Building an “Expanding Intellectual Community”: Reason Magazine and Modern Libertarianism, 1968–80

One of the most important publications for purveying libertarian ideas into American life in recent times has been Reason magazine, a “think magazine” that is continually ranked as one of the world’s best by the Chicago Tribune. Reason was founded in 1969 by a countercultural activist, before it was bought by three libertarians—Robert Poole, Jr., Tibor Machan, and Manuel Klausner—and turned into a viable business venture and publication. From the outset, the editors of Reason wanted to spread libertarian ideas among people who might not be part of the libertarian “movement,” but “an expanding intellectual community.” The editors deliberately distanced Reason from the nascent Libertarian Party (founded in 1971) and other movement institutions, so that the magazine would hold a similar role within modern libertarianism as National Review had within conservatism. Reason has since developed an edgy, contrarian style of journalism and published the full gamut of libertarian views, from anti-institutionalism to futurism to hard money advocacy. This leads us to the historical question: how did Reason help to cultivate a libertarian intellectual culture that contains both rigid, libertarian dogma and a considerable diversity of opinion that is acceptable to a wide audience of Americans? Examining the history of Reason magazine provides us with insight into the ways that libertarian ideas and philosophy have found purchase with a variety of audiences and traveled into many different realms of American life.