Cato's Letters on Liberty and Property

[arisbe]

On November 5, 1720, the first letter from Cato (pseudonym for John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, honoring Cato the Younger, whose dedication to principles of liberty led him to oppose Julius Caesar) appeared in the London Journal. Many more followed, reflecting the ideas of John Locke, soon making it England's most influential newspaper, and leading to collections of Cato's Letters that were, according to Clinton Rossiter "the most popular, quotable, esteemed source of political ideas in the colonial period."

As one of the letters said, "it is and has been the great design of this paper to maintain and expose the glorious principles of liberty, and to expose the arts of those who would darken or destroy them..." That theme was what made it so important to our heritage as Americans.

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Comments

Yeah, I like all that . . .

[calaf.livejournal.com]

. . . but it really sucks that the pro-Bush, cheap-labor, soak-the-poor Cato Institute took Cato's name.

Re: Yeah, I like all that . . .

[rengal.livejournal.com]

I undersatnd. I dies seem kinda' ycuky that these things have been hijacked by the neo-cons.
But that having been said, I still like the Cato Insititute, and continue to wonder if classical libertarianism can continue to exist in some other form in current times.

Re: Yeah, I like all that . . .

[calaf.livejournal.com]

It sure doesnt exist at Cato. Read their position papers.