I Chose Liberty - Ludwig von Mises Institute

36 I Chose Liberty: Autobiographies of Contemporary Libertarians
Anyone who has the privilege of working with DiLorenzo will be pleased by his prolific
and high quality output—and his never-failing sense of humor.
Working and living in the national capital area provides wonderful lessons in absurdity,
banality, and inanity, and Tom and I exploited the craziness to the fullest. We also have
tried to use humor and ridicule in our work—some of what goes on is so ludicrous (just
sample the doings in the D.C. government, if you doubt my assertion) that it is impossible
to treat it seriously. Long ago, we abandoned the idea of preaching to the choir or trying
to convert the economics profession to some form of intelligent thinking. Rather, we have
tried to write for general audiences and students who have not yet developed vested interests
in the status quo. We know that we have made some progress, for we have made many
enemies. For example, several of our books were reviewed by the New York Times; all were
roundly trashed. Conclusion: We must be doing something right.
In the end, when all is said and done, I’m basically just a guy who got mugged by
reality, and Mises and Tullock explained to me what happened and why. If only others
would tread the same path.
James T. Bennett is an eminent scholar at George Mason University, holds the William P. Snavely
Chair of Political Economy and Public Policy in the department of economics, and is director of the
John M. Olin Institute for Employment Practice and Policy.
7
BRUCE L. BENSON
ANOTHER PATH TO LIBERTARIANISM
When Walter Block asked me to contribute my autobiography sketch to a collection
from people explaining how they came to be libertarians and/or Austrians, I replied that I
would read those that he had already received. Then, if it appeared that I could put something
together that might be interesting enough to fit, I would be happy to do so. I probably
cannot match the interesting stories he has gathered, but after reading them I was struck
by how different most paths to libertarianism appear to be than my own. Many contributors
describe early intellectual stimulation after reading Rand in high school or Rothbard
in college, and/or early interests in political/philosophical issues. My path was probably
more emotional than intellectual, at least initially. Early in my life I developed a strong