Mises Wire

Interview with Rothbard: 1972

Interview with Rothbard: 1972

Q: Your newsletter, LIBERTARIAN FORUM, was co-edited by Karl Hess. He has since departed. What ideological differences led to this Split?

A: I made a very tangential attack on the Black Panthers. He got very upset about this. He thought, one, it was a terrible thing to attack the Panthers, and two, since his name was on the masthead, the Panthers might think he was a part of the party which was attacking them. He felt at that time that it was very important to work with the Panthers.

I consider the Panthers a bunch of hooligans and I don't see any reason for supporting them - either in regard to whatever criminal activities they participate in or their free breakfast program. You know the Salvation Army has been giving away breakfast for many years, and I don't see anything particularly revolutionary in that. At any rate, at that time he was very committed to the Panthers and that was really the split.

Read the full interview in this previously rare copy in pdf and also in HTML.

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