Red Team, Blue Team July 2004 $4.00 11') ~O': 0'11') oc- ro o~ 00 ~ ro 1'---.OU 1 ... ..... 0 ..... 0 "Libert~' is generally born in stormy weather." - Tocqueville At last. A scholarly journal dedicated to the study of Ayn Rand's thought and influence. The Journal ofAyn Rand Studies is the first scholarly publication to examine Ayn Rand: her life, her work, her times. We1coming essays from every discipline, JARS is not aligned with any advocacy group, institute, or per­ son. It welcomes scholarly writing from different tradi­ tions and different perspectives, facilitating a respect- Special ful exchange ofideas on the legacy ofone ofthe world smost enduring and controversial philoso- offer! phers. Subscribe for JARS is edited by R.W. Bradford, libertarian three years and writer and publisher ofLiberty, Stephen Cox, au­ receive Liberty's thor ofmany books and articles on Ayn Rand, first issue, featur­ ing Stephen Cox's Isabel Paterson, and libertarianism; and Chris "The Films ofAyn Matthew Sciabarra, characterized by The Rand." Subscribe Chronicle ofHigher Education as "Rand smost for four years and re­ vocal champion in academe." ceive Libertjs first is­ Our five years have been milestones for sue plus the Nov. Rand scholarship. Our Spring 2004 issue continues our 1988 issue with R.W. first-rate scholarly discussion ofRand and her work. Bradford's investigation Among its features: demythologizing the sto­ • Hendrik Van den Berg on the progress achieved by capitalism ries that surround the Italian Fascist filming of • Stephen Boydstun on universals and measurement Rand's We the Living. • Roger Bissell on art as microcosm • Nicholas Dykes on Ayn Rand in England • William Thomas on Leland Yeager r---------------------------------, • Will Wilkinson on Dinesh D'Souza , Please enter my subscription to the Journal ofAyn • Ari Armstrong on Michael Huemer YeS • Rand Studies. I enclose my check in full payment. o Four Years: individuals $85, institutions $130 Plus: Michael Young and Michael Huemer on ethical egoism plus "The Films ofAyn Rand" and "The Search for We the Living" o Three Years: individuals $65, institutions $100, plus "The Films ofAyn Rand" and Karen Michalson and Sky Gilbert on The Emotionalists. o Two Years: individuals $45, institutions $70 o One Year: individuals $25, institutions $40 o I live outside the U.S. I am enclosing $37 (one year), $69 (two years), $101 (three years), or $123 (four Annual subscription: $25 individuals, $40 institutions years). Two year Subscription: $45 individuals, $75 institutions o I want a charter subscription. Start my subscription with Vol 1., No.1. IfI wish to receive further vol­ Three year subscription: $65 individual, $100 institutions umes after my initial shipment, I enclose $125 for a six-year charter subscription ($167 outside the U.S.). Four year subscription: $85 individual, $130 institutions name Send to: Charter subscriptions are still available! address Journal ofAyn Rand Studies 1018 Water Street, Suite 301 L city state zip Port Townsend, WA 98368 ~ July 2004 Inside Liberty Volume 18, Number 7 4 Letters We get set straight by readers of conviction. 7 Reflections We are stopped by the Border Patrol, empty the jails, trash our newspapers, watch our words, spike a rubber chicken with sodium pentothal, and kill for Pepsi. Features 19 Red Team, Blue Team American politics is a sport, Clark Stooksbury discovers, and being absolutely certain of the essential righteousness of your team simplifies life enormously. 21 The Conservative Case Against George Bush Under Bush's "compassionate" conservatism, the federal government keeps growing bigger and bigger and trampling more and more civil liberties. K. R. Mudgeon makes the case for going fishing on Election Day. 23 Can We "Liberate" Iraq? As the war in Iraq turns ugly, the debate between R. W. Bradford and Alan Ebenstein gets down to the nits and grits. 26 Orwell's Economics For George Orwell, capitalism offered only poverty and exploitation, Robert Formaini discovers, while socialism ran the risk of turning totalitarian. No wonder Orwell was a pessimist. 29 Two Days on the Hana Coast The DEA agent came looking for drugs. What he found upset him, Michael Freitas recounts. 36 Liberty at Its Nadir At liberty's darkest hour, a handful of men and women were laying the foundations of the libertarian renaissance. Leonard Liggio was there, and tells it like it was, in this interview withJohn Blundell. Reviews 43 How to Be Poor Robert Watts Lamon examines what happens when a left-wing elitist tries to make it as a working stiff. 46 iGlobalismo, S(, Socialismo, No! Alan Ebenstein discovers that global capitalism benefits most the very people its critics claim it hurts. 