Mont Pelerin Society
Encyclopedia
The Mont Pelerin Society is an international organization composed of economists
(including 8 winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
), philosophers, historians, intellectuals, business leaders, and others who favour classical liberalism
. Its founders included Friedrich Hayek
, Karl Popper
, Ludwig von Mises
, George Stigler
, and Milton Friedman
.
The society advocates freedom of expression, free market
economic policies, and the political values of an open society
.
The group also stated that it is "difficult to imagine a society in which freedom may be effectively preserved" without the "diffused power and initiative" associated with "private property and the competitive market", and found it desirable inter alia to study the following matters:
The group "seeks to establish no meticulous and hampering orthodoxy", "conduct propaganda" or align with some party. It aims to facilitate "the exchange of views - - to contribute to the preservation and improvement of the free society.
(Friedrich August von Hayek). Originally, it was to be named the Acton
-Tocqueville
Society. After Frank Knight
protested against naming the group after two “Roman Catholic aristocrats” and Ludwig von Mises
expressed concern that the mistakes made by Acton and Tocqueville would be connected with the society, the name of the Swiss resort where it convened was used instead.
and to combat the “state ascendancy and Marxist or Keynesian planning [that was] sweeping the globe”. The first meeting took place in the Hotel du Parc in the Swiss village of Mont Pelerin (Mont Pèle-rin), near the city of Montreux, Switzerland
. In his "Opening Address to a Conference at Mont Pelerin" Hayek mentioned "two men with whom I had most fully discussed the plan for this meeting both have not lived to see its realisation": Henry Simons (who trained Milton Friedman
, a future president of the society, at the University of Chicago
) and Sir John Clapham, a senior official of the Bank of England who from 1940–6 was the president of the British Royal Society.
The resulting Mont Pelerin Society aimed to “facilitate an exchange of ideas between like-minded scholars in the hope of strengthening the principles and practice of a free society and to study the workings, virtues, and defects of market-oriented economic systems.”
The Society has continued to meet on a regular basis, the General Meeting every two years and the regional meetings annually. The current president of the Society is Kenneth Minogue
.
It has close ties to the network of think tanks sponsored in part by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation
.
to pursue the think-tank route. Fisher went on to establish the Institute of Economic Affairs
(IEA) in London during 1955, the Heritage Foundation
in Washington, D.C., during 1973, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York City during 1977 and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation
in 1981. In turn the Atlas Foundation supports a wide network of think-tanks, including the Fraser Institute
.
Prominent MPS members who have advanced to policy positions include Chancellor Ludwig Erhard
of West Germany, President Luigi Einaudi
of Italy
, Chairman Arthur F. Burns
of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe
of Sri Lanka, Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe
of the U.K., Italian Minister of Defence Antonio Martino
, Chilean Finance Minister Carlos Cáceres, New Zealand Finance Minister Ruth Richardson
and President Václav Klaus
of the Czech Republic. Of 76 economic advisers on Ronald Reagan
's 1980 campaign staff, 22 were MPS members.
Several leading journalists, including Pulitzer Prize
-winning columnist Walter Lippmann
, former radical Max Eastman
(then roving editor at Reader’s Digest), John Chamberlain
(former editorial writer for Life
magazine), Henry Hazlitt
(former financial editor of The New York Times
and columnist for Newsweek
), and Felix Morley
(Pulitzer Prize
-winning editor at The Washington Post
), have also been members.
Eight MPS members, F. A. Hayek, Milton Friedman
, George Stigler
, Maurice Allais
, James M. Buchanan
, Ronald Coase
, Gary S. Becker and Vernon Smith
have won Nobel prize
s in economics.
Board of Directors 2008-2010
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
(including 8 winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, but officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel , is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, generally regarded as one of the...
), philosophers, historians, intellectuals, business leaders, and others who favour classical liberalism
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
. Its founders included Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...
, Karl Popper
Karl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
, Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian economist, philosopher, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the modern Libertarian movement and the "Austrian School" of economic thought.-Biography:-Early life:...
, George Stigler
George Stigler
George Joseph Stigler was a U.S. economist. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1982, and was a key leader of the Chicago School of Economics, along with his close friend Milton Friedman....
, and Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
.
The society advocates freedom of expression, free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
economic policies, and the political values of an open society
Open society
The open society is a concept originally developed by philosopher Henri Bergson and then by Austrian and British philosopher Karl Popper. In open societies, government is purported to be responsive and tolerant, and political mechanisms are said to be transparent and flexible...
.
