A radical in Washington.

• Author: Walker, Jesse
• Position: Briefly Noted - Promoting Civil Society among the Heathen: A Memoir - Brief article - Book review

Like the late Karl Hess, John McClaughry is a libertarian-leaning writer whose concerns sometimes dovetail with the ideas of the anti-authoritarian left: He has written supportively about self-managed workplaces, neighborhood empowerment, alternative currencies, and decentralized technology.

But while Hess famously shifted from the Goldwater right to the revolutionary New Left, McClaughry started his career among the "moderate" Republicans that Barry Goldwater opposed, and he never left the GOP. Instead he attempted to advance his decentralist ideas in the corridors of power. McClaughry didn't win...