47 My Enemy, My Ally Anthony Gregory investigates a startling claim that our Israeli allies knew that 9/11 was coming, but didn't tell us about it. 49 The Perversity of Jewish Anti-Capitalism Jews are known for their success in the free market, so why do so many embrace socialism? Richard Kostelanetz explores the conundrum. 51 Booknotes JoAnn Skousen, Stephen Cox, and Alan Bock look at the literary life of Ronald Reagan, the 1892 World's Fair, the trouble with Islam, the decline of English, and totalitarian art and architecture. 50 Notes on Contributors No, they're not figments of our imagination. 54 Terra Incognita Very interesting, but really not all that surprising. About [~============================Le======tt======er======s====================:::::] The Free State Is a Little Cold atonement for his own past - can Your I wish the Free State Project (May) hardly be described as "hubris." It is a and the people involved with it all the pious act of humility, albeit one that best, but I seriously doubt that I will be would prove to be hugely successful. joining them. New Hampshire certainly Adrian Day Subscription has its virtues, but I was disappointed Annapolis, Md. that other states weren't included in the Q: When does my subscription expire? poll. Finding Truth in the White Pages I don't know how the major A: Please look to the right ofyour I have despised snow even longer Libertarian candidates for president name on your mailing label. There than I have despised big government, you will find (except in some cases and every state in the selection process found out the truth about the Federal when receiving your first issue) the Reserve System ("From the editor," has an intolerable winter. If you think number ofissues left in your sub­ cutting taxes is tough, try changing the June), but the Cleveland, Ohio tele­ scription, followed by the word phone white pages (hardly a product of "left," as in "3 LEFT." weather. Later this year, I am embarking on the "fever swamps of the extreme Q: I've moved. Where do I send my my own personal Free State Project. I Right") lists the Federal Reserve Bank change ofaddress information? am moving to the lovely city of Austin, among private businesses, not the ever­ A: Liberty, P.O. Box 1181, Port Texas. Texas has some of the lowest growing list of government agencies. Townsend, WA 98368. Please taxes in the country and good laws on Why don't you check the phone books include your previous address (it's homeschooling, and I get much better for the other eleven cities which have best to send us your label from your weather along with it. It's also only branches of the Federal Reserve Bank? magazine) and telephone number. about 250 miles from Mexico. This Otherwise, I enjoy Liberty, except for Allow us six weeks to receive and your LP bashing. process your address notification. makes it possible to drop out of the American health-care system to some David Macko Q: I'm receiving duplicate copies; what extent. Solon, Ohio should I do? Chris Baker And God Slew Libertarianism A: Take a look at both mailing labels, Columbus, Ohio clip 'em out and send 'em to us. In recent years, I've come to the con­ We'll make sure that you receive all Libertarian Ecumenism clusion that libertarianism has turned the issues you've paid for. It is no doubt my friend Jo Ann into a lost cause. The libertarianism that I used to know was defined by Ayn Q: I think you've charged my credit Skousen's Mormon background that card incorrecdy; what can I do? prevents her from seeing the critical Rand. She recognized that organized religion and government were allies A: Call us at 800-854-6991 (during importance of the pain and suffering of with the same objective: to control the normal business hours on the West Christ (The Passion of Mel Gibson, May Coast) or email us at 2004). Of course, the resurrection is of masses through thought control and force. [email protected] supreme importance, and without that, the passion would have been meaning­ The common form of libertarianism We'll take down your information and that I see now is exemplified by then try to solve your problem as soon less. Andrew W. Jones' "America's War on as possible. In the Catholic tradition, undertak- .ing pain and suffering is by no means a Religion" (May). Theists have taken Q: Can I change my address on your denial of the worth of Christ's atone­ over the movement and corrupted it toll-free number, too? ment; it is an attempt to relieve some of into a religious cause to rescue their alli­ A: No. We must get your address cor­ the human suffering. Just as each sin ance. They were happy when the state rections in writing, either by U.S. adds just a little pain to Christ's suffer­ was doing their missionary work for mail or by email.