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A Brief Biography

Jason Kuznicki received a BA in history from Case Western Reserve University in 1998 and an MA from Ohio State University in 2000. He is currently working on his PhD at Johns Hopkins University under the direction of David A. Bell. He specializes in the intellectual history of France from the Renaissance to the French Revolution; his dissertation title is Scandal and Disclosure in the Old Regime. His CV is available here.

Jason's interest in classical liberalism began with reading The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged in high school. He helped establish the humanities.philosophy.objectivism newsgroup on Usenet. While Ayn Rand has been very influential in shaping his worldview, he does not consider himself an Objectivist. Philosophical interests include the French and Scottish Enlightenments; among more recent thinkers, he enjoys the work of Daniel Dennett, Henry Veatch, Karl Popper, and Isaiah Berlin.

Jason runs a weblog called Positive Liberty. Some of his favorite pieces to date include "The Ten Thousand Impostors," "Cloning a Raspberry Bush," and "Not So Different." Frequent topics include the relations between church and state, gay and lesbian issues, academic life, and foreign policy. He has also taken an interest in the politics of his hometown, Glen Burnie, Maryland, where he lives with Scott Starin, his partner of six years. He is very much looking forward to posting at Liberty & Power.