The Cato Institute CEO on the meaning of personal liberty.

Question: What is your broader worldview?

Edward Crane:  My world view, well I am a great believer in human liberty.  I think the genius of the American experiment is a respect for the dignity of the individual.  And that’s why I’m opposed to trade restriction.  I’m opposed to most immigration restrictions.  I think human beings are human beings and that they deserve the dignity of freedom, and that’s a worldwide phenomenon.  I must say, that in the 30 years the Cato Institute has existed, and I’m not saying we deserve credit for it, but the extension of human freedom has been remarkable.  I mean, hundreds of millions of people are freer today, more prosperous today, because of the recognition that mark its work.  The expansion of trade, the recognition of the importance of private property, those are great things.  And I view them as universal.  The Cato Institute is actively involved in promoting these ideas in the Middle East, in Russia, in Latin America, China.  So we held the first conferences devoted to freedom in the history of Communist China and in the history of the Soviet Union.  We went to China in 1988, and we brought Milton Friedman there, and Milton was treated like a rock star.  It was very exciting.  And then, two years later, we were in Moscow and had the first conference there devoted to political and economic freedom.  So I’m very proud of the Cato Institute’s orientation.  It’s not simply parochial. I mean, we are around the world, trying to promote the concept of the dignity of the individual.