P.J. O'Rourke on Trump, Populism, and "How the Hell Did This Happen?"

Editors Note: Starting reading it last night.


"I consider myself primarily to be a libertarian," says P.J. O'Rourke, the author of the new book 'How the Hell Did This Happen?: The Election of 2016.' "I am personally conservative [but] I always think of libertarianism as basically being an analytical tool, not an ideology per se.... When you look at something that happens, especially in politics, you look at something that happens, you say, 'Does this increase the dignity of the individual? Does this increase the liberty of the individual? Does this increase the responsibility of the individual?' If it meets those three criteria, then it's probably an acceptable libertarian political policy, or lack thereof, because we like to subtract some things from politics too."

In the latest Reason Podcast, O'Rourke tells Nick Gillespie what he learned about Donald Trump's appeal from his time spent covering the 2016 election, why populism is a "tragedy" for libertarians, and why he wants his kids to study English and the liberal arts at college. "Be immersed in the history of civilization, you know, in literature, in the arts," he says. "You're going to be force-marched through these things. Some of it's going to be boring. Some of it you won't appreciate for another 40 years, but it's that college liberal arts education, is the last chance you really get to [immerse yourself in art, music, and culture]."