John Allen Pugsley (January 5, 1934 – April 8, 2011) was an American voluntaryistlibertarian political, economics commentator, lecturer, and best-selling author.
Early life
Pugsley was born in
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
, and graduated from
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
. After serving in the U.S. Army, he spent a year cruising on a 38-foot sailboat, and another year living in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
with his wife and children. He then returned to the U.S. and spent the next two decades as a businessman.
Career
In the late 1950s to mid 1960s Pugsley worked at General Dynamics – Astronautics Sycamore Canyon Rocket Test facility as a technical writer. Among other projects, he wrote countdown procedures for Atlas and Centaur Rocket tests.
In the late 1960s Pugsley entered the investment business, founded a publishing company, the Common Sense Press, and wrote his first book, ''Common Sense Economics''. It sold over 150,000 hardcover copies. His second book, ''The Alpha Strategy'' (1980), was on the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
bestseller list for nine weeks in 1981. Pugsley distributed a PDF edition of the book free of charge (as of 2012, the author's domain has expired. A reposting of the PDF has been provided by fans). Even after 31 years in circulation as of 2012, ''The Alpha Strategy'' is considered a standard reference on stocking up on food and household goods as a hedge against
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
. This has made it popular with survivalists.
In ''Common Sense Economics'' Pugsley cites as influences Murray Rothbard,
Henry Hazlitt
Henry Stuart Hazlitt (; November 28, 1894 – July 9, 1993) was an American journalist, economist, and philosopher known for his advocacy of free markets and classical liberal principles. Over a career spanning more than seven decades, Hazlit ...
, and
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; ; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American political economist and philosopher of the Austrian school. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the social contributions of classical l ...
, and subsequent works also cite Andrew J. Galambos. In 1995 he authored an open letter to Harry Browne advising him against running for president; Pugsley's argument was based on the principles of
voluntaryism
Voluntaryism (,"Voluntaryism" . '' non-voting.
In 1975 he began a newsletter on economic and political events, ''Common Sense Viewpoint'' (1974), which had 30,000 subscribers at its peak. In 1988 he began publishing ''John Pugsley's Journal'', an investment-economic newsletter covering political, economic, and investment topics.A brief biography of John A. Pugsley
In the mid-1970s, after reading E.O. Wilson's book '' Sociobiology: The New Synthesis'', Pugsley began to study evolutionary biology. As his study continued over the next 25 years, he founded The Bio-Rational Institute.
Pugsley was one of the founding members of The Eris Society. In 1997, he helped found The Sovereign Society, an international organization dedicated to maintaining and protecting its members' privacy, wealth and liberty. The society is primarily geared toward
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country.
The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
relocation, offshore banking and trusts. Pugsley was the society's chairman at the time of his death and wrote a monthly column for its e-newsletter, ''The Sovereign Individual.'' In 2006, he founded "The Stealth Investor", a weekly e-letter stock advisory letter.
Later years and death
Near the end of his life, Pugsley lived in
Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...
, and just before moving there he lived aboard a 50-foot sloop named ''Eris Island'' in the Abacos, Bahamas, with Kiana Delamare. Delamare has written for ''EscapeArtist.com''Life on Eris Island, part 3, Setting sail at long last: glorious days in the Bahamas and the ''International Living'' e-newsletter.
Pugsley died at age 77 on April 8, 2011. LewRockwell.com (blog), April 8, 2011
Books authored
* ''Common Sense Economics'' (1974)
* ''The Metals Investors Handbook'' (1983)
* ''The Alpha Strategy: The Ultimate Plan of Financial Self-Defense for the Small Investor'' (1980)
* ''The Bank Book'' (1981)
* ''The Copper Play'' (1980)
* ''The Interest Rate Strategy'' (1982)
See also
*
Retreat (survivalism)
In the survivalist subculture or movement, a retreat is a place of refuge. Sometimes their retreats are called a bug-out location (BOL), a bunker, or a bolt hole. Survivalist retreats are intended to be self-sufficient and easily defended. Gener ...
*
Survivalism
Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists, doomsday preppers or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, and other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, ...
*
Self-sufficiency
Self-sustainability and self-sufficiency are overlapping states of being in which a person, being, or system needs little or no help from, or interaction with others. Self-sufficiency entails the self being enough (to fulfill needs), and a sel ...