The New York Times published on March 4 a hostile obituary notice of Gary North. Although the writer, Sam Roberts, mentions that North held a PhD in economic history from UC Riverside, the entire stress of the article is on North’s religious views rather than his scholarly achievements. He published an article in the Journal of Political Economy, a feat most professional economists would envy. Mr. Roberts is right to call North a “meticulous researcher,” but that fact is not established by the number of one’s footnotes or the length of one’s books, as the writer ignorantly imagines. The article states, “Mr. North was single-minded and left little room for ambiguity. ‘Words[sic; the sense of the passage requires ‘Four words’] summarize the American philosophy of life: Live and let live,’ he once said, adding: ‘Eight words summarize American foreign policy: We’re better than you: Do it our way.’” The use of “single-minded” suggests that North supported, rather than opposed, the positions he thus described. Roberts also does not mention that two of the people he quotes who view North in a poor light have pressing personal reasons to do so. Those who wish to assess North’s ideas for themselves should read some of his many articles on mises.org and on LewRockwell.com
