Libertarianism and Religion: 8 Questions for ‘Reason’ Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward

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Katherine Mangu-Ward is editor-in-chief of Reason, a libertarian political magazine of "free minds and free markets." An atheist, she earned a B.A. in philosophy and political science from Yale University and started at Reason as an intern in 2000 before serving as managing editor and becoming editor-in-chief earlier this summer. Her cover stories for the print magazine have included a defense of plastic bags, an argument against voting and a “welcome to our new robot overlords.”

Ms. Mangu-Ward has also worked at The Weekly Standard and The New York Times. She is a Future Tense Fellow at New America, a Washington think tank that emphasizes issues of the digital age. On July 5, I interviewed Ms. Mangu-Ward by email about libertarianism and religion.

Sean Salai, S.J. | Aug 10 2016 - 9:00am
Sean Salai, S.J., is a contributing writer at America.

You are the new editor of Reason, a monthly print magazine for political libertarians. What does libertarianism mean to you and why should ordinary Americans care about it?

I’d like to think Reason is a magazine for everyone—not just people who identify as libertarians! We’re staring down the barrel of an election season where both major party candidates are wildly unpopular and rather authoritarian, so libertarianism has become an even more relevant and appealing alternative than usual. The idea that we should let people make their own choices wherever possible—rather than letting the government make those choices for them—appeals to people across the spectrum. In general, people who are afraid “their team” is going to spend the next four or eight years out of power tend to be the most receptive to the idea of limited government.

What would you say to critics who dismiss libertarianism as a fringe ideology that does not represent most Americans?

Libertarian principles are built into the American experiment. Ideas of self-determination, religious toleration, skepticism about overweening government and economic freedom are very libertarian, and also very American. And with Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson—an experienced governor from a purple state—pulling 8 percent to 10 percent in several national polls recently, I’d say more Americans than ever are willing to flirt with the label, too.

http://americamagazine.org/content/all-things/libertarianism-and-religion-8-questions-reason-editor-katherine-mangu-ward

"Free Minds and Free Markets"
http://reason.com/

[struggle4progress]

1. The problem with the libertarians is not really any specific libertarian policy proposal

but their inflexibly ideological stance, which answers all questions according to one single slogan

This endows libertarians with the lights-are-on-but-nobody-is-home aura seen in all cultists

The underlying problem is multiform

First, it is too easy to forget the seductive quality of abstractions that actually reference nothing: tautologies themselves have limited usefulness, precisely because they are supposedly always true -- which means they signify nothing in particular. Accurate scientific thought, on the other hand, always involves specific phenomena

Second, 'pure ideals' are rather rare, because self-interest often garbs true motives behind high-sounding blather. The ideal 'freedom' -- as promoted by libertarians -- is, in practice, tied to specific material interest groups and does not actually translate into the alleged opportunity-for-all that libertarians claim it does. If not all libertarians are cynically dishonest in their analysis, it is still clear enough that some are deliberately dishonest

Third, no practical ethics can result without the realization that an ethical life involves multiple 'ideals' which are not always a simple matter of applying-a-formula -- and which rather frequently can conflict with one another. It is a form of ethical laziness to hope for a one-fits-all solution to the dilemmas of daily life and actually dangerous to believe not only that there is a one-fits-all solution but further that the purported solution will somehow work by some automatonistic magic

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2. They're also confused as to where the line is between personal autonomy and reality.

[struggle4progress]

3. Yes: 'I got here by myself' is a fantasy in any society -- and especially in a technological world