March 7, 2007 9:17AM # New at Cato Unbound: Brian Doherty on the Past and Prospects of Libertarianism By [Will Wilkinson](https://www.cato.org/people/will-wilkinson) --- SHARE The release of *Reason* senior editor **Brian Doherty**’s *[Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement](http://www.amazon.com/Radicals-Capitalism-Freewheeling-American-Libertarian/dp/1586483501)* — the first comprehensive history of its kind — provides a fitting occasion for libertarian reflection. How did libertarians get to where they are today? Where are they going? How should they proceed? Drawing on his book, [Doherty kicks off the new issue of *Cato Unbound*](http://www.cato-unbound.org/2007/03/07/brian-doherty/libertarianism-past-and-prospects/) with a lead essay reflecting on the miracle that libertarians are politically and culturally relevant at all, while promoting a continued laissez faire attitude to libertarian strategy. To showcase the high art of libertarian in-fighting, we’ve gathered a panel of libertarian luminaries including: *Cato Unbound*’s own **Brink Lindsey**, author of the controversial “[Liberaltarians](http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20061211&s=lindsey121106)” essay in the *New Republic*; George Mason’s most famous blogger-polymath, *New York Times* Economic Scene columnist **Tyler Cowen**; Cato’s globe-trotting ambassador for liberty **Tom G. Palmer**, who was writing libertarian political theory as a zygote; and *Atlantic* columnist, former *Reason* editor in chief, and author of *[The Substance of Style](http://www.amazon.com/Substance-Style-Aesthetic-Remaking-Consciousness/dp/0060186321)*, **Virginia Postrel**. Stay tuned over the next two weeks as our very special conversation on the future of libertarianism unfolds. [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).