Aims
In its "Statement of Aims", April 8, 1947, the scholars were worried about the dangers faced by civilization. "Over large stretches of the Earth’s surface the essential conditions of human dignity and freedom have already disappeared. - - The position of the individual and the voluntary group are progressively undermined by extensions of arbitrary power. Even that most precious possession of Western Man, freedom of thought and expression, is threatened by the spread of creeds which, claiming the privilege of tolerance when in the position of a minority, seek only to establish a position of power in which they can suppress and obliterate all views but their own."The group also stated that it is "difficult to imagine a society in which freedom may be effectively preserved" without the "diffused power and initiative" associated with "private property and the competitive market", and found it desirable inter alia to study the following matters:
- "The analysis and exploration of the nature of the present crisis so as to bring home to others its essential moral and economic origins.
- The redefinition of the functions of the state so as to distinguish more clearly between the totalitarian and the liberal order.
- Methods of re-establishing the rule of law and of assuring its development in such manner that individuals and groups are not in a position to encroach upon the freedom of others and private rights are not allowed to become a basis of predatory power.
- The possibility of establishing minimum standards by means not inimical to initiative and functioning of the market.
- Methods of combating the misuse of history for the furtherance of creeds hostile to liberty.
- The problem of the creation of an international order conducive to the safeguarding of peace and liberty and permitting the establishment of harmonious international economic relations."
The group "seeks to establish no meticulous and hampering orthodoxy", "conduct propaganda" or align with some party. It aims to facilitate "the exchange of views - - to contribute to the preservation and improvement of the free society.
Name
The Mont Pelerin Society was created on 10 April 1947 at a conference organized by Friedrich HayekFriedrich Hayek
Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...
(Friedrich August von Hayek). Originally, it was to be named the Acton
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, KCVO, DL , known as Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Bt from 1837 to 1869 and usually referred to simply as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer...
-Tocqueville
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution . In both of these works, he explored the effects of the rising equality of social conditions on the individual and the state in...
Society. After Frank Knight
Frank Knight
Frank Hyneman Knight was an American economist who spent most of his career at the University of Chicago, where he became one of the founders of the Chicago school. Nobel laureates James M. Buchanan, Milton Friedman and George Stigler were all students of Knight at Chicago. Knight supervised...
protested against naming the group after two “Roman Catholic aristocrats” and Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian economist, philosopher, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the modern Libertarian movement and the "Austrian School" of economic thought.-Biography:-Early life:...
expressed concern that the mistakes made by Acton and Tocqueville would be connected with the society, the name of the Swiss resort where it convened was used instead.
History
In 1947, 39 scholars, mostly economists, with some historians and philosophers, were invited by Professor Friedrich Hayek to meet to discuss the state, and possible fate of classical liberalismClassical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
and to combat the “state ascendancy and Marxist or Keynesian planning [that was] sweeping the globe”. The first meeting took place in the Hotel du Parc in the Swiss village of Mont Pelerin (Mont Pèle-rin), near the city of Montreux, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In his "Opening Address to a Conference at Mont Pelerin" Hayek mentioned "two men with whom I had most fully discussed the plan for this meeting both have not lived to see its realisation": Henry Simons (who trained Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
, a future president of the society, at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
) and Sir John Clapham, a senior official of the Bank of England who from 1940–6 was the president of the British Royal Society.
The resulting Mont Pelerin Society aimed to “facilitate an exchange of ideas between like-minded scholars in the hope of strengthening the principles and practice of a free society and to study the workings, virtues, and defects of market-oriented economic systems.”
The Society has continued to meet on a regular basis, the General Meeting every two years and the regional meetings annually. The current president of the Society is Kenneth Minogue
Kenneth Minogue
Kenneth Robert Minogue is an Australian political theorist who is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics.-Biography:...
.
It has close ties to the network of think tanks sponsored in part by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Atlas Economic Research Foundation
The Atlas Economic Research Foundation, also known as the Atlas Network, is a non-profit organization based in the United States which organizes and convenes workshops, offers training, runs prize programs, and provides advisory services in order to continue growing and strengthening an informal...
.
Influence
Hayek stressed that the society was to be a scholarly community arguing against collectivism, while not engaging in public relations or propaganda. However, the society has always been a focal point for an international think-tank movement; Hayek himself used it as a forum to encourage members such as Antony FisherAntony Fisher
Sir Antony Fisher was one of the most influential background players in the global rise of libertarian think-tanks during the second half of the twentieth century, founding the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. Through Atlas, he helped establish up to 150...
to pursue the think-tank route. Fisher went on to establish the Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
(IEA) in London during 1955, the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
in Washington, D.C., during 1973, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York City during 1977 and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Atlas Economic Research Foundation
The Atlas Economic Research Foundation, also known as the Atlas Network, is a non-profit organization based in the United States which organizes and convenes workshops, offers training, runs prize programs, and provides advisory services in order to continue growing and strengthening an informal...
in 1981. In turn the Atlas Foundation supports a wide network of think-tanks, including the Fraser Institute
Fraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a Canadian think tank. It has been described as politically conservative and right-wing libertarian and espouses free market principles...
