I’m moving to Substack
I tried to retire as I approached a landmark birthday. (OK, I turned 75.) It didn’t go well. I missed reporting and writing. I had things that I wanted to say–and things I wanted to understand. Working as a reporter for more than half a century has given me a lifelong license to learn. I get to ask all kinds of people questions about all kinds of things, and then share what I learn with readers like you. It’s a privilege.
As a more or less successful freelance reporter since 2008, I’ve been able to pursue my peculiar interests and obsessions–the world of foundations and nonprofits, the growth (and decline) of effective altruism, psychedelic medicines, animal rights and, most recently, tobacco and nicotine policy. But freelancing has become harder than ever. There are fewer publications, fewer editors and smaller budgets. One of my regular outlets stopped paying. Another is short of money. My hometown newspaper, The Washington Post, just laid off hundreds of people.
So I’ve decided to start a Substack. It’s called The Best Laid Plans. Substack is the platform where most independent reporters publish these days. Building a community there is easier than doing so on a stand-alone blog like this one, or on Medium, where I have been self-publishing for years. The Substack is an experiment for me. I’m not going to let it take over my life, but I have ideas and insights that I hope are worth sharing. In my first post, I write about my own political evolution from leftist to liberal to libertarian.
Here’s an excerpt:
I remain as committed as ever to making the world a better place. But I have come to believe that capitalism, free markets, individual liberties and limited government will bring us closer to a world that is more peaceful, prosperous and just….
I’m not a doctrinaire libertarian, by any stretch. I don’t want to live in a country without national parks, public libraries or safety nets for the poor or the sick. Only collective action can address global problems like climate change.
I intend to write from what I regard as a libertarian perspective. Or, if you prefer, through a libertarian prism. By that, I mean an approach that is deeply skeptical about the effectiveness of centralized planning and places a high value on personal freedom. Unlike many of my friends and neighbors, I have faith in the power of capitalism to do good; government and nonprofits, not so much. I’ll take Amazon and Tesla over the post office and Amtrak, any day.
The Best Laid Plans is about unintended consequences and epistemic humility, which is high-falutin’ way of saying we don’t know as much as we think we do. It advises approaching politics and policy with caution, recognizing how little we know and how prone we are to error. I’ll continue to pay attention to the beats like tobacco control and philanthropy that I know well. I’ll also explore new territory, questioning conventional liberal wisdom around issues like rent control, the minimum wage and government funding for the arts. As always, I’m open to new ideas: Please feel free to email me at marc.gunther@gmail.com
I invite you to join me on Substack. This website will soon go dormant, becoming my digital file cabinet, with no new content. I’m excited to begin this next chapter of my so-called retirement.
