Penn Jillette
Libertarian showman
Free markets, free minds, free speech.
Heterodox LibertarianOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Libertarian hall →- Role
- Entertainer & advocate
- Era
- b. 1955
- Region
- United States
- Social band
- Heterodox
- Placement
- +68 · −55 · +35
§ Where Penn Jillette stands
3 axesJillette is a free-market libertarian who argues that helping the poor should be voluntary rather than done through taxation, a theme of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (2003–10), whose episodes attacked government programmes and regulation as well as corporate scams. He favours sharply lower public spending and light economic regulation, placing him well into market territory, though short of its outer edge.
Jillette's distrust of state coercion runs from economics into personal life: he backs drug legalisation, gun rights and free speech, and Bullshit! repeatedly attacked drug prohibition and censorship, making it one of the most openly libertarian programmes on American television. His opposition is to state force rather than to order as such, which keeps him short of anarchism.
Socially Jillette is a permissive atheist: he wrote the 2005 NPR essay 'There Is No God' and the book God, No! (2011), supports same-sex marriage and treats personal morality as a matter of individual choice. His heterodox streak lies in pairing that cultural liberalism with free-market economics and scepticism toward several progressive causes, which keeps him moderately rather than strongly progressive.
How close are you to Penn Jillette?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
LivingPenn Fraser Jillette (born 1955) is an American magician, comedian, author and television presenter, the tall, talkative half of Penn & Teller. Born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, he attended the Ringling Bros. clown college and formed the act with Raymond Teller in 1975; the duo reached Broadway in the 1980s and began a long-running Las Vegas residency in 2001. From 2011 the pair also hosted the magic competition Penn & Teller: Fool Us.
Jillette became one of America's best-known libertarians and atheists through Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, a Showtime series that ran from 2003 to 2010 and attacked pseudoscience, religion and government programmes alike. His books, including God, No! (2011) and Every Day Is an Atheist Holiday! (2012), and his 2005 essay 'There Is No God' for NPR's This I Believe series made him a prominent voice for unbelief. Some Bullshit! episodes, such as those questioning the harms of passive smoking and the value of recycling, drew criticism.
Notable for
- 01Half of Penn & Teller
- 02Outspoken libertarian voice
- 03Skepticism and free-speech advocacy
Key works & moments
- 1975Forms the magic and comedy duo Penn & Teller with Raymond Teller.
- 2003Launches Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on Showtime; it runs until 2010.
- 2005Writes 'There Is No God' for NPR's This I Believe series.
- 2011Publishes God, No! and begins hosting Penn & Teller: Fool Us.
- 2012Publishes Every Day Is an Atheist Holiday!
§ Minds closest to Penn Jillette
All minds →
§ Also in the Libertarian hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is Penn Jillette's political ideology?
Penn Jillette is a libertarian: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Heterodox Libertarian. Economically he sits well into market territory (+68), favouring free exchange and private charity over taxation and regulation. On governance he is strongly anti-statist (−55), opposing drug prohibition, censorship and gun control. Socially he is moderately progressive (+35), an outspoken atheist who supports same-sex marriage and treats personal morality as a matter of individual choice.
Is Penn Jillette left-wing or right-wing?
Neither: he is a libertarian who mixes positions from both sides. His free-market economics, opposition to high taxes and support for gun rights line up with the American right. His atheism, support for drug legalisation and same-sex marriage, and hostility to religious conservatism line up with the left. Jillette himself rejects the left-right frame and presents his politics as a consistent defence of individual liberty against state coercion.
Is Penn Jillette an atheist?
Yes, and an outspoken one. Jillette describes himself as an atheist who believes there is no god, not merely an agnostic, and he set out that view in his 2005 essay 'There Is No God' for NPR's This I Believe series and in the books God, No! (2011) and Every Day Is an Atheist Holiday! (2012). His atheism sits alongside his libertarianism as part of a broader scepticism of authority, a combination that ran through Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Which minds are closest to Penn Jillette?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Penn Jillette are Gary Johnson (96% alike), David Boaz (96% alike) and Auberon Herbert (92% alike). The furthest is Pol Pot (8% alike).