Mondays with Murray: Rothbard and the Kochs

The Koch Brothers, namely Charles and David, have become the symbol of all things evil for many progressives. They are seen as the ultimate crony capitalists, using their power and wealth to influence the political scene. Of course, progressives are not necessarily upset by that fact alone, but the fact that their particular influence tends to favor those with an "R" next to their name.  Millionaires and billionaires alike influence both major parties, and the Democrats are no exception.The Kochs are not new to the political scene, however. Before they started seeding Republicans with their money, Koch money was a driving force behind much of the modern mainstream libertarian movement, including funding some of Murray Rothbard's work as well as helping to found the Cato Institute and Libertarian Party.  They became directly involved in politics when David ran as the Vice Presidential candidate for Ed Clark on the Libertarian ticket in 1980. It was this entry into politics which sparked the divide between the Kochs and Murray Rothbard.  Rothbard saw the 1980 political campaign as selling out libertarian principles in order to be more accepted by the mainstream, and he became furious when Clark described libertarians as "low-tax liberals." This would eventually lead to Rothbard's exile from the Cato Institute and the founding of the Mises Institute with Lew Rockwell.The Kochs activity within the relatively fringe Libertarian Party never bothered mainstream progressives much. But ever since they became major players in Republican politics they have been viewed in a much more negative light both by progressives and hardcore libertarians alike. The Kochs were parodied in the movie  "The Campaign" with the "Motch Brothers" characters. They are also the subject of a new documentary, "Citizen Koch", as well as a new book by Mother Jones' Daniel Schulman, entitled Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty. For an excellent interview with Schulman on the book, check out the latest episode of the Robert Wenzel Show. During Schulman's research, he uncovered documents related to a lawsuit pitting Bill and Frederick Koch vs. Charles and David for control of the family foundation, including a planned testimony from Murray Rothbard. Eager to denounce his former backers, Rothbard described Charles as considering himself "above the law." Rothbard would go on to lay into Charles, stating:

Charles Koch has a practice of misusing nonprofit foundations for his own personal ends. Charles Koch wants absolute control of the non-profit foundations, but wants to be able to spend other people's money not his own. He wants to spend that money on things that will enhance his personal image and goals, even it these expenditures are not consistent with the publicly stated goals of the foundation. Amongst other things, Charles Koch uses his involvement with non-profit foundations to aquire access to, and respect from, influential people in government and elsewhere.

Rothbard may have been biting the hand that used to feed him, but the bitterness ultimately stemmed from a clash over strategy and principle. In Rothbard's view, the Koch strategy of "watering down" libertarianism, and the abandonment of principle in favor of political influence was too much for Rothbard to take.For more details on the Rothbard split with the Kochs and Cato, be sure to check out my interview with Reason editor and author of Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement from the Lions of Liberty Podcast.Check out the full Mondays with Murray archive!Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!