Joe was a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the Advocates, an Advocates supporter, and a dear friend to all of us. 

It was Joe who was responsible for the "Self-Government" part of the Advocates' name. (See Liberator story below for details.)

Joe was a true champion of liberty. Every day, he influenced many young people to understand and cherish the miracle of free markets and individual liberty. The world has lost a wonderful man.

Advocates Founder Marshall Fritz  officiated at a Memorial Service for Joe on Saturday, March 29, 2003 in Hayward, CA. We will soon post some of the tributes presented there.

Below are some writings about Joe:

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Here is a profile of Joe published in the Summer 1997 Liberator, quarterly magazine of the Advocates for Self-Government:

Joe Fuhrig and his Traveling Capitalism Show

By James W. Harris

August 1997

You dial the number. The phone rings. Then a voice on the other line greets you:

"Traveling Capitalism Show."

You've reached Joe Fuhrig.

"Traveling Capitalism Show" is the label Joe applies to his numerous activities for liberty. And it would be hard to think of a better one. As a dedicated and beloved economics professor, a political candidate, writer, speaker, and founding Advocates Board member -- among other roles -- Joe has been taking the good news of liberty to untold numbers of people for almost 25 years. And speaking of labels, Joe even came up with the Advocates' name itself!

But more on that later. First, how did Joe become a libertarian?

Feeling A Draft

In the late 1960's, as an undergraduate at Hayward State University in Hayward, California, Joe was drawn to the anti-Vietnam War movement. He wasn't a libertarian yet, but the war polarized issues that strongly pushed him in that direction.

"I was deeply concerned about the draft," he recalls. "I wasn't eligible because of a medical condition. But I was concerned about my friends having to make the decision of whether to leave the country or face whatever awaited them in Vietnam."

This was, he says, "a busy time for me, intellectually." Exploring his political feelings, he "came to the conclusion very quickly that if the government didn't have a rightful claim to my body, they didn't have one to my money or my property either. And once I came to that realization -- well, there wasn't a lot left that the state had a right to do."

His budding libertarianism was cemented when he took a class in economics from W. H. Hutt. Hutt, a prominent figure in the Austrian school of free market economics, was 70 when Joe encountered him.

"He was a wonderful teacher, still at the peak of his intellectual faculties," Joe recalls. "This was a time when I needed to see a very good man holding strong free market, classical liberal positions."

Hutt was just the right man. A brilliant economist, author of several important books including the seminal Strike Threat System (1973), Hutt was steeped in classical liberalism. Joe recalls Hutt often said he was proud of being born in the 19th century -- he was not so impressed with the 20th century, an age in which classical liberal thought seemed forgotten, an age characterized by massive state power, economic centralization and mass warfare.

"Hutt learned his economics from a study of the great classical writers," Joe says. "And the basic message of the classical writers, from Adam Smith through John Stuart Mill all the way up to Karl Marx -- where it of course stops -- is that the great virtue of a market society isn't just productive efficiency, isn't just wealth. It's the moral improvement of man.

"I really needed to hear that and see that at that time. And that, connected with my natural resistance to being kidnapped and robbed by the government, kind of completed the cycle for me."

Hutt was a personal friend of Ludwig von Mises, the towering giant of Austrian economics. Joe dug into Mises's masterpiece, Human Action, and other works. That in turn led him to encounter the writings -- and the person -- of the great libertarian Murray Rothbard.

"I met Murray in the early 70's," Joe says. "And although we didn't speak but maybe once a year, I consider myself a friend of Murray." The friendship and respect was mutual, as we will see.

Impressed with the example of Hutt and other educators he met, Joe decided that the life of a teacher was for him. It was not only intellectually satisfying and personally stimulating, it had another bonus -- it would give him time to pursue his other great passion: golf!

That was no minor consideration. Joe is an outstanding golfer who has won numerous important championships, including six championships at his club and four city championships.

Rothbard: "A Model Libertarian Candidate"

In 1982, Joe ran for the California Senate as a Libertarian Party candidate. That race is still viewed by many today as a landmark, notable for the high quality of campaigning; the high quality of the issue papers ("wonderful papers on the drug war, denationalization of defense, and immigration, really wonderful papers," Joe says, written by the brilliant libertarian scholar Jeff Hummel); and most of all, a deep commitment to uncompromising, hardcore libertarian principle.

