OPINION:
America just lost one of its most brilliant sons who, through the force of his personality, organizational ability and wit (often irreverent, wicked and very funny), had a major impact on political thinking.
Before 1970, most people were unaware of the term “libertarian,” and some confused it with libertine or some left-wing ideology. Edward Harrison Crane, more than anyone else, gave the libertarian movement a clear set of beliefs and the institutional structure to make it a permanent force on the political landscape.
Many politicians — primarily Republicans, but also some Democrats and others — now, thanks in part to Mr. Crane, overtly state they are libertarians or have a number of libertarian beliefs.
Mr. Crane, who passed away Tuesday at age 81, understood how far the American government had drifted from our Founders’ vision of a limited government that did not oppress its citizens with excessive taxation, government spending or regulations that trampled on civil liberties. Rather than just whine or complain, Ed set out to bring the county back to the vision of the Founders.
Mr. Crane was a native of California. After earning an MBA, he began a promising career in the financial industry but soon realized his real passion was pursuing limited government. His first step was to try to bring some order and structure to the Libertarian Party — partially made up of discontents and eccentrics of all stripes — and make it a real competitor to the Republicans and Democrats.
He succeeded in bringing professionalism to the party and served as party chairman and as chairman of the party’s first truly national presidential campaign. Despite libertarians’ best efforts, they fell far short of what was needed.
Mr. Crane concluded that the libertarian moment would need serious policy institutions capable of engaging in national debate. This led him to co-found the Cato Institute with Murray Rothbard and Charles Koch in 1977. Rothbard soon left, and Mr. Koch provided Cato with its initial funding, leaving Mr. Crane the task of building and funding the major, influential institution it became.
Mr. Crane brought many libertarian scholars — embracing economics, foreign policy, environmental policy and civil liberties — into the Cato family. He created a flat, nonbureaucratic structure, giving scholars and others a great deal of freedom and making Cato a cost-effective institution.
Ed Crane always wore a business suit to the office. He encouraged others to do the same to foster the image that Cato people were serious professionals at the heart of American political thought, rather than undisciplined radicals. It worked. Libertarians are now at the center of most policy debates, and Cato and its imitators are part of the permanent policy landscape.
In 2012, after a dispute with Mr. Koch about how Cato would be run, Mr. Crane retired. Mr. Koch also stepped back, leaving Cato with a more traditional board and management (and less bold).
Mr. Crane will be remembered not for his original philosophical thinking but as the man who built the modern libertarian movement with the necessary institutions to make it a permanent part of the American political landscape.
Ed Crane was often portrayed as radical, and he was. He also lived in the Virginia suburbs as a normal citizen with his wife, Kristina, and three children, on whom he doted. He even described family comings and goings in a funny monthly newsletter to his friends and supporters.
Ed had far more successes than most other people, but also some notable failures. A couple of decades ago, Ed created a “Committee Against Death and Taxes.” Its only members were Walter Williams (1936-2020) and I. The goal was to live to see the reversal of aging and the end of the income tax. I’m sad that two of our members have fallen short of this goal.
Perhaps he dreamed an impossible dream, but may Ed Crane rest in peace knowing that he made America a better place.
• Richard W. Rahn is chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth.
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