Burton Blumert
Encyclopedia
Burton S. Blumert was the president of the Center for Libertarian Studies
in Burlingame, California
, chairman of the Mises Institute, and the publisher of LewRockwell.com
. Before his retirement in 2008, he bought and sold precious metals as the proprietor of Camino Coin Company.
, Blumert enlisted in the United States Air Force
during the Korean War
era. After a series of draft deferments, he chose to enlist in the Air Force—which offered a shorter enlistment term than did the Army—in order to avoid being drafted during the Truman administration.
From 1959 until 2008, Blumert operated the Camino Coin Company, dealing in bullion and coins
. Upon retirement he gave the company to a long-time employee. After retiring, Blumert remained an active discussant of commodities topics in the media.
In a 2008 interview he credited his experience in the coin industry as spurring him to adopt a libertarian
political philosophy and to support fellow gold advocate Ron Paul
. In 1988, Blumert was chair of Ron Paul's first presidential campaign. Blumert was a close friend and supporter of the late Murray Rothbard
, with whom he founded the Center for Libertarian Studies in 1975. As president of the Center for Libertarian Studies, Blumert published the Journal of Libertarian Studies
, the Austrian Economics Newsletter, and the Rothbard-Rockwell Report. Blumert served as chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute
and was publisher of LewRockwell.com
.
In his often humorous contributions to LRC, he positioned himself as anti-Rudy Giuliani
, pro-Barry Bonds
, and skeptical of the medical establishment. A selection of Blumert's essays were collected into the 2008 book, Bagels, Barry Bonds, and Rotten Politicians (available online), for which Lew Rockwell
provided a foreword.
Center for Libertarian Studies
The Center for Libertarian Studies was a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist oriented educational organization founded in 1976 by Murray Rothbard and Burton Blumert, which grew out of the Libertarian Scholars Conferences...
in Burlingame, California
Burlingame, California
Burlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame. It is renowned for its many surviving examples of Victorian architecture, its affluence, and...
, chairman of the Mises Institute, and the publisher of LewRockwell.com
LewRockwell.com
LewRockwell.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"...
. Before his retirement in 2008, he bought and sold precious metals as the proprietor of Camino Coin Company.
Background
Educated at New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, Blumert enlisted in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
era. After a series of draft deferments, he chose to enlist in the Air Force—which offered a shorter enlistment term than did the Army—in order to avoid being drafted during the Truman administration.
From 1959 until 2008, Blumert operated the Camino Coin Company, dealing in bullion and coins
COinS
ContextObjects in Spans, commonly abbreviated COinS, is a method to embed bibliographic metadata in the HTML code of web pages. This allows bibliographic software to publish machine-readable bibliographic items and client reference management software to retrieve bibliographic metadata. The...
. Upon retirement he gave the company to a long-time employee. After retiring, Blumert remained an active discussant of commodities topics in the media.
Political and social commentary
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, 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...
political philosophy and to support fellow gold advocate Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald 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...
. In 1988, Blumert was chair of Ron Paul's first presidential campaign. Blumert was a close friend and supporter of the late Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
, with whom he founded the Center for Libertarian Studies in 1975. As president of the Center for Libertarian Studies, Blumert published the Journal of Libertarian Studies
Journal of Libertarian Studies
The Journal of Libertarian Studies is a scholarly journal published annually by the Ludwig von Mises Institute and Lew Rockwell. It was established in the spring of 1977 by Murray Rothbard who also served as its editor until his death in 1995...
, the Austrian Economics Newsletter, and the Rothbard-Rockwell Report. Blumert served as chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute
Ludwig von Mises Institute
The Ludwig von Mises Institute , based in Auburn, Alabama, is a libertarian academic organization engaged in research and scholarship in the fields of economics, philosophy and political economy. Its scholarship is inspired by the work of Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises...
and was publisher of LewRockwell.com
LewRockwell.com
LewRockwell.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"...
.
In his often humorous contributions to LRC, he positioned himself as anti-Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, pro-Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
, and skeptical of the medical establishment. A selection of Blumert's essays were collected into the 2008 book, Bagels, Barry Bonds, and Rotten Politicians (available online), for which Lew Rockwell
Lew Rockwell
Llewellyn Harrison "Lew" Rockwell, Jr. is an American libertarian political commentator, activist, proponent of the Austrian School of economics, and chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.-Life and work:...
provided a foreword.
External links
- Burton Blumert archive at LewRockwell.com
- Burton Blumert obituary at Taki's Magazine
- Burton Blumert obituary at LewRockwell.com