6 ms·

Probably many people know this, but since it's important to know the owners of our media and information sources: Reason is published by the Reason Foundation

by mhneu 8y ago

Probably many people know this, but since it's important to know the owners of our media and information sources: Reason is published by the Reason Foundation which is funded by several right-wing donors, including the Koch Family Foundations. The Reason Foundation is a member of the State Policy Network whose goal (as measured by their past history) is to advance the interests of right-wing wealthy donors. And leaders at the Reason Foundation have strong ties to ALEC, an organization that coordinates and advances bills across states that benefit right-wing wealthy donors. https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Reason_Foundation https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Reason_Foundation So keep Reason's editorial bent in mind when you read its articles. Some are good, but Reason leadership has an agenda.

azernik 8y ago
In this case, the view is traditionally left-wing; Reason is an explicitly libertarian publication ("Free Minds And Free Markets").
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- icebraining 8y ago
  What do you see as left-wing? US-style libertarians are usually considered right-wing, since (unlike libertarians/anarchists of other persuasions) they tend to put a tremendous value on strong private property rights.
  - markc 8y ago
    They're "socially liberal" often more liberal even than the US Democratic party on issues of personal freedom like sex and drugs.
  - azernik 8y ago
    This specific position (criticism of prosecutorial discretion, and the criminal justice system in general on grounds of its harshness) is a common left-wing talking point, particularly because of the racial and economic injustice it causes. Libertarians in the US are generally affiliated with the right wing, especially (as you noted) on economic issues, but on the issue in this article they are closer to the left.
  - mindcrime 8y ago
    First of all, the whole "left wing / right wing" spectrum is an outdated, archaic legacy of a bygone age, and has no place in modern society at all. That said, to the extent that you can squint real hard and find some meaning in the idea of "right wing" or "left wing", American libertarians are typically described as "simultaneously left of left, and right of right". Ultimately that just goes to illustrate exactly the point that a simple one dimensional spectrum cannot even begin to model the diversity of political beliefs in the world.
    - dragonwriter 8y ago
      > First of all, the whole "left wing / right wing" spectrum is an outdated, archaic legacy of a bygone time and has no place in modern society at all. Not really. It doesn't tell the whole story, but it reflects a real and current axis of variation. > That said, to the extent that you can squint real hard and find some meaning in the idea of "right wing" or "left wing", American libertarians are typically described as "simultaneously left of left, and right of right". American “libertarians” (that is, people referred to that way in America) are typically right-libertarians. To the extent they sometimes seem left, it's because some of the popular perception of the right is set by right authoritarians.
      - mindcrime 8y ago
        It doesn't tell the whole story, but it reflects a real and current axis of variation. Actually it conflates and muddles several different axes of variation, leaving a situation where almost nobody is actually correctly described by the term "left wing" or "right wing". American “libertarians” (that is, people referred to that way in America) are typically right-libertarians. That is a myth which has no basis in reality. Libertarians in America adopt huge swathe of positions which are more typically associated with the "left wing" label: drug decriminalization, opposition to the death penalty, religious freedom, etc. The fact that they tend to take those same issues even further than others is how you wind up with the "left of left, and right of right" label: Typical American "left wing" position: decriminalize weed Typical American libertarian position: eliminate all drug laws, what you put in your body is no business of the State. So, "left of left". Typical American "right wing" position: "lower taxes" Typical American libertarian position: "taxation is theft, end all taxes". So, right of right. You really can't model things in a sufficiently rich way to describe Libertarianism on a one-dimensional spectrum like the left/right scale. It just doesn't work.
markc 8y ago
As someone who's been reading Reason for 25 years, I agree they have an agenda, but it's not a right-wing agenda. Even though plenty of their positions do coincide with those of the right wing, they function more as a gadfly than a cheerleader for either "wing". Since the rise of Trump I find the majority of Reason articles aligned with liberal positions. They have been highly critical of him and his administration's authoritarian actions and policies.
jonhendry18 8y ago
In terms of criminal justice issues, Reason's pretty okay. Opposition of prosecutorial and police abuses aren't really pro-wealthy donor stances. This writer in particular, Ken White, is a practicing lawyer handling (among other things) freedom of speech issues and criminal defense cases. He isn't a Koch-funded op-ed writer or lobbyist, he has a real job helping people.
zeveb 8y ago
All of which is an ad hominem: their arguments stand or fall regardless of who funds them.
- tasty_freeze 8y ago
  That is one of those sentiments that sounds good but really isn't useful. Say, hypothetically, President Trump said, "There was no collusion!" Would you say that there is no utility in inspecting Trump's motives and his history of telling whoppers, because, after all, the statement "There was no collusion" stands or falls on its own no matter who said it? In the real world, as individuals we don't have the expertise nor the time to develop the expertise to evaluate fully what we read, and it is rare that we personally have firsthand knowledge of the facts in question. So we can't determine if the claims of the article stand on their own and we rely on the reputation of the author of the article to help decide the likelihood that it is true. The person you replied to was very careful not to claim that there is anything wrong about the article.
jMyles 8y ago
I don't think it's right for you to be downvoted; this sort of information is welcome. My view of the particulars, having subscribed to Reason for a few years and read it for years before that, is that Reason is a testament to the reality that broken clock politics are real. In other words, people who fund things that you and I might normally not like also occasionally fund great things. It's a hard thing to understand. The US government funds NPR and the national park system. I imagine that most people who like those things aren't big fans of the things to which the lion's share of the money goes (wars of aggression and enriching crony capitalists). But Reason magazine? Shit man, I'll stand behind Reason all day. It's a wonderful publication. Kudos to them for doing good things with bad money.
- lern_too_spel 8y ago
  In my experience, their positions are often poorly argued and usually involve gross misrepresentations of alternate policy positions. For example, the last Reason article I read completely ignored the whole reason a policy was implemented in the first place in order to make its argument. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17523570 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17523570
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

by mhneu 8y ago

azernik 8y ago

In this case, the view is traditionally left-wing; Reason is an explicitly libertarian publication ("Free Minds And Free Markets").

