The Atlantic

Moderation in Defense of Liberty Is No Vice

To succeed in the long run, libertarians must think harder about people who are uncomfortable with difference, diversity, and dynamism.
Source: Kyle Grillot / Reuters

This essay is adapted from a contribution to a special online forum organized by the Cato Institute in honor of the 40th anniversary of its founding.

Conserving hard won liberties and advancing toward a freer society would be easy if everyone wanted to “live and let live” among a wide variety of people, or if the humans who want to suppress, disparage, or punish difference could be educated or acculturated into rejecting coercion. But what if those necessary tools are not sufficient?

So suggests Karen Stenner in , where she warns of the dangers

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic4 min read
Hayao Miyazaki’s Anti-war Fantasia
Once, in a windowless conference room, I got into an argument with a minor Japanese-government official about Hayao Miyazaki. This was in 2017, three years after the director had announced his latest retirement from filmmaking. His final project was
The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Most Consequential Recent First Lady
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The most consequential first lady of modern times was Melania Trump. I know, I know. We are supposed to believe it was Hillary Clinton, with her unbaked cookies
The Atlantic4 min read
KitchenAid Did It Right 87 Years Ago
My KitchenAid stand mixer is older than I am. My dad bought the white-enameled machine 35 years ago, during a brief first marriage. The bits of batter crusted into its cracks could be from the pasta I made yesterday or from the bread he made then. I

Related Books & Audiobooks