R. W. Bradford

William (R.W.) Bradford was the founder and editor of Liberty magazine, one of the preeminent publications in the libertarian movement. ... Bradford called himself a libertarian since 1963, when he was 'infected by the libertarian virus' after reading a copy of the New Individualist Review, according to an account he wrote in Liberty (September 1992). In 1965, Bradford encountered the writings of novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand; in 1966, he was part of the libertarian faction that split from Young Americans for Freedom; and in the early 1970s, he was involved in the founding of the Libertarian Party.

The editors of Liberty are a diverse lot ... [T]wo of us (Bradford and Casey) are entrepreneurs and financial advisory writers ... [T]wo of us (Cox and Bradford) have supported the LP since its inception but only recently joined the party ... [T]hree of us (Cox, Overbeek and Bradford) are Classical Liberals more or less in the utilitarian tradition ... But all of us agree on two points: 1) We believe that the role of government in people's lives should be radically reduced or eliminated altogether ... 2) We believe that libertarians need an "inreach" journal—a periodical in which to sort out their differences, share their experiences, etc.

The first issue of Liberty was published on July 5, 1987. The tiny staff of the new periodical, consisting of Steve Cox, Timothy Virkkala, Kathy Bradford, and me (Bill Bradford), spent over a month editing and laying out the issue. But the business of launching Liberty took far longer and involved far more work ... Writers whose work has appeared in Liberty constitute a virtual "Who's Who" of the libertarian movement ... Above all, we have striven to maintain the highest editorial quality, still holding as our highest goal the publication of good writing that "interests the intelligent, thoughtful libertarian."

On June 14, Natalie Fisher went to Peter McWilliams' home, where she worked as housekeeper to the wheelchair-bound victim of AIDS and cancer. In the bathroom on the second floor, she found his life-less body. He had choked to death on his own vomit ... Rather than belabor his tragic death, Liberty will celebrate his life by publishing for the first time the full text of his address to the Libertarian Party National Convention in 1998. It's vintage Peter McWilliams: funny, wise, charming, intelligent, full of piss and vinegar. I invite you to read and enjoy it ...

If by "libertarian," we mean a person who favors radically reducing the power of government, then it is safe to say that libertarians are vastly more influential and prominent in New Zealand than in the United States. New Zealand has two different libertarian political parties ...
[W]hether it would be possible for the Libertarianz and ACT factions to cease their hostilities I am not sure. The Libertarianz are committed to a much more radical agenda than is ACT. For Roger Douglas, politics has always been the art of the possible, and ACT reflects this more incrementalist approach.

Over the past two years, a lot of Liberty's ink has been devoted to arguing that participation in the political process is immoral ... John Pugsley offered an eight-page argument against voting in general and Harry Browne's ... campaign in particular ... Wendy McElroy presented a more concise argument against voting, which she emphatically restated in "Why I Would Not Vote Against Hitler" ... There are many roads that lead to a freer world. Some of us prefer one over another. Some of us progress further along some roads than we would by following others. But it behooves us to remember that the road we choose is not the only road.

Does the world really need another libertarian magazine? There already exists a variety of libertarian periodicals, ranging from local newsletters to national magazines, from personal "zines" to scholarly journals. Given the limited resources ..., the number of libertarian publications is impressive ... [A]ll of us agree on two points: 1) We believe that the role of government in people's lives should be radically reduced or eliminated altogether (thus we are libertarians); 2) We believe that libertarians need an "inreach" journal—a periodical in which to sort out their differences, share their experiences, etc.

Liberty: Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where'd you come from? What sort of education did you get?
Badnarik: I grew up in Hammond, Ind., just outside Chicago. I went to Indiana University, where I ... majored in chemistry. I got a job at a nuclear plant in Zion, Ill. ...
Liberty: ... [Y]ou're trying to take care of that IRS problem.
Badnarik: Well, the IRS wants money. They don't necessarily want me in jail, they just want compliance. I intend to start paying them the money ... [O]nce I'm finished with the election after November, I will pick up my battle with the IRS again.