The Cato Institute is pleased to announce the release of the updated edition of The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom by the late David Boaz, available in February 2025. This seminal work offers a comprehensive exploration of libertarian philosophy, tracing its historical roots and examining its relevance in contemporary society.

In this edition, Boaz brings to life the principles of personal and economic freedom, advocating for a society grounded in individual rights and limited government intervention. He presents compelling arguments for liberty, challenging the efficacy of top-down governmental control and highlighting the benefits of cooperation.

Over more than four decades as vice president for public policy and executive vice president, David Boaz played a key role in the development of the Cato Institute and the libertarian movement. His contributions have been instrumental in mainstreaming libertarian ideas and influencing policy discussions on personal and economic freedom. David passed away in 2024.

Tom G. Palmer, a senior fellow at Cato and close friend to Mr. Boaz notes:

“This thoroughly revised edition of The Libertarian Mind encapsulates David Boaz’s commitment to civic life, to active discussion and debate and deliberation among free citizens of free countries. I knew and worked with David for 49 years and I had the privilege of witnessing how his generosity of spirit combined with his commitment to rigor made him one of the most important champions of liberty in our age. David finished the revisions to this book shortly before he passed. It was hard to lose a friend after so long and I’m truly sorry that young people will not have the chance to experience his mix of generosity, kindness, humor, and careful thinking. I’m so pleased, as he would be, that this book is now available, with updated data and new and very relevant connections to the current setting, in which friends of liberty are confronted by authoritarian politicians and parties and governments who have resurrected ideas we thought had been vanquished in 1945. The Libertarian Mind offers a clear vision of liberty when it is so desperately needed.”

The Libertarian Mind has received acclaim from various thought leaders since it first published:

• Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow, Brookings Institution, and author of Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought, said, “In print continuously since its first publication in 1997, and now appearing in paperback with a new preface by the late author, David Boaz’s primer stands—along with Mill’s On Liberty, Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom, and a select few others—as a classic explication of libertarian thought. Ranging from Locke and Lao-tzu to today’s controversies, it may be the most readable and comprehensive of them all.” 

The Libertarian Mind is available for purchase through major retailers, including Simon & Schuster, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

For more information about the book and to access related resources, please visit the Cato Institute’s official page: https://​www​.cato​.org/​b​o​o​k​s​/​l​i​b​e​r​t​a​r​i​a​n​-​m​i​n​d​-2025 

About the Cato Institute: 

The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Through its publications, events, and media appearances, the Institute strives to increase the understanding of public policies based on the principles of freedom and liberty. 

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