''Liberty'' is a

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

journal, founded in 1987 by R. W. Bradford (who was the magazine's publisher and editor until he died from cancer in 2005) in

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition to ...

, and then edited from San Diego by Stephen Cox. Unlike ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

'', which is printed on glossy paper and has full-color photographs, ''Liberty'' was printed on uncoated paper stock and had line drawing cartoons by S. H. (Scott) Chambers and Rex F. "Baloo" May, no photographs except for advertisements, and only one extra color (blue), which was limited to the cover and occasionally a few ads. Beginning in November 2010, the magazine transitioned to an online-only format.

History

Bradford had planned the launch of ''Liberty'' for several years during the 1980s, waiting, in part, for the development of

desktop publishing Desktop publishing (DTP) is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal ("desktop") computer. It was first used almost exclusively for print publications, but now it also assists in the creation of various forms of online c ...

software to make the endeavor cost-effective for a short-run periodical. The magazine achieved Bradford's target circulation by the end of the first year of publication. Starting it as an arm of his private publishing business, he turned the magazine over to a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit corporation (under his control) in 1993. Until late 1998, ''Liberty'' published bimonthly. In 1999, it moved from a bimonthly to a monthly publication schedule. Beginning in 2008, the print version was published eleven times a year, with one issue being a "double issue." Beginning in November 2010, the magazine transitioned to an online-only format that does not arrange content into separate monthly or bimonthly issues. The magazine's list of editors at start-up included

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian ...

;

Karl Hess Karl Hess (born Carl Hess III; May 25, 1923 – April 22, 1994) was an American speechwriter and author. He was also a political philosopher, editor, welder, motorcycle racer, tax resister, and libertarian activist. His career included stints on ...

joined soon after. Both wrote for the magazine and both were featured prominently in subscription advertising. Rothbard left the masthead in 1990, following his break with the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

and his public move towards

paleolibertarianism Paleolibertarianism (also known as the "Paleo strategy") is a libertarian political activism strategy aimed at uniting libertarians and paleoconservatives. It was developed by American anarcho-capitalist theorists Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockwe ...

; Hess stayed with the magazine until his death. From the beginning, ''Liberty'' gave extensive coverage to the history of the libertarian movement, repeatedly focusing on the biography and legacy of

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

. The magazine offered the first printing of Rothbard's pamphlet ''The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult'' as its first subscription bonus. John Hospers's two-part series "Talking With Ayn Rand" was among the magazine's notable early publishing coups. Characteristically, Bradford juxtaposed scholarly, intellectual writing from philosophers such as

Loren Lomasky Loren E. Lomasky is an American philosopher, formerly the Cory Professor of Political Philosophy, Policy and Law at the University of Virginia. Biography Lomasky earned his PhD from the University of Connecticut, and has previously taught at Bo ...

and

Jan Narveson Jan Narveson (; born 1936) is professor of philosophy emeritus at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. An anarcho-capitalist and contractarian, Narveson's ideology is deeply influenced by the thought of Robert Nozick and Da ...

and economists such as

Mark Skousen Mark Andrew Skousen (; born October 19, 1947) is an American economist and writer. He currently teaches at Chapman University, where he is a Presidential Fellow at The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics. He has previously taug ...

, Doug Casey,

Leland Yeager Leland Bennett Yeager (; October 4, 1924 – April 23, 2018) was an American economist dealing with monetary policy and international trade. Biography Yeager graduated from Oberlin College in 1948 with an A.B. and was granted an M.A. from Columb ...

, and David Friedman, with work by young, virtually unknown amateur writers. With few exceptions, the magazine does not pay writers for their contributions.

Contributors and editors

Regular contributors include: :

David Kopel David B. Kopel (born January 7, 1960) is an American author, attorney, gun rights advocate, and contributing editor to several publications. As of August 2021, he is research director of the Independence Institute, associate policy analyst at ...

, research director for the

Independence Institute The Independence Institute (II) is a libertarian think tank based in Denver, Colorado. The group's stated mission "is to empower individuals and to educate citizens, legislators and opinion makers about public policies that enhance personal and ...

Wendy McElroy Wendy McElroy (born 1951) is a Canadian individualist feminist and voluntaryist writer. She was a co-founder along with Carl Watner and George H. Smith of ''The Voluntaryist'' magazine in 1982 and is the author of a number of books. McElroy ...

, editor of the Individualist Feminist :William E. Merritt, senior fellow of the

Burr Institute Burr may refer to: Places *Burr (crater), on the Jovian moon Callisto * Burr, Minnesota, an unincorporated community, United States *Burr, Missouri, an unincorporated community, United States * Burr, Nebraska, a village, United States *Burr, Sas ...

Bruce Ramsey Bruce Ramsey is an American journalist and editorial writer for the ''Seattle Times'', as well as contributing editor to ''Liberty'' magazine. Personal Ramsey is a native to Seattle and grew up in Edmonds. He obtained his degree from the Universi ...

, journalist :Timothy Sandefur, College of Public Interest Law fellow at the

Pacific Legal Foundation Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is a libertarian public interest law firm in the United States.Zumbrun, Ronald A. (2004). "Life, Liberty, and Property Rights," in ''Bringing Justice to the People: The Story of the Freedom-Based Public Interest La ...

: Jane S. Shaw, President of the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy : Tim Slagle, stand-up comedian :

David Weigel David Weigel (born September 26, 1981) is an American journalist. He works for ''Semafor''. Weigel previously covered politics for ''The Washington Post,'' ''Slate,'' and ''Bloomberg Politics'' and is a contributing editor for ''Reason'' magaz ...

, journalist for ''Reason'', ''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

'' and ''

Campaigns and Elections ''Campaigns & Elections'' is a trade magazine covering political campaigns, focused on tools, tactics, and techniques of the political consulting profession. The magazine was founded by Stanley Foster Reed in 1980. It is headquartered in Arlingto ...

'' :

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and Sociology, sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberali ...

distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

Contributing editors include: :

David Boaz David Boaz (; born August 29, 1953, Mayfield, Kentucky) is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank. He is the author of ''Libertarianism: A Primer'', published in 1997 by the Free Press and described ...

: Alan W. Bock :

Gene Healy Gene Healy (born November 16, 1970) is an American political pundit, journalist and editor. He serves as Vice President at the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, as well as a contributing editor to ''Liberty'' magazine. Education Healy h ...

Bart Kosko Bart Andrew Kosko (born February 7, 1960) is a writer and professor of electrical engineering and law at the University of Southern California (USC). He is a researcher and popularizer of fuzzy logic, neural networks, and noise, and author of sev ...

Richard Kostelanetz Richard Cory Kostelanetz (born May 14, 1940) is an American artist, author, and critic. Birth and Education Kostelanetz was born to Boris Kostelanetz and Ethel Cory and is the nephew of the conductor Andre Kostelanetz. He has a B.A. (1962) from ...

: Durk Pearson : Sandy Shaw

Departments

:Reflections: short, often

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

articles :Terra Incognita: strange world news

References

External links

''Liberty''
official site
Memoir
of working for ''Liberty'', by former managing editor Wirkman Virkkala {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty (libertarian magazine) Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Defunct political magazines published in the United States Libertarianism in the United States Libertarian magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1987 Magazines disestablished in 2010 Magazines published in Washington (state) Monthly magazines published in the United States Online magazines with defunct print editions Online magazines published in the United States