Reason (magazine)

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Reason'' (magazine)}}
{{confused|[[reasoning]] or [[rationality]]}}
[[Image:Reason_Cover_January_2009.jpg|right|thumb|168px|Reason, calling [[George W. Bush|Dubya]] a [[Lulz|socialist]].]]
{{media}}
'''''Reason''''' is a [[libertarian]] magazine published by the Reason Foundation and formerly edited by [[Nick Gillespie|Nick "The Jacket" Gillespie]], who stepped down and let Matt Welch take over in 2008. Gillespie then served as the Editor-in-Chief of Reason.com and Reason TV until 2017.

''Reason'' tends to support [[liberal]] views on [[civil liberties]], particularly in its coverage of [[War on Drugs|drug raids]]. However, they're still bankrolled by the usual suspects, including the [[Kochtopus]] and [[Richard Mellon Scaife|Scaife Foundations]], who appreciate the fact that ''Reason'''s [[Silver bullet|answers to most problems]] are "[[deregulate]] it" or "[[privatize]] it."

Readers of ''Reason'' refer to themselves as "Reasonoids," which is reminiscent enough of [[Randroid]] to be unintentionally funny.

==''Ten degrees to the right...''==
===We have always been at war with Eurasia===
''Reason'' has a long history, starting in 1968 as a mimeographed newsletter, predating the Kochtopus by several years and was not part of the stable of groups set up by Koch in the late 1970s (though it has received Koch funding since). Regardless, the signal-to-corporate [[astroturf]] ratio is much stronger than even libertarian [[think tank]]s.

Throughout the 70s and 80s, ''Reason'' hosted [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust deniers]],<ref>[http://www.scribd.com/doc/234990104/Reason-February-1976 ''Reason'', January 1976], p.6. '''James J. Martin''': "The German concentration camps weren't health centers, but they appear to have been far smaller and much less lethal than [[Whataboutism|the Russian ones]]."</ref> [[Dominionism|"Reconstructionists"]] like [[Gary North]],<ref>''Reason'', February 1976, p. 39. '''North''': "Probably the most far-out materials on World War II revisionism have been the seemingly scholarly studies of the supposed execution of 6 million Jews by Hitler. The anonymous author of ''The Myth of the Six Million'' […] has presented a solid case against the Establishment’s favorite horror story—the supposed moral justification for our entry into the War."</ref> and supporters of [[apartheid]] [[South Africa]],<ref>[http://www.unz.org/Pub/Reason-1976may-00032?View=PDF ''Reason'' May 1976, p.32]. '''Marc Swanepoel''': "It would be very nice to have a minimal libertarian government...But as long as the choice is between being governed by a relatively informed white minority and [[Red-baiting|a Socialist black majority]], ‘apartheid’ in South Africa will stay." ''Majority rule is a trick to destroy libertarianism!''</ref><ref>[http://www.unz.org/Pub/Reason-1973dec-00026?View=PDF ''Reason'', December 1973, p.73]. "'''Foreign Correspondent'''": “The major black ethnic groups lumped together under the general term 'Bantu' are as distinct from one another [[Godwin's Law|as Germany and France]]. They are [[Black brute|largely illiterate, largely uncaring, mutually mistrustful, mutually antagonistic.]] They are not the great single black mass yearning to be free that [[Pinko commie|sentimentalists and self-servers in other lands]] try to portray them.” What wankers.</ref><ref>[http://www.unz.org/Pub/Reason-1977apr-00038?View=PDF ''Reason'', April 1977, p.38]. "'''Foreign Correspondent'''": “I regret the fact that honest, law-abiding blacks cannot own property in or near white cities, but I realize that without this restriction separate development will fail — and with it the capitalist system in South Africa.” ''As all libertarians should know, democracy and tyranny are one and the same!''</ref> attacking anti-apartheid protesters and sanctions right up to [[Nelson Mandela|Mandela’s]] release (when they ''finally'' dropped it).<ref group=note>[[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] supported apartheid, as did [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher.]] They weren't libertarians, but they were strongly influenced by libertarian theorists such as [[Friedrich August von Hayek|Hayek]], [[Milton Friedman|Friedman]], and [[Thomas Sowell|Sowell]].</ref> They tried to downplay the fringe-right racism and sexism in recent years, with some success. When reminded of that chapter in ''Reason'''s history, Nick dismisses it all as [[Revisionism|"mud-slinging,"]] of course.<ref>Gillespie, [http://reason.com/blog/2014/07/26/did-reason-really-publish-a-holocaust-de "Did Reason Really Publish a "Holocaust Denial 'Special Issue'" in 1976? Of Course Not."], Hit n' Run (26/June/14 12:30 pm).</ref> More recently they have embraced unscientific positions on the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]<ref>[https://reason.com/2022/02/18/there-is-little-evidence-that-mask-mandates-had-an-important-impact-during-the-omicron-surge/ "There Is Little Evidence That Mask Mandates Had An Important Impact During the Omicron Surge"], Reason (18/February/2022)</ref> and alt-right-friendly interpretations of [[astroturf]]ed protests against pandemic measures.<ref>[https://reason.com/video/2022/02/18/the-revolt-of-the-canadian-truckers/ "The Revolt of the Canadian Truckers", Reason (18/February/2022)</ref>

