I Chose Liberty - Ludwig von Mises Institute

50 I Chose Liberty: Autobiographies of Contemporary Libertarians
One benefit of campaigning as a libertarian is all the great people one meets. For
example, Lew Rockwell invited me to speak at Auburn University, and I think it was there
that I first met him. Later, Lew, Murray, and Burt Blumert were all on the LP National
Committee, as were I and my wife, Sharon Ayres. That led to some excellent socializing
along with doing the Party business. Truth to tell, Murray was a rather quiet person on the
National Committee. He was not temperamentally suited to the spontaneous debate format
of such bodies. But, he would quietly get his ducks in a row and line up support, usually
from Bill Evers, and then come out on the winning side once the dust settled.
In 1988, Ron Paul was the LP presidential candidate, with Lew running his campaign
and Murray, Burt, and others playing major roles. I thought it was an excellent campaign,
particularly because of Ron’s moral persona and his extensive knowledge of the money and
banking issues. But, as you know, Ron went back to being a Republican Congressman.
And in 1989, Murray, Lew, and Burt left the LP to devote their time to such things as the
Rothbard-Rockwell Report and the Mises Institute. A few brickbats were exchanged after
the parting. But, as anyone who knows Murray, Lew, and Burt might expect, they were
successful, and the movement has benefited by their choices and efforts.
One more story about what I did in the war. In the early nineties I was teaching at
Western State University College of Law in Irvine, California. There was no course in
jurisprudence, so I persuaded the Dean to allow me to create a seminar for senior students.
Since there was no available text, I selected all the readings. We opened with an onslaught
on the concept of the state with a selection from Oppenheimer’s The State, followed by
Rothbard’s Conceived in Liberty, the section where he describes the period in Pennsylvania
when there was no government.
Later on, when learning about natural law, the students enjoyed relevant material from
Hayek’s Law, Liberty and Legislation. The course covered the history of prevailing jurisprudence
from natural law, natural rights (the basis of the Declaration and Constitution),
positivism, law and economics, and some of the more recent silliness: critical legal studies,
black legal studies, and gender based jurisprudence. Most gratifying was the response from
the students at the end of the course. Some said it was what they expected from law school
and wished they’d had it in the first year. I also asked them which theory they found most
satisfying and useful. To one they answered: natural rights. Damn, that felt good. In the
great, unending battle for liberty, it was a minor skirmish that ended with a win for the
good guys.
At the 2002 LP National Convention in Indianapolis, I was on a panel of old-timers
(John Hospers, Tonie Nathan, Ed Clark, and me) who were there to recount stories from
the earlier days of the Party; giving the newcomers some institutional history. During my
presentation, I took the opportunity to give thanks to some no longer with us. I was grateful
to be able to fill these new libertarians in on the profound and lasting effects of Murray
Rothbard’s contributions to the Party and the movement. He will be remembered.
David Bergland lives in Costa Mesa, California, with wife Sharon Ayres. Retired from the active
practice of law and was the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate in 1984.