Every major religion teaches us not to put too much stock in the things of this world, that moth, rust or theft will eventually take all that we have. Still, I had hoped that Discourse would survive long past next month, when the magazine was slated to celebrate its fifth anniversary. Alas, it will not.
After nearly five wonderful years, Discourse will stop publishing at the end of this week. I know I speak for the editorial team when I say that while the decision to shut down the magazine greatly saddens us, we’re also extremely grateful to have had the opportunity over the years to publish more than 1,500 thought-provoking essays on a wide array of diverse topics, to have worked with some of the best thinkers and writers around and, most especially, to have reached millions of readers.
The reason for the magazine’s demise has to do with the ever-shifting sands of Washington, D.C.’s think-tank world. For the past year, the Mercatus Center (which has generously provided funding for our magazine since its inception) has been in the midst of a major reorganization. As a result, a number of programs, including Discourse, have been handed their walking papers.
Mercatus gave us roughly a half a year to find a new institutional home for the magazine. But while my colleagues and I had literally dozens of conversations with people from a host of different organizations, and while a number of them expressed genuine interest in taking on or supporting Discourse, no one agreed to provide enough financing to keep us afloat.
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