Hubert Collins’s comments about the “predictable death of left libertarianism” made me wonder about what exactly is in its death throes? Left libertarians may quarrel within their own ranks and have turned off Ron Paul, but they seem to be doing well in most other respects. They are awash in megabucks thanks to the Koch brothers and other wealthy sponsors; and as far as I know, the Cato Institute is not about to close its operations for want of funds and media outlets. Quite the contrary!

I keep running across the names of those whom Collins considers to be left libertarians in the national press, on Fox News, and featured on the programs of authorized conservative gatherings.

Although left libertarians have not been asked to run the government or elect their own president, they are hardly a spent force. They are exactly where they want to be, as an ally of the political establishment. In this role, they push for favors for large corporations and promote leftist social policies. Unlike the Dissident Right and most right-leaning libertarians, left libertarians are entirely inoffensive to political and media elites and blend with them easily.

Collins may confuse his own revulsion for this group (which I fully share) with the fond hope that they’re disappearing into the woodwork. But I find no evidence that this is the case.