Murray Rothbard was one of many who praised Joe's 1982 campaign. "I have known Joe Fuhrig for years," he wrote in Libertarian Forum. "He is intelligent, cheerful, articulate, and tirelessly energetic, an economics professor (Austrian to the core) and a dedicated radical libertarian... a model of what every Libertarian candidate should be..." Rothbard, who accepted an offer to become Honorary Chairman of the campaign, urged LP members to consider Fuhrig as a future presidential candidate for the party.

Naming the Advocates

Joe first met Advocates founder Marshall Fritz in the summer of 1981. Joe was teaching at a Cato Institute summer seminar. The two instantly hit it off.

"Meeting Marshall was a delight," Joe recalls. "I was immediately impressed with his incredibly active, fertile mind. And Marshall is a very funny man -- truly funny. He's a hilarious person."

Marshall -- at the time Executive Director of the California LP -- was putting together plans for a new libertarian organization, one that would help libertarians become more powerful communicators of the ideas of liberty, and that would make it easier for libertarians to quickly discover libertarian-leaning folks and convert them to libertarians. (Sound familiar?)

But Marshall was having trouble coming up with a name that embodied the positive, pro-freedom nature of the organization he envisioned. He kicked around a lot of possibilities, but nothing felt right. Starting in early 1983, he began asking everyone he knew -- including Joe -- to help him come up with just the right word.

Almost two years later, in December 1984, Marshall got his answer.

"There was a knock at my door," Marshall recalls. And when I opened the door, there stood Joe Fuhrig. Which was quite a surprise -- because Joe lives 200 miles from my house!"

"I've got your word!" Joe told Marshall at the door.

To which Marshall -- who had no idea yet what Joe was referring to -- replied: "My word for what?"

"Your positive word for liberty," Joe said. "It's 'self-government!'"

"Yes!" Marshall exclaimed, and he decided the Jeffersonian phrase would be the name of his new organization. When the Self-Government Advocates (okay, there was still a bit of tweaking to do) was officially launched a few months later, Joe accepted Marshall's offer to be on the Board of Directors -- and he has served on the Board ever since.

"Marshall loved the notion of 'self-government,'" Joe recalls. "To me, that seemed to be the central crux of his belief system -- this Jeffersonian notion of self-government.

Joe was also a member of the informal group of prominent libertarian advisors who worked with Marshall to shape, evaluate and finalize the great outreach tool that Marshall invented -- the World's Smallest Political Quiz. Joe played a key role in that process. And he remains a big fan of the Quiz today.

"I still hand that out on a fairly large scale to people," he says. He regularly uses it in his classes, too, as a quick way of conveying important political information. "I blow up a copy of the Quiz to larger size, show it to my students, then go over it so they can see where they fit in."

The students enjoy it, he says. (No surprise to anyone who's familiar with the Quiz.)

"In my teaching I try to reach the average person," Joe says. "I spread the message of liberty in the classroom. The Advocates does the same thing, only on a much bigger scale.

"The Advocates is doing essential work, and I am proud to be a member of its Board."

Teaching: Quality and Quantity

It is teaching, more than anything else, that is Joe's passion. He has taught continuously in the Bay area since 1973. In addition to teaching at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, he's on the faculty of the Academy of Arts College at San Francisco, a private school where he teaches economics to students planning on careers in the arts.

His passion for his work is evident when he speaks about the pleasures and the rewards of teaching and interacting with students.

Recently, for example, one particularly outstanding student, after graduating, wrote him a note saying that Joe had played the same role in her life that W. H. Hutt played in his -- convincing her, by his teaching and his example, to devote her life to studying and teaching free market economics.

Such experiences, Joe says, make it all worthwhile. "There's no amount you can pay me that's better than that," he says.

Joe's teaching is notable not only for its quality, but for its sheer quantity.

"No libertarian has ever taught as many sections of economic principles as I have," he says with certainty. "They may have taught more people, in larger classes, but no one has ever taught more sections than I have -- not in the history of the world!"

