Inside Ronald Reagan

A Reason Interview

Manuel Klausner from the July 1975 issue

(Page 7 of 7)

REASON: What about in the last 10 years?

REAGAN: I disagreed with it, and I’ll tell you why: I believe Lenin also on that. Lenin said that he would force the capitalist nations to maintain military conscription until the uniform became a symbol of servitude rather than patriotism.

REASON: Governor, what about the United Nations? Are you in favor of the United States withdrawing from the UN?

REAGAN: Well, I am in favor of certainly a different policy than we’ve had. I think the United States should have taken a very drastic action; perhaps it should have staged a walk-out at the time of the recognition of Red China. I think that the United Nations today is virtually impotent when you stop to think that countries representing two-thirds of the votes of the United Nations represent less than 10 percent of the world population. It’s a funny thing that everybody who wants one man-one vote doesn’t hold it true for the United Nations!

REASON: Governor if the Republicans were to nominate a candidate that was unacceptable to you in 1976, could you support a Libertarian third party candidate?

REAGAN: I have to wait and see what you’re doing and what you are standing for.

REASON: Are there any particular books or authors or economists that have been influential in terms of your intellectual development?

REAGAN: Oh, it would be hard for me to pinpoint anything in that category. I’m an inveterate reader. Bastiat and von Mises, and Hayek and Hazlitt–I’m one for the classical economists....

REASON: What about Rand or Rothbard?

REAGAN: No. I haven’t read Ayn Rand since The Fountainhead. I haven’t read Atlas Shrugged. The last few years, I must say, have been a little rough on me for doing that kind of reading–for eight years I found that when I finished reading the memorandums and reports and so forth, then I found myself digging into nonfiction, economists and so forth, for help on the problems that were confronting me.

REASON: As far as problems confronting us, a quick response if you could, Governor: the pro and con assessment of Jerry Brown. How do you think he’s doing so far?

REAGAN: Well, he is an enigma. I am overjoyed, of course, at his budget approach. And I just assume that that probably stems from his Jesuit training– that that has him thinking in terms of property and economy. I think he’s going to find that some of his own appointees are not sympathetic to his budgetary approach. They’ve got their own constituencies and pretty soon they’re going to be wanting to do things for those constituents and that’s going to call for spending and then he’s going to find that he might be battling the legislature on one side and his own appointees on the other.

REASON: Governor, you’ve taken a lot of time out of your busy schedule and we appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Page: ‹ First < 5 67

Reason needs your support. Please donate today!

Try Reason's award-winning print edition today! Your first issue is FREE if you are not completely satisfied.

Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment or disable your ability to comment for any reason at any time.

Pingback| 10.7.09 @ 7:36AM

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Pinkerton Redefines Conservatism links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…I am doing the very best I can." Robert Poole, one of the early editors of Reason magazine, has called Goldwater “20th-century America's first libertarian politician.” And as for Ronald Reagan, he himself declared that, “If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism… The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more…

Pingback| 10.7.09 @ 4:48PM

My Kids Deserve Better | My Kids Deserve Better links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…very best I can.” Robert Poole, one of the early editors of Reason magazine, has called Goldwater â20th-century America’s first libertarian politician.â And as for Ronald Reagan, he himself declared that, âIf you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianismâ¦ The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more…

Pingback| 10.10.09 @ 12:54PM

Modlitba s médii, 10.10.2009 « Bolkův blog links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…aby si Cameronův projev prostudoval sám a aby se případně podíval i na první část knihy Život jednoho Američana od Ronalda Reagana, která mi skutečně mnoho dala. Přidávám také odkaz na zajímavý rozhovor s Ronaldem Reaganem. Média často přináší různé zprávy o kriminalitě, ale také o úspěších v boji proti ní. A tak jsme se mohli dozvědět, že policie dopadla gang zlodějů železničních modelů, britské námořnictvo zadrželo…

|10.25.09 @ 11:01PM|#

I like Reagan, but I wonder sometimes how different and how better the world might be had he read Atlas Shrugged. Oh if only!

|11.2.09 @ 7:11PM|#

I have a feeling he did. Google Reagan and "Red Hen" - he had his own mini-fable version of Atlas Shrugged that he told many times.

Pingback| 11.2.09 @ 8:01AM

Big Government » Blog Archive » The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the GOP’s Soul links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…the party gave a lot more than lip-service to the notion that adults should be free to make their own choices, both for good and ill. I remember a time when Ronald Reagan said the heart and soul of the conservative movement was libertarianism. The tea parties and summer townhalls have proved the public is ready again for this message. More than that, the public is demanding this message. They are far ahead of the…

Pingback| 1.12.10 @ 3:41PM

When Falls the Coliseum » To my fellow conservatives and libertarians: A third party links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Policies Submissions History Subscribe © To my fellow conservatives and libertarians: A third party is not the answer. Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 3:41 pm by Tyler Andrews Ronald Reagan, in a 1975 interview with Reason Magazine on the state of the Republican party, said that “the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.” Today, despite the prescience of the Gipper, a rumble is growing…

