The Cato Institute and the Libertarian Movement

Free Thoughts
E80 -

Edward H. Crane joins us to talk about the early days of the Libertarian Party and the Cato Institute, which he founded almost 40 years ago in 1977.

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Hosts
Trevor Burrus
Research Fellow, Constitutional Studies
Aaron Ross Powell
Director and Editor
Guests
Edward H. Crane

Edward H. Crane is the founder and president emeritus of the Cato Institute. Prior to Cato’s founding, Crane was heavily involved in the leadership of the Libertarian Party; he worked on John Hospers’s 1972 Presidential bid, managed Ed Clark’s 1978 California gubernatorial campaign, and served as the Libertarian Party’s national chairman from 1974-1977.

Edward H. Crane joins us this week as we talk about the beginnings of the Libertarian Party in the early 1970s and Crane’s involvement with that organization. We also talk about the founding and early history of the Cato Institute, and we talk generally about Cato’s purpose and mission.

What was early-​1970s libertarianism like, and how has libertarianism changed over the past 40 or so years in America? How did Cato get started and then grow into the organization it is today? What’s Cato’s role as a think tank?

Related Content:

What is a Libertarian?, written by Grant Babcock