Most academics teach six or eight classes annually. Though his contract calls for him to teach eight classes a year, Joe teaches an amazing 14 or 15. He's taught as many as 21 in a single year -- seven a semester!

When Joe turned 50 last February, some academic friends gave him a plaque hailing him as "the most prolific teacher of economic principles, and the greatest anarchist golfer, of all time."

"You're Really Going To Like This!"

Joe is extremely optimistic about the future of liberty in our lifetime.

"As libertarians, our job has changed," Joe says. "Our job is no longer building enthusiasm from ground zero for liberty -- because liberty is gong to become a fact. Liberty is being thrust on the human race whether we like it or not. The good thing is that now we have an organized libertarian movement. And now our job is to convince people that what's happening to them is entirely good -- our mission is to say, 'This is really good, and you're really going to like this!'"

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From Mark Hinkle, former Chair, Libertarian Party of California:

The Libertarian movement has lost one of its bright stars today. Libertarian Talk Show host, Gene Burns, announced on his radio show that Joe Fuhrig, died 03/03/03 of a heart attack while at work. Joe taught economics and finance at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. He also taught part-time at San Jose State University. Furthermore, during the summer, Joe ran the Independent Institute's high school seminar program.

In addition to normal teaching duties, Joe was also known as the Traveling Capitalism Show. He would take his enthusiasm for economics and his love of the subject on the road to spread the gospel. He was frequent speaker at libertarian events all around the San Francisco Bay. Joe was also a Libertarian candidate during the early years of the LP, having run for congress in 1980, the US Senate in 1982, and for Governor in 1986. Joe had recently discussed plans with me to run for either governor (assuming a successful recall of Gray Davis) or for the US Senate next year. Joe received the Sons of Liberty award for his 1982 US Senate race. This award is given every two years by the Samuel Adams Society for the California campaign that does the best job of upholding libertarian principles.

Eric Garris had this to say about Joe's 1982 campaign:

"I managed Joe's 1982 campaign for US Senate. It was one of the best experiences I've had in electoral politics, and Joe was a willing and energetic participant in our radical libertarian activities during his campaign."

Joe was one of those people, who because of his enthusiasm for his subject, economics, could make you like it as well. He was just a delight to listen to and talk with. Beside all these activities on behalf of the libertarian movement, Joe was an avid golfer with scores in the low eighties. Last year he played 81 rounds of golf. This was serious golfer!

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From Sharon Harris:

Joe will be sorely missed.

He was a jovial, enthusiastic and humorous man who was passionately dedicated to the cause of liberty. I am in awe of the tremendous influence he had on the future of liberty through his highly effective teaching career. He inspired countless students and lit a fire of passion in them for free-markets and individual liberty. Joe's work is multiplying exponentially even as we speak.

One of my fondest memories is of working on the "Joe Fuhrig for VP" campaign in 1983. The national LP convention was in hot contention over its choice for Vice President. At the very last moment, a group of Fuhrig fans got together and hastily drafted Joe for the nomination, even raising the money to fly him in from California to New York to address the convention. I'll never forget when he stood on the podium and declared that he wasn't for going back to the Constitution. He was for immediately going back to the Articles of Confederation -- and cutting from there! The crowd roared its approval.

I still have and cherish my hand-made "Fuhrig for VP" button.

He was a great asset to the Advocates -- even coming up with the "Self-Government" part of our name. We will miss him terribly.

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A typical quote from a student who took one of Joe's seminars given through the Independence Institute:

"I really enjoyed Professor Fuhrig. He was very intelligent and entertaining. I also enjoyed reading and hearing about different economists and seeing a variety of views and beliefs. . . I enjoyed having a small group, making it easier to concentrate on everyone's questions and statements, in a more comfortable atmosphere."

"I learned so much during the week about how our world works. The things I learned were interesting, and I will be able to use them for the rest of my life in all kinds of situations. . . . Professor Fuhrig is a great guy, and I had a lot of fun."

"This is a really great program! . . . I really enjoyed learning about all of the famous economists, their basic philosophies, and their influence on economic reasoning. Professor Fuhrig's personal anecdotes were humorous and helped me to shape some of my views. Overall, an exceptional week!"

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To read more about Joe, please see the excellent memorial page posted by the Independent Institute.