Konkin, Barry Goldwater, Randy Barnett, and Nozick. All controversial (some nefarious) characters that deserve a book in their own right.

Doherty also devotes some space discussing the proponents of the Chicago School like Demsetz, Peltzman, Brozen, and Becker but above all Friedman, who is the culprit for the use of tax withholding system, transition to the floating exchange system and argued against rent control, and for a minimum income for all citizens that would replace the social welfare programs.

These days, of course, the rift between libertarians and the Republicans in the U.S. has certainly widened, in particular, with respect to their monetary, trade and drug policies. Yet this book provides a decent backdrop into the intellectual underpinnings of almost all policy debates that are relevant to have a better understanding of US politics.
Quotes:

“A libertarian’s sense of moral properness is often rooted in belief in human rights, which in turn rooted in a vision of what human flourishing requires, uniting what is right and what works.”
“Much of what interesting theory the right possesses is taken from free-market libertarianism.” (Reagan, anyone?)

“In epistemology, Rand held that man’s mind is competent to achieve objectively valid knowledge of that which exists. And in ethics, she held that values appropriate to human beings are objectively demonstrable – in other words, that a rational code of morality is possible.”

[Denis Manis · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Modern Libertarianism”, de Brian Doherty, oferece uma viagem concisa mas perspicaz pelo desenvolvimento do pensamento libertário no século XX. Embora a obra maior de Doherty, “Radicais pelo Capitalismo”, possa fornecer uma visão mais abrangente, este livro serve como um ponto de entrada acessível para os curiosos sobre as raízes intelectuais do libertarianismo.

A narrativa de Doherty tece habilmente as contribuições de figuras-chave que moldaram a ideologia libertária. Das teorias económicas de Mises e Hayek às reflexões filosóficas de Rand e Rothbard, o autor traça um quadro vívido de um movimento construído sobre ideias diversas, por vezes contraditórias, unidas por um fio condutor: o ceticismo em relação ao poder do Estado e a crença na liberdade individual.

O que é particularmente interessante é o facto de Doherty incluir entidades menos conhecidas, como o Fundo Volker, destacando o apoio de bastidores que permitiu que as ideias libertárias ganhassem força. Isto acrescenta profundidade à narrativa, mostrando que os movimentos muitas vezes requerem mais do que apenas pensadores carismáticos para florescerem.

O tratamento dado pelo livro à influência do libertarianismo na política dominante, particularmente através de figuras como Goldwater e Reagan, oferece uma visão matizada dos sucessos e fracassos do movimento na arena política. É um lembrete de que a tradução da filosofia em política é muitas vezes um processo confuso e imperfeito.

Embora o trabalho de Doherty seja, sem dúvida, simpático ao libertarianismo, não se coíbe de reconhecer as excentricidades de alguns dos seus proponentes. Esta honestidade confere credibilidade à narrativa e permite aos leitores envolverem-se criticamente com as ideias apresentadas.

O capítulo final, que faz uma viagem pelas últimas décadas, parece um pouco apressado, mas ilustra eficazmente a relevância atual do pensamento libertário numa era de expansão do alcance do governo e de aumento da dívida nacional.

O “Libertarianismo Moderno” não é apenas um livro de história; é um convite para se debaterem questões fundamentais sobre o papel do governo na sociedade. Quer se concorde ou não com os princípios libertários, o trabalho de Doherty fornece um contexto valioso para a compreensão de uma vertente significativa do pensamento político e económico que continua a moldar os debates actuais.

Para aqueles que procuram compreender as correntes intelectuais que desafiam as ortodoxias de esquerda e de direita, “Modern Libertarianism” oferece uma introdução estimulante e acessível a uma filosofia política complexa e influente.

[Jim Gise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lightning round tour of all of the important libertarian personalities and movements. Handy and well-written.

[Christopher Hollinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good history of the Libertarian movement in America. I learned about a lot of things and people that I was not aware of before. Highly recommend this one.

[John Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rest in Peace and Liberty, Brian Doherty.