Stumbling and Bumbling Toward Truth?

Musing About How I Found Libertarianism
by Wilton D. Alston

This essay originally appeared in the book, Why Liberty, compiled by Marc Guttman.

I really should have given this essay a better name. After all, it is about my journey toward libertarianism and therefore (hopefully) truth. It would have made sense to use something like "my journey toward the light" or something equally regal. Here’s the thing though. My journey toward libertarianism has been anything but smooth or regal. As a black person it seems to me that even though we have embraced any number of political/philosophical approaches, libertarianism is among the rarer. As such, my finding and embracing libertarian theory involves equal measures of luck and courage. Perhaps that is why I was asked to contribute this story! Either way, I feel honored and happy to do so. It is my firm belief that I am onto something that represents the best of logic, reason, and truth. However, I did not always think so.

Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, named Hallsboro, I had no contact with any people who called themselves "libertarians." As far back as I can remember, my folks and all my relatives voted Democratic, at least as far as I could tell. In fact, I don’t even remember when I first heard the term, "third-party candidate" but it was probably in college. In the portion of the South where I grew up, it seemed pretty clear which party was out to help you and which party was out to get you, particularly if you were a black person. Still though, certain things about my childhood – the fact that my paternal grandfather was a share cropper; the fact that my maternal grandfather owned a lot of land; and the fact that my father always seemed to be working – all had an effect on me. In retrospect, it was a combination of these effects that made me open to libertarianism even before I knew what it was.

Two instances in particular stand out in my mind as providing seeds of libertarianism that did not germinate until much later in life. The first such instance involved a phone survey that I answered while my parents were out. After all the normal demographic questions, the lady on the phone began to query me about my parent’s jobs and lifestyle. At some point she asked, "And what does your dad do for work?" At that exact moment my father was off on a job laying brick at some location. In fact, during almost any down time he could usually be found out doing something that would result in additional income for the family. To this very day he has at least two hustles that he uses to generate income. He was the original example of someone having multiple income streams in my eyes. So I said to her, "he’s a bricklayer."


Later, my folks and I were eating dinner and I recalled the story for them. When I got to the part about my dad being a bricklayer, my folks both laughed and corrected me. My dad, and my mom, were schoolteachers and had been so for years. I knew that, but somehow it escaped in that moment on the phone. My dad’s practice – always looking for an additional way to make money – rubbed off on me. To this day, I am always looking for a way to generate additional income. In fact, that point of view led me to experiences I will recount later – experiences that further forged my libertarian leanings.

Read the rest at Lew Rockwell