John Stossel
Give me a break
Consumer-style case against red tape.
Heterodox LibertarianOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Libertarian hall →- Role
- Journalist
- Era
- b. 1947
- Region
- United States
- Social band
- Heterodox
- Placement
- +70 · −50 · +15
§ Where John Stossel stands
3 axesStossel argues that markets protect consumers better than regulators, a reversal of his early career that he set out in Give Me a Break (2004). His ABC specials and Fox Business programme attacked licensing laws, subsidies, minimum-wage rules and bureaucratic red tape, and No, They Can't (2012) argued that government fails where individuals succeed, placing him firmly toward the market pole.
Stossel distrusts government as a problem-solver and pairs economic freedom with civil liberties, arguing for an end to the war on drugs and against occupational licensing. His 1994 special Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death? contended that exaggerated fears of minor risks drive costly regulation, a theme he has carried into his later online Stossel TV videos.
Socially Stossel is tolerant in the libertarian manner: he favours legalising drugs, gambling and prostitution between consenting adults and opposes government moralising. He is less engaged by progressive cultural causes, and his challenges to popular beliefs about the environment and risk, collected in Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity (2006), place him only slightly on the progressive side.
How close are you to John Stossel?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
LivingJohn Frederic Stossel (born 1947) is an American television journalist and commentator. Born in Chicago and educated at Princeton, he started at KGW-TV in Portland, Oregon, where he became a consumer reporter, moved to WCBS-TV in New York and joined ABC News in 1981 as consumer editor of Good Morning America and a correspondent for 20/20. He co-anchored 20/20 from 2003 to 2009, then moved to Fox Business Network, where his weekly programme Stossel ran until 2016.
Stossel began as a crusading consumer advocate but during the 1980s turned against regulation, and his 1994 ABC special Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death? signalled the libertarian outlook that defined the rest of his career. His books Give Me a Break (2004), Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity (2006) and No, They Can't (2012) carry the same message. In 2000 ABC and Stossel apologised on air after a 20/20 report misrepresented tests on pesticide residues in organic produce.
Notable for
- 01Long ABC/Fox broadcasting career
- 02'Give Me a Break'
- 03Popular free-market advocacy
Key works & moments
- 1969Begins his journalism career at KGW-TV in Portland, Oregon.
- 1981Joins ABC News as a consumer reporter for Good Morning America and 20/20.
- 1994Presents the ABC special Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?, signalling his libertarian turn.
- 2003Becomes co-anchor of 20/20, a post he holds until 2009.
- 2004Publishes Give Me a Break.
- 2009Moves to Fox Business Network to host the weekly programme Stossel.
§ Minds closest to John Stossel
All minds →
§ Also in the Libertarian hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is John Stossel's political ideology?
John Stossel is a libertarian: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Heterodox Libertarian. Economically he sits firmly toward the market pole (+70), arguing that competition protects consumers better than regulation. On governance he is anti-statist (−50), opposing the drug war, occupational licensing and most government programmes. Socially he is slightly progressive (+15), tolerant of private choices such as drug use and gambling but sceptical of many progressive and environmental campaigns.
Is John Stossel left-wing or right-wing?
He is a libertarian, generally grouped with the right because of his economics. Stossel's attacks on regulation, welfare programmes and big government made him a favourite of conservatives, and he spent seven years at Fox Business. But he supports drug legalisation and personal freedom in private life, and he describes himself as a libertarian rather than a conservative. Earlier in his career, as a consumer reporter, he was seen as an ally of liberal regulation, which he later rejected.
Why did John Stossel change his views on regulation?
Stossel has said that years of consumer reporting persuaded him that markets punish bad businesses more effectively than regulators do. In the 1970s he made his name exposing shoddy products and scams and assumed government was the remedy. During the 1980s he concluded that many regulations raised prices, protected established firms and failed to deliver the promised safety, a shift he described in Give Me a Break (2004). His 1994 ABC special Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death? marked the change publicly.
Which minds are closest to John Stossel?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to John Stossel are Robert Nozick (96% alike), David Boaz (96% alike) and Gary Johnson (94% alike). The furthest is Pol Pot (8% alike).