Harry Browne was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
libertarianLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
writerA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
,
politicianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, and free-market investment analyst. He ran for
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
as the nominee of the
Libertarian PartyThe Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
in 1996 and 2000.
Early life and writing career
Harry Browne was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Cecil Margaret and Edson Bradford Browne, and resided in
Franklin, TennesseeFranklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
, at the time of his death. Following graduation from high school, Browne was drafted into the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, in which he served for five years.
Browne worked as an investment adviser for much of his life. He came to prominence in 1970 with his first book, How You Can Profit From The Coming Devaluation, which correctly predicted the devaluation of the dollar and subsequent inflation. Browne's second book was 1973's How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World, which focused on maximizing personal liberty. This book became an instant classic in some libertarian circles. Some politically active libertarians, though, objected to his attitude of non-participation in politics, an attitude he himself changed later. You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis was Browne's third book and reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. He continued to author books and articles on investing through the late 1990s and hosted an Internet radio call-in show. In all, Browne wrote 13 books and sold 2 million copies of his books.
Browne's books are popular with
libertariansLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, "hard money" proponents, and survivalists.
More than just a political and economic mind, Harry also authored books and gave lectures on actively living a Libertarian lifestyle. His book How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World gives a detailed explanation of how one can bring Libertarian concepts to every aspect of their life. His posthumously released lecture series "Rule Your World" puts these ideas in lecture format.
He advises people to structure their lives in a way that allows them freedom from social, economic, moral, and psychological entanglements. In the social sphere he teaches about what he calls the "identity trap" in which a person expects of others and themselves what is not in their nature. Instead, he teaches how one should recognize one's nature and the nature of others, and then maximize the benefit that is there in reality, rather than wasting one's life trying to change oneself and others.
Harry continues on with a dozen or so of these "traps" and then gives a detailed explanation of how one can break out of these traps. He puts values on all things, like what is the price it would take to remove a "trap", and is it worth the cost; putting values on all things from relationships to one's own worth as a friend, consumer, producer, becomes very valuable in making perfect sense of a complex world.
Presidential campaigns
Browne was the presidential nominee of the United States Libertarian Party in
1996The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...
and
2000The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
. He received 485,798 votes or 0.5% of the vote in 1996 and 384,516 votes or 0.4% of the vote in 2000. His campaign qualified for
matching fundsMatching funds, a term used to describe the requirement or condition that a generally minimal amount of money or services-in-kind originate from the beneficiaries of financial amounts, usually for a purpose of charitable or public good.-Charitable causes:...
during each election but didn't accept them. Browne's refusal to accept matching funds won him expected praise from libertarians and those who are against the concept of federal matching funds, but also earned him somewhat greater exposure in the "mainstream" media, as very few American presidential candidates who qualified for matching funds refused them. In interviews, Browne had claimed he needed to be true to what he had preached in his libertarian speeches and that "it would be highly inappropriate for me to stick my nose in the trough after having denounced the
RepublicansThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and
DemocratsThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
for doing so." During both of these elections, the Libertarian Party managed to get on the ballot in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Browne did not appear on the 2000
ArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
ballot, however, as the Arizona Libertarian Party instead chose to run
L. Neil SmithL. Neil Smith , also known to readers and fans as El Neil, is a libertarian science fiction author and political activist. He was born on May 12, 1946 in Denver...
, whose candidacy was a protest against that of Browne.
Browne won a majority of the vote in the town of
Searsburg, VermontSearsburg is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 96 at the 2000 census.Searsburg is the home of a six megawatt wind turbine farm owned by Green Mountain Power. The town officers have supported the electrical generating station consisting of multiple towers atop a...
(pop. 96) in 2000.
Controversy
Claims of wrongdoing within Browne's 1996 presidential campaign surfaced during his second run in 2000. In 2001, it was revealed that Perry Willis had worked on behalf of Browne's 1996 campaign while serving as national director of the Libertarian Party. To avoid potential
conflicts of interest"Conflicts of Interest" is an episode from the fourth season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Arc significance:* Garibaldi begins to work for William Edgars. In the process Garibaldi is reintroduced to his ex-girlfriend, Lise, who is currently married to Edgars.* The "Voice of...
, party bylaws prohibit any party staffer from working for a campaign before a nominee is officially decided. After an investigation, the party leadership censured Willis and admonished Browne, who responded in detail to allegations surrounding the controversy.
