The Brink of Entertainment

Years ago, I was marveling at the spectacular failure of a libertarian experiment when a friend recommended A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear, an entire book dedicated to another foolish attempt. The effort in New Hampshire sounded more dopey and less sinister than the one I was all worked up about, so I figured it might be a bit easier to read.

Author and journalist Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling’s playful tone immediately supports that theory. He subtly and not-so-subtly pokes fun at the self-serious “Free Towners” (as the activist libertarians call themselves), making no secret of his take on the situation. His dunking runs the gamut from deserved to superfluous; some of these people’s antics are so close to slapstick as to obviate editorializing for comedic effect. It’s fun, regardless, because really, who doesn’t enjoy mocking folks who are confidently wrong (especially when they’re smug about it)? That said, misguided people are still people, so one can only take so much pleasure in their bumbling. Although Hongoltz-Hetling show some sympathy for the activists (and even constructs a pretty wild theory in their defense¹), his indulgence in schadenfreude exceeds my tolerance.

Regardless of your apatite for self-inflicted harm, you’ll also have to reckon with collateral damage. There’s no denying that the libertarians are bullies, and their emphatic hyper-individualism also hurts their neighbors. The book also documents the peril of the bystanders, and none feels quite so tragic as the plight of resident Jessica Soule. Her story further complicates the tone of the book, with delight feeling increasingly inappropriate as it unfolds.

In the end, I’m not convinced A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear was worth my time. Was it entertaining? Yeah, mostly! But so was a lot of the stuff I read this year, and none of those other books made me feel voyeuristic. Did I learn anything? Sort of! There was plenty of fun history, and it was marginally useful to see concrete examples of the sort of trade-offs libertarians have to make. Do I think differently about the world, now? Not appreciably!