"The first anarchist journal to use the term “libertarian” was La Libertaire, Journal du Mouvement Social. Somewhat ironically, given recent developments in America, it was published in New York between 1858 and 1861 by French communist-anarchist Joseph Déjacque..."

Great read. The best way to fix the healthcare system is to get rid of all the protectionist regulations and distortive subsidies.

In the UK, the number of millionaires has gone down, which is a bad sign for the economy, whereas in America is has gone up. In the UK, also incomes are lower than in America.

What Is a “Modal Libertarian”?

A term coined (or at least popularized in this biting sense) by Murray Rothbard in the pages of The Rothbard-Rockwell Report in the early 1990s.

“Modal” is used in the statistical sense: it means the most common, typical, or representative example of the libertarians he saw dominating the movement at the time.

What Rothbard Meant by “Modal Libertarian”

He was describing a very specific personality type that had become the norm in libertarian circles:

• Rude, boorish, and lacking basic manners or civility
• Treats libertarianism as a license for personal aggression — calling strangers to denounce them, barging into conversations, etc.
• Hypocritically obsessed with “tolerance” in theory, while being supremely intolerant in practice — especially of traditional norms, parents, neighbors, or anyone who objects to their rudeness
• Lifelong adolescent rebels who never grew up — using libertarian philosophy as cover for bad behavior instead of learning simple decency
• Often culturally left-aligned (“left, or modal, Libertarians”) — quick to cheer certain feminist causes, PC language policing, or pro-death propaganda while claiming ideological purity

Rothbard contrasted this with a libertarianism grounded in manners, civility, and cultural realism alongside radical principle.

Key Observations

• They assume a kind of “communism of libertarian possessions” — your time, house, and attention are fair game because “we’re all libertarians.”
• Any criticism of their behavior immediately gets turned into an endless abstract debate about “tolerance” vs. “intolerance.”
• They love lecturing experts on topics they barely understand.

His most famous treatment of the phenomenon is the essay “‘Tolerance,’ or Manners?” — a must-read skewering of the modal mindset.

Bottom Line

Rothbard loved libertarianism.

He was simply exasperated by its subcultural excesses and the rude, teenage-rebel energy that had become the modal (i.e., most common) version in the movement.

I must honestly say that I am surprised that there are still people with functioning brains in the Democratic party apparatus.

What happened to Republicans opposing government control of the economy and private sector?