Willmoore Kendall (1909-1967) was an editor of National Review, though he later broke with the magazine’s founder and editor, William F. Buckley, Jr. Murray Rothbard devoted critical attention to him, and I have sometimes written critically about him myself.
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation,. . .”—Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address” (November 19, 1863)
“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”—Francis Bellamy, The Pledge of Allegiance (September 8, 1892)
[As most readers of these pages have seen, Ryan McMaken wrote a succinct and sound election-night deconstruction of Massie’s defeat. See also the Power and Market podcast. What this essay would humbly like to do is add some larger historical context, courtesy of Murray Rothbard, and consider a way forward.
There is a particular kind of financial wisdom that used to be passed down at kitchen tables. A grandparent, someone who remembered harder times, would explain that the first obligation of a responsible person was to spend less than they earned, put something away, and let patience do its quiet work. The savings account was not a sophisticated instrument. It was a vessel for deferred consumption—a way of translating present discipline into future security. The interest it paid was modest, but it moved in the same direction over time.
