The
Cato Institute is a non-profit public policy research foundation with strong
libertarian leanings headquartered in
Washington, D.C.. It is named after
Cato's Letters[?], a series of libertarian pamphlets that helped lay the philosophical foundation for the
American Revolution. Founded in
1977 by
Edward H. Crane[?], its mission is "to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and peace" by seeking greater involvement of the "lay public in questions of public policy and the role of
government".
Mike Huben[1] (http://world.std.com/~mhuben/index.html) criticizes it as an "astroturf organization", i.e. one that claims to represent grass-roots opinion but in fact sets its own agenda.