Harry Browne
Harry Browne | |
---|---|
Born | Harry Edson Browne June 17, 1933 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Died | March 1, 2006 | (aged 72)
Nationality | American |
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) |
Political party | Libertarian |
Spouse | Pamela Lanier Wolfe |
Children | Autumn |
Website | http://www.harrybrowne.org/ |
Harry Edson Browne
Career
Armed services
He was inducted into the
In 1955 Browne was sent to
Activist and author
Browne worked as an advertising and sales executive in the 1960s. He then devoted himself full-time to the "Americanist" cause. He believed that the newspapers of America would willingly buy material promoting the American way of life; so, in 1961 he took on the proprietorship of American Way Features, Inc., a newspaper feature service, and as managing editor inaugurated a plan to turn the service from a subsidized program into a profit-making service. It sold "Americanist" features, in competition with all the recognized syndicates. His own column, The American Way, appeared in over 200 newspapers throughout America.
In the summer of 1962, Browne was named the advertising manager for the Liberty Amendment Committee's bimonthly American Progress for Economic Freedom. In October he was named associate editor, and in November he was the editor. The following Spring the magazine was renamed Freedom Magazine, and Browne continued as its editor until February 1964 when he turned his full-time attention to the American Way Features, Inc.
Investment theory and the "Permanent Portfolio" concept
Also in the 1960s, Browne taught courses such as: The Economics of Freedom, The Tools of Success, Tools of the Market, The Economics of Success, and The Art of Profitable Living". Browne was an investment advisor for much of his life and developed the so-called "permanent portfolio" investment strategy, which claims to identify the four types of economic conditions that can apply over a given investment period, and the appropriate asset classes that give both profit from the upside of these conditions, and some measure of protection when they cease to prevail.
Browne published his first book, How You Can Profit From The Coming Devaluation, in 1970. Browne's second book, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, was published in 1973. You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis was Browne's third book. He continued to write and publish books including his personal finance book, Fail-Safe Investing: Lifelong Financial Security in 30 Minutes, published in 2001.[3] According to Browne's web site, he was a consultant to the Permanent Portfolio Fund which utilizes some of the investment strategies described in his book, Fail-Safe Investing.[4] Browne also authored books and gave lectures on actively living a libertarian lifestyle. His book How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World gave a detailed explanation of how one can bring libertarian concepts to every aspect of one's life. His posthumously released 1960s lecture series, "The Art of Profitable Living," was released as a 20-CD album titled, "Rule Your World."
Presidential campaigns
Browne was the presidential nominee of the
. 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
Claims of wrongdoing by Libertarian National Committee staffers during Browne's 1996 presidential campaign surfaced during his second run in 2000. Browne responded to allegations surrounding the controversy.[6]
Later life
After the 2000 election, Browne continued to work to increase the popularity of libertarian goals. In addition to writing and making appearances on behalf of the Downsize DC Foundation (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,[7] 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.
Near the end of his life, he worked 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 Babka, "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.[8]
Browne also authored thousands of articles and was a contributor to the news and opinion blog
Death
On March 1, 2006, Browne died of
Bibliography
- Books
- How You Can Profit from the Coming Devaluation. Arlington House. 1970. OCLC 74182.
- How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: A Handbook for Personal Liberty (25th anniversary ed.). LiamWorks. 1998. OCLC 39318909.
- You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis. Macmillan. 1974. OCLC 724288.
- Complete Guide to Swiss Bank Accounts. McGraw-Hill. 1976. OCLC 2072816.
- New Profits from the Monetary Crisis. William Morrow & Co. 1978. OCLC 4194700.
- Inflation-Proofing Your Investments. William Morrow & Co. 1981. OCLC 6916595. (with Terry Coxon)
- Why the Best-Laid Investment Plans Usually Go Wrong & How You Can Find Safety and Profit in an Uncertain World. William Morrow & Co. 1987. OCLC 16226356.
- The Economic Time Bomb: How You Can Profit from the Emerging Crises. St. Martin's Press. 1989. OCLC 18558381.
- Why Government Doesn't Work. St. Martin's Press. 1995. OCLC 32625515.
- OCLC 41368221.
- The Great Libertarian Offer. LiamWorks. 2000. OCLC 44756859.
- Unfinished books
- The War Racket (unfinished at the time of his death)
- 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.
- 99% of All You Need to Know About Money & its Effect Upon the Economy
- Freedom Speeches, Volume 1
- Freedom Speeches, Volume 2
- Freedom Speeches, Volume 3
- Freedom the American Way
- How You Can Profit from the Coming Devaluation & Monetary Crisis
- Investment Strategy in an Uncertain World
- Rule Your World!
- The Secret of Selling ~ Anything
- The War Racket – Part 1
- The War Racket – Part 2
- 2000+ Libertarian Quotes
- Libertarian FAQ
- Great Libertarian Speeches
- The Great Libertarian Communicator
References
- ^ Browne, Harry (March 1, 2006). "Libertarian politics, articles, books, speeches, and investments". harrybrowne.org. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- ^ a b McCain, Robert Stacy (March 3, 2006). "Libertarian Leader Browne Dies at 72; Ran for President in 1996, 2000". The Washington Times. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ^ Doherty, Brian (March 2, 2006). "Harry Browne, R.I.P." Reason Magazine. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ "Harry Edson Browne : June 17, 1933 - March 1, 2006". Harrybrowne.org. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ "Libertarian Party 1996 National Campaign Platform". Uiowa.edu. Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ "Controversy in the LP". Harrybrowne.org. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ "radio shows". Harrybrowne.org. Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ Babka, Jim (March 3, 2006). "DownsizeDC.org". DownsizeDC.org. Archived from the original on April 1, 2006. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- OCLC 865106227.
- ^ "Obituary: Harry Browne". meaningfulfunerals.net. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ "Congressional Record – Extensions of Remarks, p. E374. March 15, 2006". www.congress.gov. March 15, 2006. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
External links
- Official website
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Harry Browne at Find a Grave
- Gillespie, Nick (July 1996). "Uncompromising Position". Reason.