The Non-Existent Center: Disparaging Conservatives is No Substitute for Recognizing That Only the Right Takes Economic Libertarianism Seriously (Viewpoint Essay)

BRINK LINDSEY is both brilliant and sensible. That's part of why I admire his work so much. But I must say I find those qualities largely missing in his case for Liberaltarianism 2.0. Under Liberaltarianism 1.0, Lindsey endeavored to forge a new fusionism between liberals and libertarians. The old alliance between conservatives and libertarians was either ill-conceived from the outset or had reached the point of diminishing returns. An "honest survey of the past half-century shows a much better match between libertarian means and progressive ends;' he famously wrote in December 2006 in The New Republic (the magazine that should be blamed for the un-euphonious moniker "liberaltarian," which, alas, has stuck). Lindsey proposed "a refashioned liberalism that incorporate[s] key libertarian concerns and insights" and "make[s] possible a truly progressive politics once again."