===Flickers of sanity===
When it comes to [[environmental]] issues, they eschew outright [[denialism]] and criticize [[Republican Party|Republican]] inaction on climate change,<ref>One such example: [http://reason.com/archives/2011/06/16/republicans-vs-the-environment Republicans vs. the Environment] by Steve Chapman</ref> instead taking a position of minimization and support for (obviously) [[free market]] solutions to environmental problems (their favorite consultant on these issues tends to be [[Bjørn Lomborg]], although they have run articles by noted denialist [[Patrick Michaels]]<ref>[http://reason.com/people/patrick-michaels/all Michaels' columns]</ref>). Their brand of libertarianism is much closer to [[Megan McArdle|McArdle]] (minus the armchair general stance) than [[Ludwig von Mises|von Mises]].

On [[science]] matters, their science editor Ronald Bailey has done some good work opposing [[intelligent design]] and [[creationism]]<ref>[http://reason.com/archives/2008/06/06/flunk-this-movie "Flunk this Movie"]</ref><ref>[http://reason.com/archives/2005/07/19/creation-summer-camp "Creation Summer Camp"]</ref> (though rather less so on [[Climategate]].)

The magazine was consistently hostile to [[Donald Trump]] in 2016, warning that his presidential campaign was about "[[white nationalism|white identity politics]]".<ref>https://reason.com/blog/2015/08/21/republican-party-white-identity-politics</ref>

===Embarrassed Republicans===
{{main|Vulgar libertarianism}}
The magazine was more hard-core libertarian in its early years, but by the 1980s and 1990s, under the editorial leadership of Virginia Postrel, it had swung to the right and some accused it of embracing [[neoconservatism]] and of turning its back on libertarianism.<ref>[http://c4ss.org/content/13240 SEK3's history of the libertarian movement], the "Center for a Stateless Society"</ref><ref>[[Murray Rothbard]], [http://mises.org/books/irrepressible.pdf ''The Irrepressable Rothbard''], p. 111-112 (''[[Persecution complex|I'm being repressed!]]'')</ref> The magazine's endorsement of the first [[Gulf War]] (1990-1991) was particularly unpopular with its traditional readership. After [[9/11]] (2001), ''Reason'' underwent [[George_W._Bush#Who_is_this_.22Bush.22_you_speak_of.3F| a fairly rapid swing back to the left]] in opposition to Bush's warmongering and [[Patriot Act| clampdown on civil liberties]]. The [[Ludwig von Mises Institute |Mises Institute]], however, has never quite forgiven it for its dalliance with neoconservatism long ago, ([[Hypocrisy |never mind]] that the LvMI was palling around with the [[paleoconservatism| paleoconservative]] movement at the same time), so ''Reason'' is frequently a topic of disdain on [[Lew Rockwell]]'s site.

