Vince Miller (Dec. 11, 1938 – June 28, 2008) was Canadian libertarian who was one of the founders of the

Libertarian Party of Canada The Libertarian Party of Canada (french: Parti libertarien du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada founded in 1973. The party subscribes to classical liberal tenets, and its mission is to reduce the size, scope, and cost of government ...

in 1975, and later founded Libertarian International in 1980, which by 1989 had merged with Society for Individual Liberty to create the

Society for Individual Liberty Liberty International (the new public name of the International Society for Individual Liberty, Inc. or ISIL) is a non-profit, libertarian educational and networking organization based near Austin, Texas. It encourages activism in libertarian a ...

(ISIL). Born in Ontario Canada, Miller was the editor of the Libertarian Party of Canada's magazine ''Libertarian Option''.

Early years

According to Jeff Riggenbach, Miller was basically “apolitical for the first three decades of his life,” and spent his time “running, playing the guitar, and getting rich in business.” That changed in 1971 after meeting Marshall Bruce Evoy, who had been an official business representative for the

Nathaniel Branden Nathaniel Branden (born Nathan Blumenthal; April 9, 1930 – December 3, 2014) was a Canadian–American psychotherapist and writer known for his work in the psychology of self-esteem. A former associate and romantic partner of Ayn Rand ...

Institute in Toronto.” Thereafter, Miller got involved in political elections as a candidate for parliament and later was elected to president of the LP of Canada. Meanwhile, he learned the typesetting and printing trade to get into the printing business while working briefly in the late 1970s as editor of a magazine for

Roger MacBride Roger Lea MacBride (August 6, 1929 – March 5, 1995) was an American lawyer, political figure, writer, and television producer. He was the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1976 election. MacBride became the first president ...

, the Libertarian Party presidential candidate in 1976. Determined to spread the libertarian message to nations across the globe, Miller established the nonprofit Libertarian International in 1980, and finally set up his first Libertarian International conference in 1982 in Switzerland.

The ISIL Years

After the merge, Miller made ISIL the centerpiece of his life, published the newsletter and magazine ''Freedom News Daily'' (FNN), arranged a yearly international conference that emphasized scholarships for college students, solicited Jarret Wollstein to write more pamphlets (totaling 38 separate titles), and rescued and revitalized the Laissez Faire Books mail-order business. From 1982 to 2008, Miller and James Elwood organized 25 world conferences, mostly located in Europe, North and Central America and Africa, which included such notable personalities as Nobel laureate

Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...

. Miller was instrumental in translating a number of books into foreign languages, including Ken Schoolland’s ''The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey'', Ayn Rand’s ''Anthem'',

Karl Hess Karl Hess (born Carl Hess III; May 25, 1923 – April 22, 1994) was an American speechwriter and author. He was also a political philosopher, editor, welder, motorcycle racer, tax resister, and libertarian activist. His career included stints on ...

’s ''Capitalism for Kids'', Frances Kendall's ''Super Parents Super Children'' and Mary Ruwart’s ''Healing Our World.''Joseph Bast, “Vince Miller, RIP,”

Heartland Institute The Heartland Institute is an American conservative and libertarian public policy think tank known for its rejection of both the scientific consensus on climate change and the negative health impacts of smoking. Founded in 1984, it worked wit ...

, June 29, 2008 Vince Miller died in a hospital while in a coma from

Valley Fever A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Vince Libertarianism in the United States 1938 births 2008 deaths