Karl Hess
Karl Hess | |
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Hess at The Future of Freedom Conference in 1981 | |
| Born | Carl Hess III May 25, 1923 |
| Died | April 22, 1994 (aged 70) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1940–1994 |
| Employer(s) | Mutual Broadcasting System, The Washington Daily News, Newsweek, American Enterprise Institute, The Libertarian Forum |
| Political party | Libertarian Party |
| Spouse | Therese (second wife) |
| Children | Karl Hess, IV |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Libertarianism in the United States |
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Karl Hess (born Carl Hess III; May 25, 1923 – April 22, 1994) was an American speechwriter and author. He was also a political philosopher, editor, welder, motorcycle racer, tax resister, and libertarian activist. His career included stints on the Republican right and the New Left before embracing a mix of left-libertarianism and laissez-faire anarcho-capitalism, a term which is attested earliest in his 1969 essay "The Death of Politics". Later in life, he summed up his role in the economy by remarking "I am by occupation a free marketer (crafts and ideas, woodworking, welding, and writing)." His views were similar to those one of Samuel Edward Konkin III.