Tho Bishop: The Alt-Right in Auburn

The Mises Institute's hometown of Auburn, Alabama made national news this week as Richard Spencer was allowed to speak on the university's campus following a court ruling. The event was a win for free speech, but also revealed Spencer's affinity for socialism and the state. Instead of being a dangerous "thought criminal", is Richard Spencer really just a naïve statist? Of course, the best way to win in the battle of ideas is not to simply ignore or censor those you disagree with, and there is no need for libertarians to run from topics such as nation and culture. As demonstrated by scholars such as Mises, Rothbard, and Hoppe, these ideas are in no way at odds with liberty and individualism, and are best preserved by decentralizing power and grounding society in a respect for private property rights.