Pingback| 2.19.10 @ 12:59AM

Eunomia » An Empty Suit For A Bankrupt Movement links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…neo-monarchists.” I know this is an old Republican trope (even Romney’s insults are over thirty years old), but it remains as stupid now as it was thirty-five years ago when Reagan compared liberals to Revolutionary-era Tories. Filed under: politics 4 Responses to “An Empty Suit For A Bankrupt Movement” Grumpy Old Man , on February 18th, 2010 at 1:45 pm Said: Why dazzle them with…

Pingback| 2.22.10 @ 10:23PM

Socially Conservative Libertarianism « The musings of an Australian classical liberal links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…if social conservatism is to flourish and prosper, then it is only by libertarian means that this can be achieved. I take very much to heart the words of Ronald Reagan that “ I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism …The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of…

Pingback| 2.22.10 @ 11:14PM

Freedom Line Blog » Huckabee to Conservative Movement: “Drop Dead” links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…foreign policy. Huckabee, like every Republican candidate for the past three decades, claims to have been baptized in the River Reagan. But Ronaldus Magnus famously said “I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.” Indeed, I don’t know how one indicts the GOP heresies of the past decade without faulting the party for losing touch with its libertarian roots. Huckabee is a…

Pingback| 2.25.10 @ 8:00PM

Libertarianism and Christianity - Page 6 - Cameldog Mixed Martial Arts Forums links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Hayek. He was also a fierce defender of personal liberties. Here is a GREAT interview of Reagan in 1975 by Reason magazine that showed where he agreed and disagreed with Libertarianism: Inside Ronald Reagan - Reason Magazine __________________ Page 6 of 6 « First < 4 5 6 Bookmarks Digg del.icio.us StumbleUpon Google « Previous Thread | Next Thread » Thread Tools Show Printable Version…

Pingback| 4.1.10 @ 10:26AM

So Many Taxes, So Little Time « Another Man's Opinion links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…and nobody had to make that. There’s a hundred taxes in an egg by the time it gets to market and you know the chicken didn’t put them there!” The entire article is interesting and can be found at: on reason.com. Comments » No comments yet — be the first. Click here to cancel reply. message name email url Notify me of follow-up comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. search About... I am a…

Pingback| 4.28.10 @ 1:48AM

Carolina Politics Online » B.J. Lawson Answers Questionnaire links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…do you say to those Republican voters who may be afraid of your libertarian beliefs? I remind my Republican colleagues of the words of Ronald Regan who said in a 1975 interview < http://reason.com/archives/1975/07/01/inside-ronald-reagan >, “If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.” In other words, choosing between “libertarianism” and…

mtb shoes|7.7.10 @ 9:19PM|#

This kind of shoes are very especial and beautiful. I recommend it to you. Hope you like it!

outletnike|9.1.10 @ 4:23AM|#

Hope everyone like it!

nfl jerseys|11.26.10 @ 8:33PM|#

xjyhx

|2.6.11 @ 2:51PM|#

Remember kids, all right thinking people in the 1970s thought Reagan was stupid. Just a senile old man and a dumb actor. People said as bad or worse things about Reagan than they say today about Sarah Palin. He was absolutely demonized.

You read that interview and you may not agree with everything. But it is remarkable how smart the guy was and how well thoughtout his views were. And moreover how much higher of a level he spoke at than politicians of today. Can you imagine Nancy Pelosi or McCAin or our alledged Willie Coyote super genius in the Whitehouse giving an interview that plain spoken and well thought out? I can't.

|2.6.11 @ 5:39PM|#

I was just thinking along these precise lines while reading this.

While I'm not a huge Reagan fan, there is simply no comparison between him and Sarah Palin. It's laughable to consider her giving an off-the-cuff interview half this intelligent, knowledgeable, and clear.

Yeah, a formidable individual whatever your opinion of his politics or policies.

DDavis|2.7.11 @ 5:42PM|#

That's what occurred to me too.

Seeing Reagan refer to the views of Lenin was an eye opener. Seeing the references to Von Mises and Hayek and Bastiat were less surprising in terms of content, but a little surprising in terms of intellectualism.

I had always considered Reagan smart, but thought that he had just worked out a decent political philosophy on his own over a period of years.

Dickhead|2.7.11 @ 8:27PM|#

I know all are too lazy to question what doesn't agree with us. But what of the Spanish American War? Did you know a powerful politician overruled an army leader (who wanted to just kill local animals for protein as armies had always done) to direct business to hometown Chicago meat companies? So did the free market cause that problem or large government cronyism? I always ask persons who think the government FDA protects us (actually it protects the producers) why would a private company, that has no leverage but the quality of its product, intentionally harm its customers? In a real free market, a company harming its customers no longer has customers. Instead the FDA promotes shoddy quality.

|10.26.11 @ 11:22AM|#

We have a core problem in United States the Withholding /Compliance / Lobbying System as it effectively runs our country. A repeal of the 16th must happen and the Fair Tax Act is a painless way of doing that.
Glenn

Reason.com