Re Stephen Carson's post about the Institutes Mises and Cato: In Roderick Long's post, Long--whom I greatly admire and like--tries to play conciliator. I agree with him that both Institutes have spread the libertarian message.
But I disagree with his equating smears of the Mises Instituters as being anti-semitic, racist, etc. with the simple criticism of Cato for cozying up to DC statists. For one, there is little disagreement among libertarians that, say, Giuliani or Cheney are indeed non-libertarian statists. Whether it makes strategic sense or not to "cozy up" to them is a different question, but it's hard to deny that these men are indeed mainstream, pro-big-government, non-libertarian Beltway establishment types.
By contrast, it is simply untrue--and at the very least least controversial and debatable--as well as vastly more harmful, hateful, and dangerous, to imply, say, that Joe Sobran is anti-semitic. Foaming at the mouth that someone is anti-semitic and homophobic is obviously not in the same league as truthfully pointing out the clearly non-libertarian credentials of honored guests of a libertarian organization (or would any libertarian seriously argue Dick Cheney is libertarian?). Especially when these wild-eyed charges are ridiculous and false. Hurling charges of antisemitism and bigotry at a group of people that explicitly disavow this, and among whom travel many Jews and other diverse people, is despicable, wild-eyed, and pathetic.
Long also writes: "But I do think each side has been, in its own way, a powerful force for libertarian education..." I doubt many Mises Instituters would deny this is true about Cato. But you won't get such an admission from Catoites.
I think Long is wrong to imply the treatment has been symmetrical. In fact, it is not. And while his comments will certainly cause him no problem with the Mises crowd, I would not be so sure this is true of the other side--for by their lights, Long is consorting with theocratic homophobic antisemites and thus Randianly "sanctioning" it. Don't sanction the sanctioners! and all that.
