Liberty is an American libertarian journal founded in 1987 by R. W. Bradford (who was the magazine's publisher and editor until he died from cancer in 2005) in Port Townsend, Washington, and then edited from San Diego by Stephen Cox.

[1] Bradford had planned the launch of Liberty for several years during the 1980s, waiting in part for the development of desktop publishing software to make the endeavor cost-effective for a short-run periodical.

Rothbard left the masthead in 1990, following his break with the Libertarian Party and his public move towards paleolibertarianism; Hess stayed with the magazine until his death.

[citation needed] From the beginning, Liberty gave extensive coverage to the history of the libertarian movement, repeatedly focusing on the biography and legacy of Ayn Rand.

Characteristically, Bradford juxtaposed scholarly, intellectual writing from philosophers such as Loren Lomasky and Jan Narveson and economists such as Mark Skousen, Doug Casey, Leland B. Yeager, and David D. Friedman, with work by young, virtually unknown amateur writers.