Mission
The mission of the Cato Institute is to keep the principles, ideas, and moral case for liberty alive for future generations while moving public policy in the direction of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.
Vision
Our vision is a free and open society in which liberty allows every individual to pursue a life of prosperity and meaning in peace.
- We believe liberty is the highest political value and a moral imperative. Freedom enables each individual to choose the path of his or her own life and to live it, with dignity and respect, as they wish, consistent with the right of others to do the same.
- In reality, there are only two political philosophies: liberty and power. It is the exercise of power, not freedom, that requires justification, and those who advocate coercion in any arena must bear a heavy burden of proof.
- The free individual, possessing both moral worth and moral rights, is the fundamental unit of society. But liberty does not imply atomistic individuals living solitary existences in a dog-eat-dog world. To the contrary, humankind has survived only through collaboration and cooperation. Liberty allows this cooperative impulse to flourish, while engendering tolerance and individual responsibility.
- Social conflict results when "cooperation" or association is coerced by government, or when some seek to use the power of the state to impose their beliefs, values, or modes of behavior on others. Another desirable consequence of individual liberty, therefore, is greater social harmony, when we are left to associate and collaborate as, and with whom, we choose.
- John Locke said, "The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom." Government is established to protect our unalienable rights and to protect us from those—including government and its agents—who would initiate force or coercion against us. Law and government require the consent of the governed and must be limited, constitutionally defined and constrained, transparent, and applied equally and consistently.
- Liberty and free markets create prosperity and progress by giving us the opportunity and incentives to use our talents and to cooperate with others to create and produce. The support of a few fundamental institutions—such as property rights and the rule of law—protects our rights and makes possible invention, innovation, and improvements across the whole range of human well-being.
- Free speech, free expression, open inquiry, diversity of ideas and viewpoints, honest pursuit of truth, and healthy disagreement are essential to the progress of humanity and civilization.
- We are committed to peace and cooperation across all domains of society, from the local community to the realm of international relations. War is the enemy of human progress, happiness, prosperity, and life. The Founding generation recognized that war and power politics corrode republican institutions and undermine liberty. Open trade, economic and cultural engagement, and diplomacy are the best means for sustaining ongoing peace, with military intervention reserved only for grave threats to national security.
Nonpartisanship and Independence
Cato’s allegiance is to principle and values, not politics and partisanship. Thus, we are assiduously nonpartisan and independent, and identify and align with no political party.
Rather, in the spirit of Frederick Douglass, Cato will join with anyone to do right, and no one to do wrong.
Thus:
- We seek to engage constructively with anyone across the full range of philosophical, ideological, and political viewpoints to advance shared values and common policy objectives based on those values.
- We welcome and respect alternative viewpoints, while insisting on respectful and civil discourse with and from others.
- We work with others to defend and advance principles and values that should be supported by all, regardless of philosophy, ideology, or party. Among these are freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion and conscience, the rule and equal application of law, the Constitution, and the dignity, value, and autonomy of every person.