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Karl Hess (May 25, 1923-April 22, 1994), called the "most beloved libertarian", was a veteran of World War II, a libertarian thinker, ultimately a foe of the military-industrial complex, and a planner and applied-technologist.
Hess was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of his life there. He was born to a wealthy father, however marital problems resulted in his mother leaving her husband and taking a job as a telephone operator. Consequently, Karl Hess was raised in very modest circumstances by his mother. Young Hess was very bright, but left school at 15 and went to work for the Mutual Broadcasting System as a news writer (he was hired by someone who did not realize how young he was). He continued to work for newspapers, and by the time he was 18 was assistant city editor of the Washington Daily News. He was later an editor for Newsweek and for The Fisherman.
Hess was a soldier in the U.S. Army during World War II.
As a one time speechwriter for Barry Goldwater, Hess's explorations of ideology and politics drew some public interest. Hess penned the famous line "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." He was also the primary author of the Republican Party's 1960 and 1964 platforms. He later called this his "Cold Warrior" phase.
Following the 1964 presidential campaign, Hess' politics became more radical. He became a critic of middle-class American hypocrisy, a kind of well-groomed corruption that lived in the suburbs. He became an opponent of big government and big business. He joined Students for a Democratic Society, opposed the Vietnam War, and was severely sanctioned by the IRS for tax resistance. Hess was a member of the Libertarian Party and served as editor of its newsletter from 1986 to 1990.
Hess wrote an intriguing account of an attempt which he and several friends and colleagues headed up, a project to bring self-built and self-managed technology into the direct service of the economic and social life of a poor, largely Afro-American neighborhood of Washington, D.C. - Adams-Morgan. The book is titled Community Technology. While much of the experimentation proved successful in technical terms (apparatus was built, food raised, etc.), the community, continuing on what Hess felt was a path of deterioration, failed to throw itself into efforts to expand and get value out of its application.
Subsequently, Hess moved to rural Opequon Creek, West Virginia, where he set up a welding shop to support his household. He became deeply involved with local affairs there.
Hess ran a symbolic campaign for governor of West Virginia in 1992. When asked by a reporter what his first act would be if elected, he memorably quipped, "I will demand an immediate recount."
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