David Boaz died today. Liberty has lost one of its greatest and most principled supporters. As the Cato Institute’s longtime associate dean for public policy and executive vice president for more than four decades, he worked more than anyone else to establish Cato as the world’s leading libertarian think tank. his 2015 book liberal thought is one of the best and most accessible introductions to liberal thought. In the edited volume, libertarian readerDavid has compiled classic liberal works by many famous thinkers.
Central to David’s thinking is that liberalism requires a broad conception of the scope of freedoms that must be protected, and A broad view of the groups of people entitled to adequate protection. He therefore advocates fundamental cuts to government policies that infringe on economic freedom, such as taxes and welfare state spending. But he is equally worried about issues that threaten other kinds of freedoms, such as immigration restrictions and the war on drugs. He repeatedly stressed that all people must enjoy full freedom – whether they are black or white, gay or straight, male or female, immigrant or native.
Thus, in a 2010 article, he warned liberals against nostalgia for an imaginary past where freedom was thought to be more liberal. He noted that while certain types of government intervention were less common in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was also a time of slavery, segregation and other forms of oppression that have been, at least largely, overcome.
David has also repeatedly reminded liberals that we must pay attention to threats to freedom from both the right and the left. Unlike some, he does not minimize or ignore the threat of right-wing authoritarian nationalism, exemplified by the rise of Trump in the United States and similar movements in Europe. among his contributions national review At the 2016 Stand Against Trump symposium, David wrote, “From a liberal perspective…Trump’s greatest offense to American tradition and our founding principles is his nativism and his commitment to one-man rule. . He was right then and he is still right today.
I have known David for over thirty years, since I interned at Cato in 1992, the summer after my freshman year of college. A small incident from that time illustrates David’s commitment to both high standards and intellectual expansion.
At that time, Cato lived in a small building with a storage room filled with books published by the institute. I love going there and browsing – it’s more fun than the job I’m assigned to do! One morning, David happened to pass by the storage room and saw me reading there.
“Mr. Somin,” he asked, “has your salary arrived on time this week?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
“So why,” David asked, “are you late for work?”
Whether a vice president or an intern, everyone at Cato has a job they should focus on. David had little tolerance for slackers.
After a suitable punishment, I started to get back to work. But David also made it clear that Cato interns are entitled to free access to Institute publications. He said that if I wanted to read that book (or any other Cato book) I should take it home and read it on my own time. He never forgot that developing and disseminating ideas was the main focus of the think tank’s mission. This is how I got a copy of David’s excellent edited volume, Liberation Schooland drug crisis.
That same commitment to ideas and outreach made David a great promoter of liberal ideas to broad audiences. He had the rare skill of always remaining polite while never showing mercy.
In later years, I became a Cato Adjunct Scholar and eventually became the Institute’s Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies (in addition to my primary job as a law professor at George Mason University). During that time, thanks to David’s support, Cato and I co-published two books, and I completed various other projects with the Institute. As a result, I often have the opportunity to work with and learn from David. I can’t help but admire his consistently high standards and his commitment to his principles. Cato and other liberal institutions should work to perpetuate his legacy.
Finally, I would like to express my condolences to David’s family, friends and colleagues.
The Cato Institute publishes a summary of David’s career here along with tributes from many Cato scholars.
