Raymond William "Bill" Bradford (September 20, 1947 – December 8, 2005), who used R. W. Bradford as his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

, was an American writer chiefly known for editing, publishing, and writing for the

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

magazine ''

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

''.

Early life

Bradford was born on September 20, 1947, in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. He was the son of Raymond Bradford and Eleanor Ritter Bradford. He edited his first periodical, a short-lived

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator or stencil machine) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a co ...

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

called ''Eleutherian Forum'', while a teenager. During the 1970s he developed a prosperous precious metals and numismatic business in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, Liberty Coin Service. He partially retired in 1980, moving to

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 ...

, with his wife.

''Liberty'' magazine

For ''Liberty'', which he started in 1987, he wrote under his own name as well as several pseudonyms: as "Chester Alan Arthur" he engaged in political reportage and commentary, and as "Ethan O. Waters" he wrote deliberately provocative philosophical criticism and essays. ("Ethan O. Waters" was an anagram for "Owen Hatteras", a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

used by

H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

, a writer and editor much admired by Bradford. Some of the "Waters" essays were written in collaboration with Timothy Virkkala.) Bradford was a

consequentialist In moral philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for judgement about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from ...

who favored a pragmatic approach to libertarian

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, grounding his

limited government In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal ...

beliefs in a view of individual rights as

social construct A social construct is any category or thing that is made real by convention or collective agreement. Socially constructed realities are contrasted with natural kinds, which exist independently of human behavior or beliefs. Simple examples of s ...

s, rather than a result of

natural law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...

. This approach differentiated Bradford from many other libertarian writers, as well as

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...

. Bradford, however, was extremely tolerant of differences of opinion, and often published articles and essays by those with whom he disagreed; despite being against the war machine and opposed to the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, Bradford published articles written by proponents of the war. After Bradford's death, ''Liberty'' was edited by Stephen Cox, first as a magazine and then as a website. In later years, Bradford was noted for his published criticisms of the Libertarian Party, whom he viewed as excessively didactic and electorally ineffective. He also reported on what he viewed as financial mismanagement and cronyism by Libertarian Party officials. In 1999, Bradford was a founding coeditor of ''

The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies ''The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies'' (JARS) was an academic journal devoted to studying "Rand and her times". Established in 1999, its founding co-editors were R. W. Bradford, Stephen D. Cox, and Chris Matthew Sciabarra. Since 2013, the journal had ...

'', along with Stephen Cox and Chris Matthew Sciabarra.

Death

He died of

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...

on December 8, 2005, in

, aged 58.

References

External links

Official site of ''Liberty'' magazine

Article on libertarianism by R. W. Bradford
Liberty Coin Service
*
Reflection
on working with Bradford, by Brian Doherty
Memoir
of Bradford, by Jesse Walker
Memoir
of Bradford and ''Liberty'', by Timothy Virkkala

on "Bill Bradford, Ayn Rand, and Coney Island", by Chris Matthew Sciabarra {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, R. W. 1947 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American libertarians American magazine editors American male non-fiction writers American political writers Consequentialists Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Deaths from kidney cancer in the United States Writers from Detroit Writers from Port Townsend, Washington