Virginia Postrel
Encyclopedia
Virginia I. Postrel is an American
political
and cultural
writer
of broadly libertarian
, or classical liberal, views. She is best known for her two non-fiction
books, The Future and Its Enemies
and The Substance of Style. In the former she explains her philosophy, "dynamism
," a forward-looking and change-seeking philosophy
that generally favors unregulated organization through "spontaneous order
". She contrasts it with "stasis
," a philosophy that favors top-down control and regulation
and is marked by desire to maintain the present state of affairs.
Virginia Postrel was editor of Reason
from July 1989 to January 2000, and remained on the masthead as editor-at-large through 2001. Prior to that, she was a reporter for Inc. and The Wall Street Journal
. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
(FIRE). From 2000 to 2006, she wrote an economics column for The New York Times
and from 2006 to 2009 she wrote the "Commerce and Culture" column for "The Atlantic". (She also appeared on the last episode of the third season of Penn
and Teller
's Bullshit!
.)
Postrel wrote the biweekly column "Commerce & Culture" for The Wall Street Journal
until April 2011. Since May 2011, she has written a biweekly column for Bloomberg View.
In March 2006 Postrel donated a kidney to an acquaintance—psychiatrist and writer Sally Satel. She has recounted the experience, and referred to it in several subsequent articles and blog posts—many of which are critical of legal prohibitions against compensating organ donors. In some of these pieces she discusses strategies for working around these restrictions, such as organ donor transplant chains.
In her March 2009 article “My Drug Problem” in The Atlantic, Postrel wrote about her own experience of being treated for breast cancer with the expensive drug Herceptin.
She questioned if such a costly treatment would be available to others—and if the risky research that makes such innovative treatments possible would be profitable—under proposed health care reforms in the U.S.A.
Postrel has also referred to her experience as a cancer patient in her writing about the importance of design aesthetics in hospitals, and the competitive forces that drive them to create more attractive environments for patients. This, of course, ties into the thesis of her second book—that beauty is more than simply a superficial, frivolous trait, and can go more than skin deep. Notions of beauty and desirability—and thoughts on what makes good design good beyond the needs of sound engineering—inform her work at the Deep Glamour blog.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and cultural
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
of broadly libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, or classical liberal, views. She is best known for her two non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
books, The Future and Its Enemies
The Future and Its Enemies
The Future and Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise, and Progress is a 1998 book by Virginia Postrel where she describes the growing conflict in post-Cold War society between "dynamism" — marked by constant change, creativity and exploration in the pursuit of progress — and...
and The Substance of Style. In the former she explains her philosophy, "dynamism
Dynamism
Dynamism is a concept that has several meanings.*Dynamism , a cosmological explanation of the material world in the vein of process philosophy.*Dynamism , a Japanese retailer specializing in exports....
," a forward-looking and change-seeking philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
that generally favors unregulated organization through "spontaneous order
Spontaneous order
Spontaneous order, also known as "self-organization", is the spontaneous emergence of order out of seeming chaos. It is a process found in physical, biological, and social networks, as well as economics, though the term "self-organization" is more often used for physical and biological processes,...
". She contrasts it with "stasis
Stasis
The term stasis may refer to* A state of stability, in which all forces are equal and opposing, therefore they cancel out each other....
," a philosophy that favors top-down control and regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
and is marked by desire to maintain the present state of affairs.
Virginia Postrel was editor of Reason
Reason (magazine)
Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...
from July 1989 to January 2000, and remained on the masthead as editor-at-large through 2001. Prior to that, she was a reporter for Inc. and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is a non-profit group founded in 1999 and focused on civil liberties in academia in the United States...
(FIRE). From 2000 to 2006, she wrote an economics column for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and from 2006 to 2009 she wrote the "Commerce and Culture" column for "The Atlantic". (She also appeared on the last episode of the third season of Penn
Penn Jillette
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, comedian, illusionist, juggler, bassist and a best-selling author known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller, and advocacy of atheism, libertarian philosophy, free-market economics, and scientific skepticism.-Early...
and Teller
Teller (magician)
Teller is an American magician, illusionist, comedian, writer, and the frequently silent half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller, along with Penn Jillette. He legally changed his name from "Raymond Joseph Teller" to just "Teller"...
's Bullshit!
Bullshit!
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! is an American documentary television series that aired from 2003 to 2010 on the premium cable channel Showtime. In Canada, the series aired on The Movie Network and Movie Central.- Overview :...
.)
Postrel wrote the biweekly column "Commerce & Culture" for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
until April 2011. Since May 2011, she has written a biweekly column for Bloomberg View.
Health Care, Bioethics and Aesthetics
Postrel has written several articles on health care and bioethics; these include accounts of her own experiences.In March 2006 Postrel donated a kidney to an acquaintance—psychiatrist and writer Sally Satel. She has recounted the experience, and referred to it in several subsequent articles and blog posts—many of which are critical of legal prohibitions against compensating organ donors. In some of these pieces she discusses strategies for working around these restrictions, such as organ donor transplant chains.
In her March 2009 article “My Drug Problem” in The Atlantic, Postrel wrote about her own experience of being treated for breast cancer with the expensive drug Herceptin.
She questioned if such a costly treatment would be available to others—and if the risky research that makes such innovative treatments possible would be profitable—under proposed health care reforms in the U.S.A.
Postrel has also referred to her experience as a cancer patient in her writing about the importance of design aesthetics in hospitals, and the competitive forces that drive them to create more attractive environments for patients. This, of course, ties into the thesis of her second book—that beauty is more than simply a superficial, frivolous trait, and can go more than skin deep. Notions of beauty and desirability—and thoughts on what makes good design good beyond the needs of sound engineering—inform her work at the Deep Glamour blog.
External links
- Postrel's website
- Dynamist Blog
- Deep Glamour Blog
- Podcast featuring Postrel Postrel discusses style (and organ donations) on EconTalkEconTalkEconTalk is a weekly podcast hosted by professor Russell Roberts at George Mason University. Roberts interviews guests—often professional economists—on topics in economics....
. - 2004 TEDTalk "The power of glamour" TED Conference
- Video discussion/dialogue with Virginia Postrel and Dan Drezner on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
- Interview featuring Postrel on Reason.tv
- Videos featuring Postrel on Youtube.com
- "Who's Afraid of Virginia Postrel?" by Justin Raimondo
- http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/EnemiBooknotes interview with Postrel discussing The Future and Its Enemies on C-spanC-SPANC-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
] - Virginia Postrel articles at Byliner