The American Partisan -> Bio of Ilana Mercer

Ilana Mercer
Columnist

Ilana Mercer best describes herself as follows: I'm a wandering Jew, an ex-Israeli, an ex-South African, and soon to become an ex-Canadian! I'm currently en route to the State of Washington from where I hope, at least for the time being, not to be excommunicated.

My father was a South African anti-apartheid activist who fled to Israel where I grew up (to add to the crosses the poor man bore, he was—and still is—a rabbi). Like many youth-related follies, not least of which was being on the left of the political spectrum, I acquired degrees in psychology. The extent of my folly became clear when I immigrated to Canada in 1995. Fully intending to pursue work in this field, I discovered that psychology, for the most, had gone pop.

Ruminations about the corrosive effects on society of the therapeutic culture and the cult of the victim soon led to other realizations. Whether it was in promoting official multiculturalism, radical feminist orthodoxy, critical race theory, affirmative action policies or literary deconstruction--the State was everywhere. What's more, neatly factioned into special interests, citizens now lined up to cheer the State's assault on basic liberties.

Freedom had become synonymous with qualifying for some government entitlement. Charity was dead, usurped by government. Newly minted "human rights" decreed that equality had to be achieved through the State's divide-and-rule wealth confiscation and distribution activities. The State was eroding private property not only by distributing it, but by regulating how its rightful owners could use it.

I began writing editorials. Besides an innate dose of Randianism, I knew nothing about the libertarian political philosophy. Yet, unbeknown to me, I was espousing it. Fancy that, being a libertarian took no more than attempting to be immutably fair. My gratitude goes to Professor Walter Block, AKA Liberty's Pitbull, who found me, and introduced me to his remarkable corpus of work, as well as to the works of economists Ludwig von Mises, Murray N. Rothbard and other seminal thinkers.

All is not grim. I do pause to turn the arrows in my quiver away from The Thing the inimical Sir Humphrey Applebee of "Yes, Prime Minister" called a disorganized criminal organization. In addition to political economy, the topics I write about include popular culture, pseudo-science and in particular pop-psychology. From sex to music, it's all here, with plenty sauce, but absent the impoverished frame of reference you'll find in mainstream media.

As a freelance editorial page columnist, I wrote weekly columns for the Calgary Herald and for the Vancouver-based North Shore News. I've written for Ideas on Liberty and Insight Magazine, for the Financial Post, the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, the Vancouver Sun, the Report Newsmagazine and the Colorado Gazette.

My commentary has been posted on free market, liberty-oriented web sites such as the Ludwig von Mises Institute, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and Laissez Faire City Times. When he will have me, I contribute to the inimitable anarchic LewRockwell.com. I've also made Column Du Jour on WorldNetDaily and featured on FreedomNews, as do I contribute a regular column to the political web-magazine, The American Partisan.

When I'm not tilting at windmills, reading, or spending time with my family, I can be found running. I'm a devoted runner. Music is another passion. Chamber music and Bach -- any Bach -- are my first loves, but the hard core, intricate and masterful brilliance of a metal outfit like Symphony X is as alluring.

I welcome inquiries, assignments and offers of collaboration. ***