Matt Lewis of The Daily Beast writes, “It seems observably true that libertarianism is disproportionately a gateway drug to the alt-right.”
To say the libertarian movement is a “gateway drug” is to say more than that some prominent members of the alt-right once called themselves libertarians, notes Sheldon Richman. It’s also to say that alt-rightism provides a purer form of what those members had found in libertarianism (aka classical liberalism, or simply liberalism).
A good measure of ignorance of liberalism is required to entertain this thought, argues Richman. Libertarianism is a more formal version of (classical) liberalism, the social philosophy that blossomed in the 18th century but had roots in previous ages. Those who migrate from the libertarian movement to the alt-right have rejected the essence of liberalism and its philosophy. They are certainly not looking for a purer version of it.
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