fagin%ji.Berkeley.EDU@UCBVAX.BERKELEY.EDU (11/14/86)
More news about libertarians in the real world: I just found out that the Cato Institute received some publicity in the September 1st issue of Newsweek. The article was called "A Baby Boomers' Think Tank" with the subtitle "Catering to an Elusive Political Constituency". Excerpts from the article include: "When it opened its doors in 1977, the Cato Institute was hardly a force to be reckoned ... [but now] ... Cato [has] found itself in the intellectual mainstream ... It has since become a player in public-policy debates on everything from defense to economic theory and is attracting a constituency that both major parties lust after: baby boomers, who are generally conservative on economics but liberal on social policy. This elusive quarry finds itself uncomfortable with the big-spending history of the Democrats and equally ill at ease with elements of the Reagan coalition, particularly the fundamentalist right." "... Cato recommends scrapping the social-security system in favor of a private retirement program and would return the economy to the gold standard ... It contends that the United States can no longer afford to underwrite Europe's defense through NATO and is foursquare against import quoatas, farm credits, and federal deposit insurance for savings institutions...These positions flow out of Cato's libertarian background, as do its views on social matters. The institute supports gay rights, takes a liberal view on pornography and would legalize marijuana--positions commonly held by the Democratic left. At the same time, Cato is staunchly anticommunist and advocates a free market without government regulation and without Big Labor. [Cato Institute president Ed] Crane believes the institute's philosophy, rooted as it is in individual freedom, is 'more consistent than the traditional left-right spectrum'." The article goes on to describe Crane's history of involvement with the Libertarian Party, and discusses briefly what Cato thinks is wrong with major party politics. It concludes with the following: "While Cato's influence is growing, it is, compared with older, more prestigious idea factories like the Brookings Institution, something of a mom-and-pop store. But in less than a decade it has helped change the terms of debate by challenging Washington's conventional wisdom with a provaocative appeal for the future. *** And the likelihood is that institute's political clout, like that of the baby boomers, has yet to be fully felt.*** " (emphasis mine) The Newsweek article is more evidence for what I've been saying all along: libertarian ideas are not mere exercises in political theory. The libertarian movement is real, and has the potential for making MAJOR social changes in America. The combination of social tolerance and a belief in the free market is the ideology of the 90's; I believe the major parties ignore it at their own peril. Will the Democrats embrace the marketplace as the best answer to the problem of poverty? Will mainstream Republicans distance themselves from the likes of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, opting instead for candidates who are more liberal on social issues? I believe the answers to these questions will determine the majority party of the next decade. --Barry -------