Robert LeFevre
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Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) was a libertarian businessman and radio personality.
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[edit] Freedom School
In 1957, LeFevre founded the Freedom School, which he ran until 1968, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Freedom School was designed to educate people in LeFevre's philosophy about the meaning of freedom and free-market economic policy. LeFevre added Rampart College, an unaccredited four year school, in 1963. Both institutions shared the same campus, and had a press, The Pine Tree Press, which published works for both, including a newsletter for the Freedom School, the Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought (1965-68), and a tambloid for the Press itself.
After Rampart College's collapse, LeFevre carried on his work in South Carolina under the patronage of business giant Roger Milliken.
Notable teachers at the Freedom School or Rampart College include Rose Wilder Lane, Milton Friedman, F.A. Harper, Frank Chodorov, Leonard Read, Gordon Tullock, G. Warren Nutter, Bruno Leoni, James J. Martin, and Ludwig von Mises.
Notable graduates include Roy Childs, Fred and Charles Koch, and Roger MacBride.
[edit] Views
LeFevre believed that natural law is above the law of the state and that for American society to prosper economically, free-market reforms were essential. He also believed that bestowing the good deeds of society on its government was no different from rewarding criminals for abstaining from illegal activity. All government consists of customs and institutions that control our lives by stealing our property, restricting our freedom, and endangering our lives with the rationale of protecting us from ourselves.
[edit] Influence on libertarian movement
LeFevre was influential in the early libertarian movement, but differed from modern libertarians on two counts. Most libertarians hold to a non-aggression principle in which the initiation of force or fraud is considered morally wrong, but that the use of force in defense when it is initiated by somebody else is acceptable. LeFevre went further and took a pacifist stance, believing that any use of force is morally wrong. The other point concerns the matter of voting and political parties. While most libertarians believe these are acceptable, and indeed many are organized into the Libertarian Party, LeFevre believed voting itself was an act of aggression and opposed participation in electoral politics.
LeFevre favored the abolition of the state but used the term "autarchism" (self government) to describe his politics, to distinguish it from anarchism. In part this was because of the association of anarchism in the public eye with violence, but LeFevre did not consider himself an anarchist, and in his "LeFevre Commentaries" bluntly stated that he was not an anarchist.
[edit] In popular culture
Robert LeFevre's movement was a basis for Robert A. Heinlein's book The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. LeFevre was the basis for the character Professor Bernardo de la Paz, organizer of the Lunar revolution.
[edit] Bibliography
- Anarchy (1959)
- A Way to Be Free (1999) (posthumously) (autobiography) ISBN 1-58445-144-0
- The Fundamentals of Liberty (1988) (posthumously) ISBN 0-9620480-0-3
- The Nature of Man and His Government (1959) ISBN 0-87004-086-3
- This Bread is Mine (1960)
[edit] Quotes
- "An anarchist is anyone who believes in less government than you do."
- "If men are good, you don't need government; if men are evil or ambivalent, you don't dare have one."
- "Government is a disease masquerading as its own cure."
- "A limited government is a contradiction in terms."
[edit] External links
- LeFevre on principles
- LeFevre on freedom
- LeFevre on the genesis of property
- LeFevre on the morality of ownership
- LeFevre on the community and private property
- LeFevre on Capitalism
- LeFevre on the American Revolution
- LeFevre on money
Note that the website hosting the above essays, F.A.E.M. (First Amendment Exercise Machine), contains other articles with many controversial remarks that may be offensive. These are unrelated to the beliefs of Robert LeFevre.
- LeFevre's essay, "Who Was the Original Aunt Jemima and What Did She Do?"
- LeFevre's essay, "The Nature of Man and His Government" (1959)
- LeFevre articles on The Voluntaryist website. The Voluntaryist is a newsletter devoted to LeFevre's views of libertarianism.
- Audio archive of 50 LeFevre commentaries hosted by the Ludwig von Mises Institute. These commentaries have made their mark in the history of libertarian ideas for their clarity, eloquence, and pedogogical value. Drawing on great thoughts from all ages, and specifically influenced by Rothbardian political economy, Robert LeFevre asks and answers fundamental questions about the relationship between man, property, society, and the state.
- Robert LeFevre Commentary Abstracts. A series of written summaries being developed of each of LeFevre's audio commmentaries, archived above by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, with links into each appropriate audio archive.
