by Edward Hudgins
“If you laid every government bureaucrat end to end, from here to the Moon … it would be a good thing!” That’s an example of the wry sense of humor, with a twinkle in his eye, of my late boss, Ed Crane, co-founder in 1977 and former president of the Cato Institute.
Many are rightly praising him for his central role in making the libertarian values of individual liberty and keeping government “out of the board room and the bedroom,” as he liked to say, a force to be reckoned with.
When I started my career in D.C. at the Heritage Foundation, I quickly came to know President Ed Crane and VP David Boaz of the Cato, which a few years before had moved from California to a townhouse near Heritage. I first worked with Ed in 1985 when I put together an event and press release to bring together reps from the liberal Brookings Institution, moderate conservative American Enterprise Institute, libertarian Cato, and conservative Heritage, all of which had policy differences over many issues but were in agreement on the importance of free trade. (Heritage no longer stands for such freedom.) Ed was great in articulating that individual liberty means the liberty to purchase goods from whomever you want, and that free trade results in prosperity.
It was no surprise that Ed’s ability to articulate liberty principles as the foundation of sound policies led to donations to build a beautiful Cato headquarters in D.C. Ed was also articulate in his disdain for D.C. government “art experts” who had to approve the building’s design.
After a stint on Capitol Hill, I joined Cato. Ed used to smile when he explained that “CATO” stood for “Crane And The Others!” I was one of “the others,” and he recruited us because he wanted those who could offer a vision and appropriate public policies to create a society based on respect for the liberty of each individual.
Ed used to offer a quote attributed to George Washington, that “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence. It is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearsome master.” This highlighted an important distinction he would make. It is in civil society and institutions–families, businesses and enterprises, charitable organizations, churches and the like–in which individuals live their lives, meet its changes, grow and flourish. Political society is reserved for law courts to settle disputes, police for protection of liberty and property, and a limited number of other functions.
After I moved on to The Atlas Society, I continued my association with Ed and Cato. For example, he helped us put on a successful Atlas Shrugged 50th anniversary conference and celebration.
Ed Crane was a great friend of freedom who influenced many who are in the forefront of the fight to restore it, and Cato is his legacy. Well done!
Edward Hudgins, Ph.D., is president of the Human Achievement Alliance. He specializes in free market science and technology policy and a culture celebrating achievement. Email him at ehudgins@humanachievementalliance.org.
