|  Columnist
and author Barbara Amiel calls herself an extreme libertarian. Other
journalists call her a provocateur. Critics call her the "Iron
Lady of Wapping." Whatever you call her, there's no denying that
Amiel has cut a broad swathe through the newspaper business (and gossip
columns) in two countries.
Born in Great Britain, Amiel's family moved to Canada in 1952. After
graduating from the University of Toronto, she worked for the Canadian
Broadcasting Company and as a freelance journalist before becoming senior
writer for Maclean's magazine in 1976. In 1980, she published
the autobiographical Confessions, and in 1983 was named editor
of the Toronto Sun.
In 1985, she moved back to England and worked as a high-profile columnist
for The Times of London (where she earned her "Iron Lady
of Wapping" sobriquet, after the neighborhood in London where The
Times is published) and later for London's Daily Telegraph.
Her outspoken denunciations of the U.K.'s liberal orthodoxy prompted
Slate.com to call her "a libertarian journalist and provocateur."
Amiel's personal life has also kept her in the spotlight. In 1992, she
married Canada's biggest and most influential media mogul, Conrad Black.
A self-proclaimed communist in college, Amiel's distrust of government
blossomed after she was thrown into a stinking, crowded jail block in
Mozambique in 1980 for lacking a proper visa. She was finally released
10 days later, but not before contracting malaria and typhoid. Whatever
the cause, her writing and speeches reflect a profound scorn of totalitarian
and overbearing governments. Some samples:
* On affirmative action: "We have instituted laws which discriminate
and we call them 'reverse discrimination,' based on the profoundly stupid
and anti-libertarian notion that if you force private citizens to hire,
house, and socialize with those groups they dislike, you will eliminate
racism." -- Speech at the Empire Club of Canada (1982)
* On the role of government: "I'm an extreme libertarian and really
believe that the state has no place in the bedrooms -- or dining rooms
-- of the nation." -- The Daily Telegraph (2003)
* On equality: "It is important to understand that equality for
the individual ... is a classic liberal ideal, while parity for a group
is at best a political and at worst a profoundly reactionary notion."
-- The Spectator (1992)
Amiel's pro-liberty opinions have earned her the respect of the Canadian
West Coast Libertarian Foundation, which called her "one of the
few libertarian voices in the national media."
-- Bill
Winter
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