Policy advocate
After the 2000 elections, Browne had continued working to increase the popularity of libertarian goals to reduce the size and scope of government. In addition to writing and making appearances on behalf of the
Downsize DC FoundationDownsize DC is a policy advocacy organization which aims to limit the size of government in the United States through awareness and petitioning. Though it claims to be non-partisan, it does have strong political ties to the libertarian movement...
(an organization he helped to co-found and for which he served as Director of Public Policy for a year and a half), he hosted two weekly network
radio shows, one on Saturdays dealing with politics, which he often called “The Libertarian Conversation” (since listeners were encouraged to call in), and the other on Sundays, called "The Money Show", dealing with financial topics. Both of these radio programs were on the Genesis Communications Network. Browne also worked with the Free Market News Network, of which he was the President for much of 2005, and a Senior Political Analyst. Via Free Market News, he had his own internet-based television show called This Week In Liberty, which ran for 25 episodes.
Prior to his death, he was also working on a book called The War Racket: The Lies, Myths, and Propaganda that Feed the American War Machine. War, he contended, was just another government program, and was essentially flawed because "government never solves anything." According to
Jim BabkaJim Babka is a writer, activist, and former radio talk-show host. He currently serves as president of the Downsize DC Foundation and DownsizeDC.org, Inc.-Early life and education:...
, "As Harry explained to me, the book was unlike any other he had ever written. Harry was well-read in his history, but after starting on the project he realized that 'well-read’ wasn’t enough." According to Browne's wife, Pamela, he collected over 400 books, read almost all of them, and made copious notes. He was struggling with the book's structure at the time of his death.
Harry Browne also authored thousands of articles, most of which can be found on his
website. He was also a contributor to the news and opinion
blogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
LewRockwell.comLewRockwell.com is a 501 libertarian web magazine operated by Burton Blumert , Lew Rockwell , Eric Garris , and others associated with the Center for Libertarian Studies ; its motto is "anti-state, anti-war, pro-market"...
, to
Antiwar.comAntiwar.com is a website devoted to opposing aggressive war, imperialism, and assaults on freedom associated with both. The editors describe their politics as libertarian. Their stated motiviation is, "to show how the imperialistic tendencies of the American government lead to a loss of civil...
, and to World Net Daily. He published the financial newsletter Harry Browne Special Reports from 1974 to 1997.
A column he wrote titled “When Will We Learn” discussing the September 11 attacks persuaded
Larry ElderLaurence Allen "Larry" Elder is an American radio and television personality. His radio program The Larry Elder Show airs weekdays 9 AM to noon on talk radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles, California...
to break with the Libertarian Party and join the
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Browne, however, always tried to make it clear that his opinions were his own, and not necessarily reflective of the Libertarian Party. It was his most-read column, ever, and was also published in foreign languages.
According to Jim Babka, “Harry had warned that a day like [September 11, 2001] was coming and he was actually surprised that some of those who’d listened to him and supported him were shocked. He thought the anger should’ve been directed at the 'geniuses' who’d managed our nation’s
foreign policyA country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
.”
Death
Browne suffered from MND (motor neuron disease) and FTD (frontal temporal dementia), more commonly known as
amyotrophic lateral sclerosisAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(ALS) or
Lou GehrigHenry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
's disease. During the year prior to his death he spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital and a wheelchair, but he continued to write, give speeches, and host an ETV (internet-based television) show called "This Week in Liberty with Harry Browne" on the Internet-based Free Market News Network. He died on the evening of March 1, 2006 at his home in Franklin, Tennessee with his devoted wife, Pamela, beside him. He was 72 years old. He is survived by his wife, Pamela Lanier Wolfe Browne, and his daughter, Autumn Lee Browne. He was eulogized in Congress by Representative
Ron PaulRonald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
.
Posthumous collections
Since his death, Harry's wife Pamela has put together several collections of his speeches and writings in audio and e-book format.
- Investment Strategy in an Uncertain World
- Rule Your World!
- Freedom Speeches, Volume 1
- Freedom the American Way
- The Secret of Selling ~ Anything
- The War Racket - Part 1
- The War Racket - Part 2
- 99% of All You Need to Know About MONEY & its Effect Upon the Economy
External links