Jeffrey Tucker is one of the few high-profile libertarians to have risen to the occasion in the face of virus fanaticism and authoritarian lockdowns. His latest piece is a strident call to (intellectual and philosophical) arms in opposition to the new authoritarianism. On the urgent need for a vocal, principled anti-lockdown movement, Tucker writes:
“Whether this movement is working in the realms of academia, culture, journalism, or politics, there is an absolute urgency that it exercise unrelenting moral courage and integrity.Ferociously. It should be uncompromising on crucial points. It must be willing to speak even when it is unfashionable to do so, even when the media is screaming the opposite, even when the Twitter mob floods your notifications, even when you are shamed for thinking for yourself.
This time around, as you have surely noticed, even the voices of good people with good ideas fell silent in fear.This fear must be banished. The blowback against this despotism will come but it is not enough. We need character, integrity, courage, and truth, and this perhaps matters more than ideology and knowledge. Knowledge without the willingness and courage to speak is useless, because (as E.C. Harwood taught us) for integrity there is no substitute.”
