Director and Research Associate: Charles Johnson

Contact Information

• E-mail: feedback@radgeek.com
• WWW: charleswjohnson.name
• Blog: radgeek.com

Curriculum vitae

Bio

Charles Johnson is a Research Associate for the Molinari Institute. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy (summa cum laude) from Auburn University. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, has spent most of his life in the Deep South, and is now living and working in Las Vegas, Nevada. His research interests focus the philosophical, cultural, and material foundations of a free society, with study, writing, and presentation on topics ranging from pure metaphysics to applied strategy. Chief among them are:

• Anarchist history and political theory
• The relationship between socialist and market tendencies in libertarian thought
• History and theory of radical social movements (esp. abolitionism, organized labor, and radical feminism).
• Problems and strategy for individual action within liberation movements
• Moral and political philosophy
• Philosophical method and the role of philosophical criticism in building an open society
• Philosophy of Logic and early Analytic philosophy
• Modality and the metaphysics of possible worlds

You might summarize the rather unlikely blend of ideas that emerges from these areas of study according to the following five-point programme:

1. At least 1/4 of all philosophical puzzles arise from confusions about modality and metaphysics; nearly all confusions about modality have their roots in confusions about the nature of philosophical inquiry.

2. Philosophical inquiry begins, and ends, in the real world. It pays to be a realist and an anti-skeptic about just about everything.

3. Criticism without activism is empty; activism without criticism is blind (and dumb).

4. Pure contemplation of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful are worthwhile parts of the good life for rational beings. (We want bread, yes, but roses too.)

5. Free-market libertarianism and socialistic Anarchism are complementary, not contradictory doctrines. The surest way to dump the bosses off our back is to get rid of state capitalist privileges and free the workers of the world to unite and build grassroots, mutualistic alternatives to corporate capitalism.

In addition to research, presentation and publications, Charles also maintains a blog, the Rad Geek People’s Daily and manages the Fair Use Repository, a freely accessible, researcher-friendly library of citable online resources, based on open-source software and open web standards, with a special focus on philosophy, historical sources, and radical movement literature.