# David Boaz ##### Champion of Liberty I am an optimist and a progressive. I believe that the simple, timeless principles of the American Revolution–individual liberty, limited government, and free markets–are even more powerful and more important in the world of instant communication, global markets, and unprecedented access to information than Jefferson or Madison could have imagined. Libertarianism is not just a framework for utopia, it is the indispensable framework for the future. –David Boaz, *The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom* ![Portrait of David Boaz](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_3x/public/2024-06/David%20Boaz%20hero%20image%20%281%29.jpg?itok=jZuCAbod) ![David Boaz and Friedrich Hayek in December 1982.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2024-06/boaz-hayek-1982.jpg?itok=G_buZOIh) David Boaz (left) with F. A. Hayek (right); December 1, 1982. ## David Boaz, 1953–2024 For more than four decades as the Cato Institute’s vice president for public policy and executive vice president, David Boaz played an indispensable role in the development of Cato and was a foundational figure of modern libertarian thought. Under David’s direction, Cato grew from a small organization with a handful of employees renting office space in San Francisco, to a leading think tank in Washington, DC with a global presence. David’s exceptional scholarship, integrity, and standards for excellence informed every aspect of Cato. Anyone who has interacted with Cato’s work over the past 40 years was affected by David. David’s books—including the [*The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom*](/books/libertarian-mind) and [*The Libertarian Reader*](/books/libertarian-reader)—are the ultimate resources for libertarian ideas. When the *Encyclopedia Britannica* needed an entry on libertarianism, they went to David. David was an authoritative commentator on everything from education choice and the growth of government to drug legalization and marriage equality. His articles have appeared in the *Wall Street Journal*, the *New York Times*, the *Washington Post*, the *Los Angeles Times*, and *National Review*. Known for his quick wit and succinct explanations of libertarian principles, he was a frequent guest on national television and radio shows, including ABC’s *Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher*, CNN’s *Crossfire*, NPR’s *Talk of the Nation* and *All Things Considered*, *The McLaughlin Group*, *Stossel*, Fox News, and BBC. Before joining Cato in 1981, David co-managed Ed Clark’s 1978 campaign to become governor of California, and later also worked as research director on Clark’s 1980 presidential campaign as the Libertarian Party nominee. He was also previously the editor of *New Guard* magazine and executive director of the Council for a Competitive Economy. David’s contributions to Cato and to libertarianism are far too vast to capture in a single statement. In recognition of his extraordinary life and legacy, his colleagues have written remembrances of him below. A selection of some of his most notable books and editorials also follows. ![Portrait of David Boaz from his early years at Cato.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2024-06/David%20Boaz%201.jpeg?itok=9f1IyHE2) ![David Boaz in his early days at Cato.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2024-06/David%20Boaz%20in%20the%20library.jpeg?itok=8IDdbzMG) ![David Boaz speaking into cameras during a forum.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2024-06/David%20Boaz%20presents.jpeg?itok=EPYu62ER) ![David Boaz lectures in his early days at Cato.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2024-06/David%20Boaz%20lectures.jpeg?itok=i1VzQcHe) ![Newsweek Article, September 1986, with the headline: "A Baby Boomer's Think Tank". ](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2024-06/Newsweek%20Article.JPG?itok=-hhsghLa) ## In Memoriam --- [![David Boaz speaking at Cato](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2024-06/db_cato.jpg?itok=XdtHOfdY)](https://www.cato.org/blog/remembering-david-boaz) ### [Remembering David Boaz](/blog/remembering-david-boaz) By [Peter Goettler](/people/peter-goettler) David made an incalculable contribution to building Cato into the respected institution and voice it is today, as well as to the “mainstreaming” of libertarianism as a legitimate political philosophy worthy of a seat at the table in all of the nation’s policy debates. blog ### [David Boaz: Libertarian Superstar](/blog/david-boaz-libertarian-superstar) By [Robert A. Levy](https://www.cato.org/people/robert-levy) Thank you, David, for your devotion, commitment, and