Powerful business interests help drive the shift. Both the National Retail Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce just pledged to become more involved in primary elections to back center-right and “business-oriented” candidates against Tea Party insurgents and incumbents. In an Alabama special primary election, for example, the Chamber spent nearly $200,000 in support of an establishment-friendly candidate against a Tea Party-type. Other major businesses have joined in the effort, with AT&T, ExxonMobil, Home Depot, and Walmart all contributing money to oppose the Tea Party candidate.

Even more revealing are two recent articles in The Economist, a publication that espouses libertarianism in a way that is much more subtle than the slick libertarian magazine called Reason. The Economist must have recently found religion—why else would it suddenly report that libertarianism can go too far and that rights may be bent to help the common good?

Libertarian ideology has been a driving force behind several states that rolled back laws requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets. Toeing the libertarian line, a Nebraska lawmaker justified his bill to roll back helmet requirements on the grounds that the “government shouldn’t tell people what to do.” Other libertarians rally behind the slogan, “Let those who ride—decide!”

The Economist, however, highlights that following a repeal of a helmet law in Michigan, motorcyclist fatalities rose 18 percent. When Texas got rid of its helmet laws, deaths per mile ridden spiked by 25 percent. Riders who do survive typically run up hospital bills in excess of $1 million. The magazine stresses that taxpayers foot nearly two thirds of these costs. After these upfront charges, these patients cost society plenty more, since fewer than one in three will ever work again following a serious crash. Hence The Economist effectively embraces a counter slogan: “Let those who pay have a say.” It’s a valid position, but far from the standard libertarian line that is The Economist’s usual fare.

Protection of privacy is a leading libertarian cause that finds wide support on the right and left. Beyond the NSA scandals, many fear violation of privacy by new technologies--above all Google Glass, which can film all you see and put it on the Internet. The Economist surprisingly lists a number of public goods that come from this and other widespread use of personal recording devices. Outfitting police officers with cameras that record encounters with the public results in significantly fewer public complaints filed and inspires a reduction in the use of force by officers. In Afghanistan, a British soldier who murdered a wounded Afghan was captured on film by a camera mounted on a fellow soldier’s helmet. His recent conviction based upon this evidence might deter future abuses by members of the armed forces.