I knew Ed casually since the 1970s and have written and lectured for the Cato Institute since 1985. But we only became close friends after 2001, when I was almost 60. That is when he welcomed me into the Cato fold as a refugee from conservative chores. Nearly all of my favorite research and writing on economic policy issues (aside from when I first began writing for Reason and National Review in 1971) got an exciting restart at Cato. My working time during each day has ever since been more enjoyable and fulfilling, and I have not quit. If I forgot to thank him, I am doing it now.
Believe it or not, the top of a fumbled Wikipedia bio says, “Ed Crane (politician).” Anti-politician might be more accurate. Unlike voluntary market agreements, politics asks voters to choose between two mislabeled packages of political promises. Then they end up stuck with the whole bundle for years, regardless of what is actually inside it. Unlike goods and services bought in a free market, there is no warranty for political nonperformance and no right to sue a politician for fraud.
It is true that Ed was active with the Libertarian Party in the 1970s, guiding presidential campaigns and chairing the Party at times. But he saw it as a way to educate more people about libertarian policy options (like privatization of Social Security and school choice) rather than to actually unseat the partisan duopoly with all its codependent interest groups. Of course, the whole idea of a Libertarian Party seems improbable, like a common pact and loyalty oath for a bunch of individualists. I did speak at the first Libertarian Party convention in 1972, however, but that may have been a mistake. I thought they told me some libertines were having a party.
I am a Wikipedia editor, though a lazy one, so I plan to remove “politician” as their definition of Crane’s astonishing career and replace it with “public policy entrepreneur.”
Ed Crane’s famed wit and charm could never disguise the vital historic significance of the grand legacy he built for us and our grandchildren: the Cato Institute. We will miss him but always remember his company with a chuckle.
