What follows is a bibliographic attempt to answer the question of what makes libertarians and conservatives different. Where possible I have linked to the articles and books, but much of the debate transpired before the advent of the Internet, and as such, is only available in hard copy. Two sources in particular warrant special attention – Murray Rothbard and Bill Buckley’s National Review. In many ways they encapsulate the rift. Where as they may have found many points of agreement when National Review was founded in 1955 (and even this is a stretch), by the early 60’s, the New Right was far removed from its old right roots. Militant anti-communism coupled with an increasing social conservative statism were tendencies many libertarians found distasteful. If the modus vivendi of the early 1940 revival of the libertarian/conservative movement had been the defeat the leviathan state, only the libertarians stayed the course with any consistency. [Full article on LRC]
Libertarians and Conservatives: An Annotated Bibliography
