Brian Doherty's Favorite Obscure Libertarian: Thomas Szasz

Who's your favorite unsung hero of the libertarian movement? Do you know of any libertarian thinkers, writers, or activists the world should be seeing more of? Leave a comment!

Video produced by Evan Banks.

[kourakis]

TS Szasz, "obscure" or "obscured"?

His magnificent, deep-cutting and good-humored, lifelong attack on sophistry and mendacity, and his defense of personal liberty and responsibility, inspired many —and for me served as a gateway to the Austrian School and the fundamental principal of non-aggression.  

Szasz is the author whose works I have most enjoyed reading, and perhaps most learnt from. And once one sees the truth, one cannot forget it.


Szasz fired a beautiful shot straight through the heart of coercive psychiatry. The beast may stumble, or even march, around for quite some time, it may ignore what it alleges to have perceived as the bite of nothing more than an irritating gadfly —but its fate is sealed.

[kourakis]

Dr Szasz led me to libertarianism and much more, teaching me to sharply define terms and to clearly distinguish force from freedom. Long before Covid-19, he presciently explored of the 'Medicalisation of Everyday Life' and the 'Pharmacracy' putatively justifying State coercion. 

That you refer to this brilliant and enlightening man and his magnificent intelectual battle as 'obscure' tempts me to try my hand at the biting wit for which he was also well known. Yet he was also sensitive and kind, and I imagine would've encouraged me to remain good-humoured, pointing out that the dimness of a man's vision says little about that which he purports to see.

[aScottTen]

Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz wrote about 35 books. They include Psychiatric Slavery, Suicide Prohibition, and Our Right to Drugs. Suicide should be respected as a civil and human right.

[calctube]

I'm always surprised at how few people who claim to be libertarians haven't read anything by Harry Browne. Don't know if I'd call him obscure, but woefully underrated. Never heard anyone else who was so articulate with the message of liberty.

[dmaddock]

You should get Brian Doherty to do a series of vignettes like this on lesser-known libertarian thinkers.

[soilmanted]

And if you are crazy in a way that is threatening or violent to yourself - the same. And if you are crazy in a way that is threatening or violent to others, you deserve due process of law in regard to the question of whether others should take away your liberty. Process of law, not process of medical texts.

[freesk]

Yep, as long as you are crazy (odd, different, weird, nerdy, or even moderately obnoxious) in a peaceful way, and are not significantly hurting OTHER people, you should be free to roam the streets and enjoy your right to liberty. "These things are the same, and come from one god, how we are different, how we are unique, and how we are odd." GRGG?

[sgtmcwallace]

YES
sheldon Richman would be good for that to.

[freesk]

Yep, we have the right to self destruction. Others who are our friends may try to persuade us otherwise, but the government may not attempt to protect us from ourselves via the law.

[humanhiveanomaly]

read... or get more of an intro of him here (same channel!)
watch?v=FC9r3Gs8XuU