Walter Block

Walter Block is a Harold E. Wirth Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics, College of Business, Loyola University New Orleans. He earned his PhD in economics at Columbia University in 1972. He has taught at Rutgers, SUNY Stony Brook, Baruch CUNY and the University of Central Arkansas. He is the author of 300 articles in professional journals, two dozen books, including the classic Defending the Undefendable, and thousands of op eds. He lectures widely on college campuses and appears regularly on television and radio shows.

MB: How long have you been performing?

WB: I first started giving public speeches in 1966. I began my teaching career in about 1968. I ran for political office in the early 1970s, for the New York State Assembly.

MB: What were the circumstances when you started speaking publicly?

WB: I had become a libertarian in 1962. I wanted to promote liberty. There were two ways of doing this: writing and publishing, and public speaking.

MB: Tell me about the first time you were anxious or nervous. What were the circumstances?

WB: Both writing and speaking were occasions for nervousness and anxiety. In the former case, I had bouts of “writer’s block.” In the latter case, when I had a public speech scheduled a few weeks in advance, and I contemplated going through with it, I would get a dry throat, upset stomach, and general discomfort.

MB: How did you feel?

WB: I felt horrible. How could I have a career in promoting liberty through writing and speaking if writing and speaking were accompanied by anxiety? Yet, so strong was my desire to pursue such a career that I persevered. I did the writing and speaking—I forced myself to do so. But I was not a happy camper.