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
icebraining 8y ago
What do you see as left-wing? US-style libertarians are usually considered right-wing, since (unlike libertarians/anarchists of other persuasions) they tend to put a tremendous value on strong private property rights.
- markc 8y ago
  They're "socially liberal" often more liberal even than the US Democratic party on issues of personal freedom like sex and drugs.
- azernik 8y ago
  This specific position (criticism of prosecutorial discretion, and the criminal justice system in general on grounds of its harshness) is a common left-wing talking point, particularly because of the racial and economic injustice it causes. Libertarians in the US are generally affiliated with the right wing, especially (as you noted) on economic issues, but on the issue in this article they are closer to the left.
- mindcrime 8y ago
  First of all, the whole "left wing / right wing" spectrum is an outdated, archaic legacy of a bygone age, and has no place in modern society at all. That said, to the extent that you can squint real hard and find some meaning in the idea of "right wing" or "left wing", American libertarians are typically described as "simultaneously left of left, and right of right". Ultimately that just goes to illustrate exactly the point that a simple one dimensional spectrum cannot even begin to model the diversity of political beliefs in the world.
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    > First of all, the whole "left wing / right wing" spectrum is an outdated, archaic legacy of a bygone time and has no place in modern society at all. Not really. It doesn't tell the whole story, but it reflects a real and current axis of variation. > That said, to the extent that you can squint real hard and find some meaning in the idea of "right wing" or "left wing", American libertarians are typically described as "simultaneously left of left, and right of right". American “libertarians” (that is, people referred to that way in America) are typically right-libertarians. To the extent they sometimes seem left, it's because some of the popular perception of the right is set by right authoritarians.
    - mindcrime 8y ago
      It doesn't tell the whole story, but it reflects a real and current axis of variation. Actually it conflates and muddles several different axes of variation, leaving a situation where almost nobody is actually correctly described by the term "left wing" or "right wing". American “libertarians” (that is, people referred to that way in America) are typically right-libertarians. That is a myth which has no basis in reality. Libertarians in America adopt huge swathe of positions which are more typically associated with the "left wing" label: drug decriminalization, opposition to the death penalty, religious freedom, etc. The fact that they tend to take those same issues even further than others is how you wind up with the "left of left, and right of right" label: Typical American "left wing" position: decriminalize weed Typical American libertarian position: eliminate all drug laws, what you put in your body is no business of the State. So, "left of left". Typical American "right wing" position: "lower taxes" Typical American libertarian position: "taxation is theft, end all taxes". So, right of right. You really can't model things in a sufficiently rich way to describe Libertarianism on a one-dimensional spectrum like the left/right scale. It just doesn't work.

markc 8y ago

As someone who's been reading Reason for 25 years, I agree they have an agenda, but it's not a right-wing agenda. Even though plenty of their positions do coincide with those of the right wing, they function more as a gadfly than a cheerleader for either "wing". Since the rise of Trump I find the majority of Reason articles aligned with liberal positions. They have been highly critical of him and his administration's authoritarian actions and policies.

jonhendry18 8y ago

In terms of criminal justice issues, Reason's pretty okay. Opposition of prosecutorial and police abuses aren't really pro-wealthy donor stances. This writer in particular, Ken White, is a practicing lawyer handling (among other things) freedom of speech issues and criminal defense cases. He isn't a Koch-funded op-ed writer or lobbyist, he has a real job helping people.

zeveb 8y ago

All of which is an ad hominem: their arguments stand or fall regardless of who funds them.

tasty_freeze 8y ago
That is one of those sentiments that sounds good but really isn't useful. Say, hypothetically, President Trump said, "There was no collusion!" Would you say that there is no utility in inspecting Trump's motives and his history of telling whoppers, because, after all, the statement "There was no collusion" stands or falls on its own no matter who said it? In the real world, as individuals we don't have the expertise nor the time to develop the expertise to evaluate fully what we read, and it is rare that we personally have firsthand knowledge of the facts in question. So we can't determine if the claims of the article stand on their own and we rely on the reputation of the author of the article to help decide the likelihood that it is true. The person you replied to was very careful not to claim that there is anything wrong about the article.

jMyles 8y ago

I don't think it's right for you to be downvoted; this sort of information is welcome. My view of the particulars, having subscribed to Reason for a few years and read it for years before that, is that Reason is a testament to the reality that broken clock politics are real. In other words, people who fund things that you and I might normally not like also occasionally fund great things. It's a hard thing to understand. The US government funds NPR and the national park system. I imagine that most people who like those things aren't big fans of the things to which the lion's share of the money goes (wars of aggression and enriching crony capitalists). But Reason magazine? Shit man, I'll stand behind Reason all day. It's a wonderful publication. Kudos to them for doing good things with bad money.

lern_too_spel 8y ago
In my experience, their positions are often poorly argued and usually involve gross misrepresentations of alternate policy positions. For example, the last Reason article I read completely ignored the whole reason a policy was implemented in the first place in order to make its argument. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17523570 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17523570

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]