At the blog of the U.S. Society for Intellectual History,
there is a symposium on my book, Burning Down
the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed (St
Martins, 2022), with comments by the distinguished historians Angus
Burgin and Claire
Rydell Arcenas, first presented at the S-USIH Conference in Denver in
November. I also have a short
response.
Burgin wonders why I focus on radical libertarianism, which “seem[s] increasingly marginal to present-day American political conversation.” Arcenas asks what academic historians should take away from my work. Burgin – and, elsewhere, Jennifer Burns – press me to explain why I don’t say more about neoliberalism, or about Milton Friedman. I answer them and explain why they ought to assign my book to their students.