Dynamist.com: Virginia Postrel's <i>Reason</i> articles

Virginia Postrel's Reason magazine articles since January 1995

: (click here for interviews)

Consumer Vertigo -- June 2005
A new wave of social critics claim that freedom¹s just another word for way too much to choose. Here¹s why they¹re wrong.
Why Buffy Kicked Ass -- August/September 2003
The deeper meaning of TV's favorite vampire slayer.
Free Hand and photo here -- March 2002

Ironic Processing -- November 2000
How Al Gore's pursuit of "central organizing principles" winds up slicing us into ever-narrowing interest groups.
Politicizing Parenthood -- October 2000
An "inclusive" and "tolerant" society can't have a government that treats nonparents as second-class citizens,
"Impure Thoughts" -- August/September 2000
Waiting for perfectly "clean" opportunities to apply your principles means you could lose them altogether.

"Cable Access" -- July 2000
Regulation gave us media monopolies. Can consumer power shake them?

"Joy, to the World" -- June 2000
A techno-celebrity's childish manifesto.

"Laboratory Rats" -- May 2000
What should state governments do about the "new economy"?

"The In-Box Presidency" -- April 2000
What's behind the politics of personality.

"Prescription for Trouble" -- March 2000
Online pharmacies challenge traditional medical models, and the regulatory backlash threatens broader Internet freedoms.

"Seattle Surprise" -- February 2000
The WTO protests caught free-traders off guard. They shouldn't have.

"High-Tech's Starr Report" -- January 2000
The consequences of a software culture war.

"Reactionary Running Mates" -- December 1999
Susan Faludi sounds like Pat Buchanan.

"After Socialism" (feature) -- November 1999
Now the greatest threats to freedom come from those seeking stability and the "one best way."

"External Cost" -- November 1999
The dangers of calling everything pollution.

"Dangerous Remedy" -- October 1999
The other problem with extending Medicare.

Creative Matrix -- August/September 1999
What we lose by regulating culture.

When Doves Cry -- June 1999
Wars without ends.

Source Code - May 1999
Al Gore says he invented the Internet. What does he mean?

Power Fantasies - April 1999
The strange appeal of the Y2K bug.

The Pleasantville Solution - March 1999
The war on "sprawl" promises "livability" but delivers repression,
intolerance--and more traffic.
Rumor Mongers - February 1999
"Neutral" technocrats sign on to anti-technology smear campaigns.
Party Poopers - January 1999
Why the Republicans deserved to lose.
The Two Faces of Bill Clinton - December 1998
Is the personal political?

Low Fidelity - November 1998
Russia's pretend capitalism.

The Claims of Nature - October 1998
The "can gays change" debate is dodging the main issues.
Post-Crisis Politics - August/September 1998
Why investigative reporters and political activists seem so depressed.

Lost Horizon - July 1998
An alienated GOP hands the future to Al Gore.

No Telling - June 1998
The push for Internet privacy controls combines a bad theory with a dangerous
agenda.
Unions Forever - May 1998
A new vision for America's workers.

License to Grill - April 1998
How the Clintons invited Ken Starr into their personal lives.
Let's Pretend - March 1998
The "pageant" masquerading as environmental debate.
Test Case - February 1998
How relying on "the experts" failed public education.

Creative Insecurity - January 1998
The complicated truth behind the rise of Microsoft.

The Croly Ghost - December 1997
Exorcising the specter haunting American politics.
Fighting Words - November 1997
Honest discussions of changing sex roles prove too hot for pundits to handle.

The Nail File - October 1997
Economic insights from an industry too embarassing for talking heads.
Capital Cynics - August/September 1997
Who do they think they're fooling?
Fatalist Attraction - July 1997
The dubious case against fooling Mother Nature.
Monstrous Hybrids - June 1997
Understanding the Clinton scandals.
No Class - May 1997
Bill Clinton's education-as-entitlement programs.
Laissez Fear - April 1997
Left and right agree: the market is their enemy.

Reefer Madness - March 1997
Why the Clinton administration is terrified by medical marijuana.
Priced to Move - February 1997
The CPI can't keep up with a dynamic economy.
Beyond Boredom - January 1997
No, Haley, the "battle of ideas" isn't over.

Medical Meddling - December 1996
Who's afraid of managed care?
The Other Drug War - November 1996
The struggle over the FDA has little to do with tobacco, or even David Kessler.

The Choice - October 1996
Can Republicans take libertarian votes for granted?
Past Master - August/September 1996
Bob Dole's campaign has no future.

Gas Bags - July 1996
Technocracy is running on fumes.
Legacies - June 1996
One day' s obituaries reveal the blind spots of the opinion establishment.
Standing Pat - May 1996
Buchananism's establishment allies.
Looking Forward - April 1996
Why Steve Forbes is a serious candidate.

Clueless - March 1996
Most people don't pay much attention to the news--which makes you wonder about all those polls.

Bloc Busters - February 1996
Conservatives' sudden discomfort with markets threatens the GOP coalition.

Abreast of History - January 1996
Why breast implants are bigger than the New Hampshire primary.

Race to the Bottom - December 1995
The conservative fixation on racial categories.

Honest Admission - November 1995
Even Progressive planners knew some migration defies regulation.
Overcoming Merit - October 1995
The ugly agenda behind the overclass hype.

The Lethal Center - August/September 1995
The danger of quick-fix consensus.

Fighting Words - July 1995
Blurring the distinctions between criticizing big government and blowing up innocent people.

Food Fight - June 1995
The unreality of the school lunch debate.
Curb Your Dog! - May 1995
Washington insiders don't understand that government actions are dangerous.

Illogical Deductions - April 1995
The tax credit trap.
Future Tense - March 1995
Gingrich's circuits sometimes misfire, but at least he's wired into the future.

Fatal Fallacies - February 1995
The deadly consequences of misunderstanding race and violence.
Washington Traps - January 1995
Republican upstarts have to avoid being co-opted into the culture of Washington.

Virginia Postrel's Interviews in Reason

The Dilbert Doctrines: An Interview with Scott Adams - February 1999
The Peters Principles: An Interview with Tom Peters - October 1997
The management guru as playground director and defender of open societies.
On the Frontier: An Interview with Esther Dyson - November 1996
The promise of unsettled territory -- and the challenge of civilizing it.

Interview with the Vamp: An Interview with Camille Paglia - August/September 1995
Keeping up with a rapid-fire radical

The New, New World: Richard Rodriguez on culture and assimilation - August/September 1994