The Libertarian Legacy of the Old Right: Democracy and Representative Government

Tags: Old Right, Democracy, Libertarianism, Majority Rule

12/02/2019 Journal of Libertarian Studies Roberta Modugno

Downloads

The Libertarian Legacy of the Old Right: Democracy and Representative Government

Libertarianism tries to face the difficulties and inconsistencies of democracy. The paper aims to provide a better understanding of the relationship between libertarianism and democracy going back to the early seeds of libertarianism and highlighting the critical contributions by some of the major Old Right protagonists. Inquiring into the role of intellectuals like Albert J. Nock, Henry L. Mencken, Frank Chodorov, Rose Wilder Lane and Isabel Paterson, the article will unveil a well consolidated tradition of criticism of democracy within the libertarian political philosophy.

CITE THIS ARTICLE

Roberta Modugno, "The Libertarian Legacy of the Old Right: Democracy and Representative Government," Journal of Libertarian Studies 23 (2019): 5–21.

Image Source: Photo by Marco Oriolesi on Unsplash

Note: The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute.

Subscribe to Journal of Libertarian Studies

Latest Articles

When Our Word is No Longer Good

05/26/2026 Power & Market Ron Paul

The pattern of media reports – based on White House leaks – that an agreement with Iran is almost completed has become predictable. Where once the markets fluctuated wildly (and some insiders made...

Would Oil Bring a Resource Curse in Jamaica?

05/26/2026 Mises Wire Lipton Matthews

The possibility that there may be offshore oil deposits in Jamaica has brought some to say that finding oil would actually be harmful to the nation’s economy and social fabric. Jamaican Lipton Matthews takes issue with that claim.

RIP Antony Mueller

05/26/2026 Power & Market Tho Bishop

Over the weekend, Mises Institute Associated Scholar Antony Mueller passed away.

Why Egalitarianism Persists

05/26/2026 Mises Wire Wanjiru Njoya

Murray Rothbard knew that egalitarianism always resulted in policy disaster. Egalitarians, he said, should be forced to justify their egalitarian demands.

Does Demand Create Supply?

05/25/2026 Mises Wire Frank Shostak

Mainstream economists believe that if government increases spending and injects new money into the economy, then productive wealth will follow. Austrian economists would like to differ.

Meet the Writer

Roberta Modugno

Roberta Modugno is professor of History of Political Thought at the University of Roma TRE (Rome - Italy). A scholar of...

The Making of the State

04/29/2025 Journal of Libertarian Studies Roberta Modugno

This article discusses the rise of the modern state out of the political arrangements of the European middle ages.

How I Discovered Murray Rothbard

03/03/2021 Mises Wire Roberta Modugno

In Rothbard’s writings I did not find only something totally new to me, but I also found, explained in consistent and simple words, the reasons for the inefficiency and failure of most of the politics of my country, Italy.

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.

Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

Become a Member