who was "robert" in for a new liberty

Miscellaneous General
1

was just thumbing through this great book again.. I always wondered who rothbard was speaking about when he spoke of the Libertarian who got popular then banished anyone in his organization who spoke negatively about the state..

A prominent case of defection through opportunism is someone we
shall call “Robert,” who became a dedicated and militant libertarian back
in the early 1950s. Reaching quickly for activism and immediate gains,
Robert concluded that the proper strategic path was to play down all talk
of the libertarian goal, and in particular to play down libertarian hostility
to government. His aim was to stress only the “positive” and

so who was this???

2

what page is that

3

Part III " a stategy for liberty" p.307

4

Maybe that billionaire that helped him set up the Cato Institute. Edit: No, that was the Koch’s.

5

Maybe Robert Nozick?

6

Robert LeFerve?? as Nozick’s book wasn’t written until 1974, and he never struck as the sort who would squelch debate of that sort.

7

Now I’ll admit, I haven’t read this book, but with “Robert” in quotes, is it possible Robert is being used as a John Doe or Bob Smith? and the person’s name isn’t Robert?

8

Looking over the quote in question, I think "Robert: is really just a psuedonym for somebody Rothbard knew.

9

http://www.lewrockwell.com/gordon/gordon37.html

10

I thought it may have been koch or crane - however the time is way off - this “robert” is from the 1950’s. also I have a feeling that rothbard would not used a pseudonym. his whole career was about telling it the way he saw it