After the election (2008) of [[Barack Obama]] as President, ''Reason'''s editorial platform returned to its pre-9/11 right-wing perspective, though libertarians insist [[Concern troll|that they are neither Republicans nor Democrats]] — eschewing political affiliations and deriding the two-party system as mere "teams" playing games. This disdain for the two-party system does not, however, preclude the editorial support at ''Reason'' of certain [[wingnut]] Republican politicians (chiefly [[Ron Paul]], [[Rand Paul]], and a few [[Tea Party]] up-and-comers) who pay lip service to some libertarian principles while violating others.

You would think ''Reason'' would be all over Trump for a variety of reasons, [[Jeff Sessions]]' long history of going after pot for one.<ref>http://reason.com/blog/2017/03/02/sessions-russian-hysteria-much-ado-about</ref> (Well, they ''have'' been all over both Trump<ref>https://www.google.pt/search?client=tablet-android-lenovo&ei=6hC5WY3xB8Kma9uvkfgN&q=donald+trump+site%3Areason.com&oq=donald+trump+site%3Areason.com&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.3...228555.231684.0.232156.13.13.0.0.0.0.435.1646.4j7j4-1.12.0....0...1.1j4.64.mobile-gws-serp..2.0.0.BvOzuhnpjqc</ref> and Sessions.<ref>https://www.google.pt/search?q=Jeff%20Sessions%20site%3Areason.com&oq=Jeff%20Sessions&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i60l3j69i57j69i59.2667j0j4&client=tablet-android-lenovo&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8&gs_l=navquery-generic.3...14623.18046.0.18651.13.13.0.0.0.0.139.1353.6j7.13.0....0....1j4.64.navquery-generic..0.0.0.fuQqkI5rVUE&ved=0ahUKEwj5p5iIgqLWAhUPahoKHSb-AeoQ2wEIHg&ei=0xC5WbnyOY_Uaab8h9AO</ref>) It begs the question of how ''Reason'' feels about [[Bill Clinton]]'s perjury. (You get one guess.)<ref>[http://reason.com/archives/2015/05/06/the-clintons-forty-years-of-teflon The Clintons Are Immune to Scandal]</ref> Not only do they stand on the wrong side of history, they drop it as soon as it becomes expedient.

==If you lie down with dogs==
[[Stopped clock|On some rare occasions]], the site has been known, despite claiming disdain for the two-party system, to have articles encouraging people to support the Democratic Party. These rare moments usually elicit very loud groans from the site's primarily right-libertarian readers in the comments section.<ref>[https://reason.com/archives/2014/10/30/vote-democrat-for-real-libertarian-value#.qtggwa:XBBq "Vote Democrat for Real Libertarian Values"]</ref>

Speaking of which, the comments section on ''Reason'''s "Hit 'n Run" rivals [[Yahoo! News]] for being the worst hive of scum and villiany on the [[Internet]], and provides plenty of [[evidence]] to conclude that [[Web 2.0]] with its "anyone can comment on anything" model perhaps isn't such a good idea.

==See also==
*[[Cato Institute]]

==External Links==
*[http://reason.com/ Reason homepage] - The first thing one is confronted by when clicking a link to ''Reason'' is reason.com asking you to donate money to them. In true libertarian spirit, you should ignore their requests to artificially prop up an unprofitable business and not donate a single cent.
*[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Reason_Foundation Reason Foundation at Sourcewatch]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20190803133519/https://pando.com/2014/07/24/as-reasons-editor-defends-its-racist-history-heres-a-copy-of-its-holocaust-denial-special-issue/ Are we any bit surprised?]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}
[[Category:American media]]
[[Category:Austrian school]]
[[Category:Conservative deceit]]
[[Category:Denialist organizations]]
[[Category:Kochsphere]]
[[Category:Magazines]]
[[Category:Misnomers]]
[[Category:Political pundits]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory promoters]]

Categories: American media, Austrian school, Conservative deceit, Denialist organizations, Kochsphere, Magazines, Misnomers, Political pundits, Politics, Pseudohistory promoters