The Libertarian Party’s First Decade

Nolan, Ernsberger, Childs, and Poole discuss the achievements and strategy of the Libertarian Party on the 10th anniversary of its founding.

David Nolan

David Nolan was one of the founders of the Libertarian Party, and was also the inventor of the Nolan chart, which separates issues of economic and social freedom by representing them on a multidimensional plane, with libertarianism at the top (representing the philosophy espousing the highest degree of both social and economic freedoms). He passed away in 2010.

Don Ernsberger

Don Ernsberger is the co-​founder of the Society for Individual Liberty and was also heavily involved in the creation and philosophical guidance of the Libertarian Party as a member of its National Committee in the 70s and 80s.

Robert Poole

Robert Poole is one of the founders of the Reason Foundation (which publishes Reason Magazine), and served as its president and CEO from 1978 to 2000. He is currently director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation and frequently writes about issues related to privatization.

Roy A. Childs, Jr.

Roy A. Childs, Jr., was an essayist, lecturer, and critic. He first came to prominence in the libertarian movement with his 1969 “Open Letter to Ayn Rand,” and he quickly established himself as a major thinker within the libertarian tradition. Childs edited Libertarian Review from 1977 to 1981 and was a Cato Institute scholar from 1982 to 1984. He wrote and edited hundreds of book reviews for Laissez Faire Books from 1984 until his death in 1992. Some of his essays were collected in Liberty against Power, published by Fox & Wilkes.

David Nolan was one of the founders of the Libertarian Party, and was also the inventor of the Nolan chart, which separates issues of economic and social freedom by representing them on a multidimensional plane, with libertarianism at the top (representing the philosophy espousing the highest degree of both social and economic freedoms). He passed away in 2010.

Don Ernsberger is the co-​founder of the Society for Individual Liberty and was also heavily involved in the creation and philosophical guidance of the Libertarian Party as a member of its National Committee in the 70s and 80s.

Roy A. Childs, Jr. was an essayist, lecturer, and critic. He first came to prominence in the libertarian movement with his 1969 “Open Letter to Ayn Rand,” and he quickly established himself as a major thinker within the libertarian tradition. He passed away in 1992.

Robert Poole is one of the founders of the Reason Foundation (which publishes Reason Magazine), and served as its president and CEO from 1978 to 2000. He is currently director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation and frequently writes about issues related to privatization.

In this video, Nolan, Ernsberger, Childs, and Poole discuss the achievements and strategy of the Libertarian Party on the 10th anniversary of its founding. They also talk about the 1980 Clark/​Koch campaign, to date the most successful Libertarian Party presidential campaign with 1.06% of the popular vote, and the subsequent election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency.