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Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Lew Rockwell
The violence perpetuated by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway unleashed the usual torrent of blaming anyone who might have influenced the murderer’s thought. He was first described as a right-wing Christian – a description designed to put a certain community on notice. As more evidence rolled in, he has been more accurately described as an anti-Islamic nationalist, but the tendency to pin this violence on any non-leftist is still there.
There were footnotes in his 1,500-page manifesto to many dozens of books and articles – including a few published by the Mises Institute. Looking at the balance of his citations, however, it’s clear that his main influence had nothing to do with libertarianism. His inspiration was a point of view reminiscent of American neoconservatism. He cited articles in this tradition – particularly on the fear and hate of Islam – far more often than any other.
So, does this violence discredit neoconservatism, as when then-President Clinton tried to blame libertarians and the “militia” movement for the Oklahoma bombing in 1995? The point of this game is to silence the opposition, shut down debate, and fundamentally discredit the body of ideas on which the violence can be blamed.
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