Jeff Bezos Reboots Washington Post Opinion Section: “Liberty & Free Markets or GTFO”

Billionaire overlord and part-time space cowboy Jeff Bezos just dropped the hammer on The Washington Post’s opinion section, declaring it will now exclusively champion “personal liberties and free markets.” Translation: if your take doesn’t align with deregulation and rugged individualism, find another soapbox.

The shake-up was announced Wednesday on X (because of course it was), where Bezos spelled out his grand vision:

“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.”

And just in case anyone thought there’d still be room for nuance, he made it crystal clear: “Viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.” In other words, The Post is now less marketplace of ideas and more Amazon Prime for libertarian hot takes.

SHIPLEY JUMPS SHIP

Longtime Opinion Editor David Shipley? He gone. Bezos apparently gave him the choice to stay on under the new vision, but unless he was prepared to cosplay as Ayn Rand, his answer was a resounding “nah.” Bezos summed it up with classic CEO-speak:

“I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t ‘hell yes,’ then it had to be ‘no.’”

Shipley, who’d been running the show since 2022, took the hint and peaced out. Now, Bezos is on the hunt for a new Opinion Editor who fully embraces his free-market gospel.

THE WHY

So why the sudden shift? Bezos explained his grand philosophy in a way that sounds like it was written by ChatGPT after binge-watching Milton Friedman interviews:

“A big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.”

In short: capitalism rules, government drools.

MEDIA REACTION: SHOCKED, BUT NOT REALLY

Naturally, The Washington Post’s own journalists had thoughts. White House economics reporter Jeff Stein wasn’t exactly thrilled, warning that Bezos had “massively encroached” on the opinion section and straight-up saying dissenting views are “not going to be published or tolerated.”

For now, Stein insists the newsroom side remains untouched, but he made it clear: if Bezos starts meddling there, he’s out.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Bezos and The Washington Post spent the Trump years in an open feud, with the former president repeatedly taking swipes at the paper and threatening Amazon with antitrust action. But in Trump’s still-young second term, Bezos seems to be playing nice—attending the inauguration alongside other tech billionaires.

So, is this ideological purity? Or just the latest move in a billionaire chess game where the stakes are everything and the rest of us are just stuck watching from the sidelines?

Either way, expect The Washington Post to go heavy on the Invisible Hand and light on any handouts.