David nolan libertarian biography books

Political spectrum diagram

The Nolan Chart is a political spectrum diagram created by Americanlibertarian activist David Nolan in 1969, charting political views along two axes, representing economic freedom and personal freedom. It expands political view analysis beyond the traditional one-dimensional left–right/progressive-conservative divide, positioning libertarianism outside the traditional spectrum.

Development

The claim that political positions can be located on a chart with two axes: left–right (economics) and tough–tender (authoritarian-libertarian) was put forward by the British psychologist Hans Eysenck in his 1954 book The Psychology of Politics with statistical evidence based on survey data. This leads to a loose classification of political positions into four quadrants, with further detail based on exact position within the quadrant.

A similar two-dimensional chart appeared in 1970 in the publication The Floodgates of Anarchy by Stuart Christie and Albert Meltzer, but that work distinguished between the axes collectivism–capitalism on the one hand, individualism–totalitarianism on the other, with anarchism, fascism, "state communism" and "capitalist individualism" in the corners. In Radicals for Capitalism (p. 321), Brian Doherty attributes the idea for the chart to an article by Maurice Bryson and William McDill in The Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought (Summer 1968) entitled "The Political Spectrum: A Bi-Dimensional Approach".

Steve Mariotti, a teenage colleague of Carl Oglesby's in the leftist student organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), credits Oglesby with describing a form of the two-axis Nolan Chart during a delivery of Oglesby's "Let Us Shape the Future" speech in 1965. Oglesby's political outlook was more eclectic than that of many leftists in SDS; he was heavily influenced by libertarian economist Mu

Founder of the Libertarian Party of the US (1943–2010)

David Fraser Nolan (; November 23, 1943 – November 21, 2010) was an American activist and politician. He was one of the founders of the Libertarian Party of the United States, having hosted the meeting in 1971 at which the Party was founded. Nolan subsequently served the party in a number of roles including National Committee Chair, editor of the party newsletter, Chair of the By-laws Committee, Chair of the Judicial Committee, and Chair of the Platform Committee.

He is also known as the inventor of the Nolan Chart, an attempt to improve on the left versus right political taxonomy by separating the issues of economic freedom and social freedom and presenting them on a two-dimensional plane instead of the traditional line. Decades after its introduction, it continues to be popular, with millions of copies having been distributed, including by the group Advocates for Self-Government as the "World's Smallest Political Quiz".

Early life and education

Nolan was born on November 23, 1943, in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Maryland. During high school, he was influenced by Ayn Rand and Robert A. Heinlein and their libertarianism. He enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a BS in political science in 1965. While at MIT, he helped in founding M.I.T. Students for Goldwater in 1964, promoting the Republican presidential candidacy of Senator Barry Goldwater.

Career

Nolan was a member of Young Americans for Freedom in 1969 when more than 300 libertarians organized to take control of the organization from conservatives. Many walked out after a physical confrontation sparked by the burning of a draft card in protest to a conservative proposal against draft resistance. While sympathizing with the radicals, Nolan remained with the organization.

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David F. Nolan, 66, founder of the Libertarian Party and developer of a method of analyzing political attitudes superior to the old linear left-right spectrum, died Sunday near his home in Tucson. He will be missed, especially by many who knew him well when he lived in Orange County, but his contributions to the cause of human liberty will not be forgotten.

Mr. Nolan grew up in Maryland and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a classmate of Robert Poole, co-founder of Reason magazine and the Reason Foundation. Influenced by science-fiction writer Robert Heinlein, he was an active libertarian in college. After college he moved to Denver where he went into advertising. In 1971, sitting with friends and watching Richard Nixon announce wage and price controls, he declared, “We need another party,” and started the Committee to Form a Libertarian Party. The party in 1972 ran USC philosophy professor John Hospers for president.

Unsatisfied with the old left-right spectrum for describing political attitudes, Mr. Nolan refined what became known as the Nolan Chart, a grid on which attitudes toward personal freedom and economic freedom are charted, yielding a square in which liberal, conservative, statist, centrist and libertarian tendencies are identified. His work on the chart earned him a spot in “2,000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 20th Century,” published by the Biography Center in Cambridge, England.

With his wife Elizabeth, David Nolan lived in Orange County for most of the 1990s, remaining active in the Libertarian Party and becoming a touchstone for those who appreciate smart and principled discussion. Most recently he ran as the Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate from Arizona, against John McCain, pulling 4.7 percent of the vote. His death was unexpected. Our prayers and condolences go out to Elizabeth.

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