Cato Institute

The Cato Institute, founded in 1977, is a nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C. The [Page 270]mission of the self-described market liberal think tank focuses on traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and peace. In keeping with these free market principles, the Institute accepts no governmental funding or endowments, instead relying on private donations to support its $14 million annual budget.

The Cato Institute keeps its intellectual forebears in the forefront, as evidenced by its naming, after Cato's Letters. Advocates rely on the values propounded in these revolutionary pamphlets, along with the written works of the founding fathers. While embracing modern individualist philosophers such as Robert Nozick and Ayn Rand, the Institute demonstrates a special attachment to Friedrich Hayek. Hayek argued ...