countless accomplishments—writing, speaking, editing, tutoring and, of course, promoting the Cato Institute and our shared pro-liberty mission. blog ### [David Boaz, RIP: Reflections on a Great Libertarian, Friend, and Colleague](/blog/david-boaz-rip-reflections-great-libertarian-friend-colleague) By [Ryan Bourne](https://www.cato.org/people/ryan-bourne) For his institution building and consistent propagation of core libertarian values, he has a claim to being one of the most influential libertarians of the past forty years. blog ### [David Boaz: The Essential Libertarian](/blog/david-boaz-essential-libertarian) By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) At its core, libertarianism is a movement to recognize and respect the equal dignity of every last human. David Boaz has been and shall remain a giant of that movement. blog ### [David Boaz and the Ideas of Liberty](/blog/david-boaz-ideas-liberty) By [Gabriela Calderon de Burgos](https://www.cato.org/people/gabriela-calderon-de-burgos) In a way, David has embodied what Cato strives to be: a clear, clean, and precise presentation of libertarian/​classical liberal thought. blog ### [David Boaz, Our Great Persuader](/blog/david-boaz-our-great-persuader) By [Walter Olson](https://www.cato.org/people/walter-olson) When I think of the most effective advocates of individual freedom in my generation, David Boaz is Number One, and there is no Number Two. [![David Boaz signs copies of The Libertarian Mind at the book event.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/LibertarianMind_20150224_8-11-final.Jpg?itok=KnDPhCJf)](https://www.cato.org/blog/david-boaz-us) blog ### [David Boaz Is with Us](/blog/david-boaz-us) By [Tom G. Palmer](https://www.cato.org/people/tom-g-palmer) David Boaz is our inspiration. He never stopped. He never will, because when we fight for the rule of law, he is with us. He will always be with us. blog ### [David Boaz: A Life Well Lived](/blog/david-boaz-life-well-lived) By [Aaron Steelman](https://www.cato.org/people/aaron-steelman) Some have argued that the key question for libertarians is: “Do you hate the state?” But I believe David would have framed the question differently: “Do you love humanity?” [![David Boaz lectures in his early days at Cato.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/David%20Boaz%20lectures.jpeg?itok=4Cp2yRay)](https://www.cato.org/blog/david-boaz-gave-liberty-bright-future) blog ### [David Boaz Gave Liberty a Bright Future ](/blog/david-boaz-gave-liberty-bright-future) By [David J. Bier](https://www.cato.org/people/david-bier) Boaz’s mere existence at Cato was a constant reminder to elevate your work to the loftiness of his standards and to remember the deeper purpose of why we write: not for citations or clicks or even academic curiosity, but to respectably represent the cause of liberty. [![David Boaz signs copies of The Libertarian Mind at the book event.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/LibertarianMind_20150224_8-11-final.Jpg?itok=KnDPhCJf)](https://www.cato.org/blog/david-boaz-son-liberty) blog ### [David Boaz, Son of Liberty](/blog/david-boaz-son-liberty) By Maria Santos Bier David defined libertarianism for my generation, and for generations to come. [![David Boaz speaking at Cato](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/db_cato.jpg?itok=KC4I3WYv)](https://www.cato.org/blog/david-boaz-mentor-scholar-friend) blog ### [David Boaz: Mentor, Scholar, and Friend ](/blog/david-boaz-mentor-scholar-friend) By [Harrison Moar](https://www.cato.org/people/harrison-moar) David’s legacy as a vanguard of libertarianism and the Cato Institute is monumental, and his impact on so many people professionally and personally will ensure these institutions thrive and grow. [![David Boaz signs copies of The Libertarian Mind at the book event.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/LibertarianMind_20150224_8-11-final.Jpg?itok=KnDPhCJf)](https://www.cato.org/blog/david-boazs-legacy-liberty) blog ### [David Boaz’s Legacy of Liberty](/blog/david-boazs-legacy-liberty) By [James A. Dorn](https://www.cato.org/people/james-dorn) He will be sorely missed, but his legacy of liberty will live on. [![David Boaz lectures in his early days at Cato.