Steve Forbes is moving into agitation.

“I gave the presidency a good try – and I’m glad I ran,” the erstwhile candidate for the Republican nomination in 1996 and 2000 said. “It’s time to move on. Am I running again? No. My role now is in agitation.”

What sort of “agitation” is this? Coming from the president and editor in chief of Forbes, a man who’s arguably the most prominent proselytizer of global capitalism, the very word – a staple of the left – sounded out of place.

“My role as an agitator involves pushing and pursuing issues such as the flat tax,” he said. “It means emphasizing the dangers of protectionism, and emphasizing how concern about the environment can sometimes become zealous and messianic. It means agitating to ensure that America stays a free and open society. I’ll stay involved in politics, of course, but not as a candidate. You could say that Steve Forbes is happily moving forward.”

Mr. Forbes paused briefly, as if to savor that statement. Then he said: “Human nature has its strengths and shortcomings. What interests me is reinforcing principles that would enable us to tap into the strong side of human nature. Notwithstanding everything that’s going on in the world, I have faith in the future. I’m an optimist.”

He has reason to be. Things seem to be going his way.

For instance, take the world as Mr. Forbes sees it.

“I feel vindicated about my belief in democracy and the free market,” he said. “Especially since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, huge swaths of the world are realizing their economic potential. Look at Eastern Europe. Look at India and China. In Russia, there’s considerably more freedom than under communism. There are even encouraging signs of entrepreneurial life in Africa.”

Take the Forbes domain.

The magazine, founded in 1917 by Mr. Forbes’s grandfather, a Scottish immigrant named B.C. Forbes, now has nine language editions. The newest was launched just a few days ago in Indonesia.

The Web site has become a huge success. As with his ideological beliefs, here, too, Mr. Forbes feels vindicated: He poured millions of dollars into the Web site when rivals were contracting their spending after the magazine-industry bust in 2000. Mr. Forbes said the site receives more than 15 million unique visitors a month, 25% of them from overseas.

He grinned again, and pounded the lunch table with his fist.

“We are ahead of the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and the Financial Times – all put together. And you know what? Our Web site makes money. Hurray!” Mr. Forbes said.

“The time may well come that the Web site has more ads than the magazine, which we call our mother ship,” he said.

The mother ship’s circulation is around 900,000. WhatFundingUniverse.com aptly characterized as its “assertive, biting prose; unabashed cheerleading for business success stories; and a moralistic streak that excoriated companies when they demonstrated corruption or exploitative labor practices,” continues to generate buzz – even though there have been dents in the magazine’s advertising revenues, an experience shared by rivals BusinessWeek and Fortune.

“We are the no. 3 consumer magazine in America,” Mr. Forbes said. “We stay focused. BusinessWeek has a challenge in that it’s tied to the news cycle. We think it’s our distinct advantage as a fortnightly publication not to be. And Fortune? It’s gone bi-weekly, but it still has the lingering gene of a monthly – just look at the length of their stories.”

He chuckled again, then continued: “No other publication has a bedrock philosophy, a sense of mission,” Mr. Forbes said.

How would he define that philosophy?

“Entrepreneurial capitalism, which in essence is the American Dream – which is about the opportunity to develop the talents of each individual. Opportunity, freedom, optimism, fairness, and charity – these are my core beliefs,” Mr. Forbes said. “And even though Americans may have their political differences, we can stay together because our system allows for debate without tearing the place apart.”

He paused.

“Anything that stands in the way of opportunity, I will fight,” Mr. Forbes said.

The tax code stands in the way. So Mr. Forbes is ratcheting up his fight.

“Our tax code is monumental stupidity – it spawns corruption, it slows down economic growth,” Mr. Forbes said. “It’s not only not raising revenues, it creates a burden for individuals and companies alike.”

He published a book titled “Flat Tax Revolution” last year, produced with his usual working habit of dictating to a hired court stenographer. In it, Mr. Forbes spelled out the underpinning of his advocacy: If a low single-rate tax system is instituted, more people would be working because companies would have more cash to invest, and the government would thus raise more revenues.

“This is do-able,” Mr. Forbes said, offering examples of 10 East European countries – including Russia – where the establishment of a flat tax rate has generated more income for governments.

So does the Bush administration invite him to discussion his proposal?

“No,” he said. “But the White House has a free subscription to Forbes.”

A conversation with him yields a sense that, 16 years after the death of his larger-than-life father, Malcolm Forbes, the son sees himself as having fully come into his own.

“My father prepared me as much as he could for succession,” Mr. Forbes said. “He didn’t begrudge giving up his responsibilities. When I took over, of course, I was concerned that my style was very different from that of my father – and therefore if Forbes lost its panache, it would become just another business magazine.

“That hasn’t happened. But I still think that I’m too young for motorcycles,” Mr. Forbes said, alluding to the flamboyance with which his father pursued his hobby.

At his magazine, the Forbes tradition of family engagement continues. Two of his five daughters, Sabina and Moira, work for the institution (the youngest, Elizabeth, will soon attend Princeton, Mr. Forbes’s alma mater, while another daughter, Catherine, manages a clothing store in the family’s native New Jersey). His wife Sabina helps out with events at Forbes.

Then there’s the generation after that.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Forbes became a grandfather for the second time when his daughter Roberta Warren gave birth to a son, Winston (she also has a daughter, Leila). The dynasty continues, as does, surely, Steve Forbes’s system of beliefs.