David Douglas Boaz (; August 29, 1953 – June 7, 2024) was a

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

author, philosopher and editor. He was a distinguished senior fellow and the executive vice president of the

Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch ...

, an American libertarian

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

. Boaz was a prominent advocate for

individual liberty Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

limited government In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal ...

free markets In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

, and non-interventionist foreign policy. Boaz authored several works on libertarian philosophy, including ''Libertarianism: A Primer'' and ''The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom''. He was an early proponent of

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

, marriage equality, drug policy reform, and

school choice School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to traditional public schools. School choice options include scholarship tax credit programs, open enrollment laws (which allow students to att ...

, contributing to the mainstream acceptance of these issues in public discourse. Boaz is regarded as a key figure in the development and promotion of modern libertarian thought.

Background

Boaz was born on August 29, 1953, in

Mayfield, Kentucky Mayfield is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule–class city and the county seat of Graves County, Kentucky, Graves County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,017 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Hi ...

. His father was a judge, and one of his uncles, through marriage, was Frank Stubblefield, who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Boaz studied history at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

from 1971 to 1975, and as a young man was involved with the Young Americans for Freedom and the

College Republicans College Republicans is an umbrella term that describes college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is the oldest campus- ...

.Doherty, Bria
David Boaz, RIP
''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

''.com. Retrieved June 11, 2024.

Career

Boaz eventually parted with the conservative movement, and worked on

Ed Clark Edward E. Clark (born May 4, 1930) is an American lawyer and politician who ran for governor of California in 1978, and for president of the United States as the nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1980 presidential election. Background C ...

's campaigns for governor of California in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and for president in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

. Around this time, he joined the

. He was the author of ''Libertarianism: A Primer'', published in 1997 by the Free Press and described in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' as "a well-researched manifesto of libertarian ideas." He was also the editor of ''The Libertarian Reader'' and co-editor of the ''Cato Handbook for Congress'' (2003) and the ''Cato Handbook on Policy'' (2005). He frequently discussed on national television and radio shows such topics as education choice, the growth of government, the ownership society, his support of drug legalization as a consequence of the individual right to

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

, a non-interventionist foreign policy, and the rise of libertarianism. Boaz said his views were informed by

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...

and opposed to populism. He expressed skepticism of party politics and did not join the Libertarian Party. His articles were also published in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''Los Angeles Times'', ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', and ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

''. He appeared on ABC's ''

Politically Incorrect "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...

'',

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

's ''

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...

'', NPR's '' Talk of the Nation'' and ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'',

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

and

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

. A graduate of

, he was once the editor of '' The New Guard'' magazine and was executive director of the Council for a Competitive Economy prior to joining Cato. In 2022, he retired as executive vice president of Cato and was named a distinguished senior fellow. He continued to write and appear on television until shortly before his death.

Personal life

Boaz, who was openly gay, was with his partner, Steve Miller, for over 30 years. He was a teetotaler. Boaz died from

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

at his home in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

, on June 7, 2024, at the age of 70.

Books

* ''Market Liberalism: A Paradigm for the 21st Century'', Editor with Edward H. Crane, 1993. . * ''Libertarianism: A Primer'', Free Press 1997. . * ''The Libertarian Reader'', Editor, Free Press 1997. . * ''The Politics of Freedom: Taking on The Left, The Right and Threats to Our Liberties'', 2008. . * ''The Libertarian Vote: Swing Voters, Tea Parties, and the Fiscally Conservative, Socially Liberal Center'', with David Kirby and Emily Ekins, 2012. * '' The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom'', Simon & Schuster, 2015.

References

External links

* *
''Booknotes'' interview with Boaz on ''Libertarianism: A Primer'', January 26, 1997.
*
Archive
at

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

Biography of David Boaz
at

David Boaz discusses the ownership society with Robert Siegel
on NPR's

David Boaz's entry "libertarianism"
at the

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

"Deregulating Education"
by David Boaz, in '' The Politic'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Boaz, David 1953 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American book editors American drug policy reform activists American gay writers American libertarians American male non-fiction writers American political commentators American political writers Cato Institute people Deaths from cancer in Virginia Deaths from esophageal cancer in the United States HuffPost writers and columnists LGBTQ people from Kentucky LGBTQ people from Virginia People from Mayfield, Kentucky Vanderbilt University alumni Virginia independents Writers from Arlington County, Virginia Writers from Kentucky