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/David%20Boaz%20lectures.jpeg?itok=4Cp2yRay)](https://www.cato.org/blog/vale-david-boaz) blog ### [Vale, David Boaz ](/blog/vale-david-boaz) By [Sallie James](https://www.cato.org/people/sallie-james) I am sure I am not the only person at Cato who will continue to be guided by the rubric of “What would David think?” [![David Boaz speaking at Cato](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/db_cato.jpg?itok=KC4I3WYv)](https://www.cato.org/blog/david-boaz-consummate-libertarian) blog ### [David Boaz, The Consummate Libertarian](/blog/david-boaz-consummate-libertarian) By [Roger Pilon](https://www.cato.org/people/roger-pilon) In writing, speaking, or through the media, no one communicated the principles and spirit of the classical liberal, libertarian vision more clearly or compellingly than David Boaz. Those principles of individual liberty and human flourishing secured through constitutionally limited government were alive in David and in all he did. [![David Boaz speaking at Cato](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/db_cato.jpg?itok=KC4I3WYv)](https://www.cato.org/blog/david-boaz-champion-educational-freedom) blog ### [David Boaz: Champion of Educational Freedom](/blog/david-boaz-champion-educational-freedom) By [Neal McCluskey](https://www.cato.org/people/neal-mccluskey) Allowing people to choose what they think is right—not government deciding for everyone—is the essence of liberty. Consistent with his lifetime work, David Boaz made that clear in education long before many of us had written our first word. [![David Boaz signs copies of The Libertarian Mind at the book event.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/LibertarianMind_20150224_8-11-final.Jpg?itok=KnDPhCJf)](https://www.cato.org/blog/memoriam-david-boaz) blog ### [In Memoriam: David Boaz](/blog/memoriam-david-boaz) By [Patrick G. Eddington](https://www.cato.org/people/patrick-g-eddington) In a world in which we’re surrounded by people who are consumed with celebrity, trinkets, and passing fads, David always kept his focus on what mattered most—working to create a society that was truly free and just. ## Featured Work David Boaz made innumerable contributions to libertarian thought through his many books, essays, opinion pieces, and other writings, in addition to his speeches and public appearances. A few of his favorite and most noteworthy publications follow. --- [![The Libertarian Mind cover](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2024-06/LIBERTARIAN%20MIND%20Jacket.jpeg?itok=_lFIzEk0)](https://www.cato.org/books/libertarian-mind) [## *The Libertarian Mind:* ### *A Manifesto for Freedom*](/books/libertarian-mind)In *The Libertarian Mind*, David Boaz offers a comprehensive overview of libertarian ideas, their history and influence, and the enduring libertarian vision for a future of peace, prosperity, and freedom. “*The Libertarian Mind* belongs in the canon with the writings of Nozick, Hayek, and Epstein.... Boaz’s manifesto for freedom presents as the **contemporary gold standard of the libertarian creed.**” –*Forbes* “A well-researched manifesto of libertarian ideas” –*Los Angeles Times* --- [![The Libertarian Reader cover](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/serial_cover_phone/public/wp-content/uploads/libertarianreader.jpg?itok=HoAUZf6M)](https://www.cato.org/books/libertarian-reader) ##### [The Libertarian Reader: Classic & Contemporary Writings from Lao-Tzu to Milton Friedman](/books/libertarian-reader) [![Media Name: thepoliticsoffreedom.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/serial_cover_phone/public/books/thepoliticsoffreedom.jpg?itok=LMcm_otN)](https://www.cato.org/books/politics-freedom-taking-left-right-threats-our-liberties) ##### [The Politics of Freedom: Taking on the Left, the Right, and Threats to Our Liberties](/books/politics-freedom-taking-left-right-threats-our-liberties) [![Cato 2022 Handbook for Policymakers cover image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/serial_cover_phone/public/2022-11/2022_handbook_cover_final.png?itok=9gFib5q4)](https://www.cato.org/books/cato-handbook-policymakers) ##### [Cato Handbook for Policymakers](/books/cato-handbook-policymakers) 9th Edition --- [![David Boaz: Selected Cato Policy Report editorials and articles on libertarianism and Cato](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2024-06/CPR%20Editorial%20Handout.jpg?itok=Q6IbbUAQ)](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2024-05/CPR%20Editorial%20Handout%207.pdf) [## David Boaz ### Selected *Cato Policy Report* editorials and articles on libertarianism and Cato ](/sites/cato.org/files/2024-05/CPR%20Editorial%20Handout%207.pdf)1994–2023 From 1981 to 2023, David Boaz served as the editor of *Cato Policy Report*. A selection of his articles and editorials on libertarianism and Cato follows at this link. “Libertarianism is the heart and soul of the modern world.” *–David Boaz* ![David Boaz signs copies of The Libertarian Mind at the book event.](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2024-06/LibertarianMind_20150224_8-11-final.Jpg?itok=M8eCWx-G)