Karl Hess: The Role of Community in the Commitment to Liberty

Karl Hess was a noted speechwriter (for Barry Goldwater among others) and author, and later in his life was a prominent tax resister, market anarchist, and welder.

In this video from a 1984 Libertarian Party of Maryland meeting, Hess remarks on the importance of community in the commitment to liberty. At the time of this recording, Hess was living in West Virginia with his wife and surviving entirely on bartered goods and services thanks to a 100% lien placed on his future earnings by the Internal Revenue Service a decade earlier. Hess speaks on many topics including his distinction between two types of libertarians (rational and romantic), how to be a good neighbor, and what he saw as useful professions for libertarians to take advantage of.