.
Prominent MPS members who have advanced to policy positions include Chancellor Ludwig Erhard
Ludwig Erhard
Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard was a German politician affiliated with the CDU and Chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is notable for his leading role in German postwar economic reform and economic recovery , particularly in his role as Minister of Economics under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer...
of West Germany, President Luigi Einaudi
Luigi Einaudi
Luigi Einaudi , Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorato di Gran Cordone OMRI was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the second President of the Italian Republic between 1948 and 1955.-Early life:...
of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Chairman Arthur F. Burns
Arthur F. Burns
Arthur Frank Burns was an American economist. He served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1970 to 1978.- Career :...
of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe
Ranil Wickremasinghe
Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe , MP, is a Sri Lankan politician and current Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan parliament. He was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka twice, from May 7, 1993 to August 19, 1994 and from December 9, 2001 to April 6, 2004...
of Sri Lanka, Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe
Geoffrey Howe
Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, CH, QC, PC is a former British Conservative politician. He was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and finally Leader of the House of Commons...
of the U.K., Italian Minister of Defence Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
, Chilean Finance Minister Carlos Cáceres, New Zealand Finance Minister Ruth Richardson
Ruth Richardson
Ruth Richardson served as New Zealand's Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1993, and is known for her strong pursuit of free-market economic reforms .-Early life:...
and President Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...
of the Czech Republic. Of 76 economic advisers on Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's 1980 campaign staff, 22 were MPS members.
Several leading journalists, including Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning columnist Walter Lippmann
Walter Lippmann
Walter Lippmann was an American intellectual, writer, reporter, and political commentator famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War...
, former radical Max Eastman
Max Eastman
Max Forrester Eastman was an American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet, and a prominent political activist. For many years, Eastman was a supporter of socialism, a leading patron of the Harlem Renaissance and an activist for a number of liberal and radical causes...
(then roving editor at Reader’s Digest), John Chamberlain
John Chamberlain (journalist)
John Rensselaer Chamberlain was an American journalist, historian of business and the economy, and literary critic, dubbed "one of America’s most trusted book reviewers."-Early life:...
(former editorial writer for Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine), Henry Hazlitt
Henry Hazlitt
Henry Stuart Hazlitt was an American economist, philosopher, literary critic and journalist for such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, The American Mercury, Newsweek, and The New York Times...
(former financial editor of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and columnist for Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
), and Felix Morley
Felix Morley
Felix Muskett Morley was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from the United States.-Biography:Morley was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, his father being the mathematician Frank Morley. Like his brothers, Christopher and Frank, Felix was educated at Haverford College and enjoyed a Rhodes...
(Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning editor at The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
), have also been members.
Eight MPS members, F. A. Hayek, Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
, George Stigler
George Stigler
George Joseph Stigler was a U.S. economist. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1982, and was a key leader of the Chicago School of Economics, along with his close friend Milton Friedman....
, Maurice Allais
Maurice Allais
Maurice Félix Charles Allais was a French economist, and was the 1988 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics "for his pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilization of resources."...
, James M. Buchanan
James M. Buchanan
James McGill Buchanan, Jr. is an American economist known for his work on public choice theory, for which he received the 1986 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Buchanan's work initiated research on how politicians' self-interest and non-economic forces affect government economic policy...
, Ronald Coase
Ronald Coase
Ronald Harry Coase is a British-born, American-based economist and the Clifton R. Musser Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago Law School. After studying with the University of London External Programme in 1927–29, Coase entered the London School of Economics, where he took...
, Gary S. Becker and Vernon Smith
Vernon L. Smith
Vernon Lomax Smith is professor of economics at Chapman University's Argyros School of Business and Economics and School of Law in Orange, California, a research scholar at George Mason University Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science, and a Fellow of the Mercatus Center, all in Arlington,...
have won Nobel prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
s in economics.
Past Presidents
- F. A. von Hayek U.K., 1947-61
- Wilhelm RopkeWilhelm RöpkeWilhelm Röpke was Professor of Economics, first in Jena, then in Graz, Marburg, Istanbul and finally in Geneva, and the main spiritual father of the German social market economy, theorising and collaborating to organise the post-World War II economic re-awakening of the then destroyed German...
Switzerland, 1961-62 - John JewkesJohn JewkesJohn Jewkes was a British classical liberal economist. He was Professor of Economic Organisation at Merton College, Oxford.His main work, Ordeal by Planning, was written in 1946; in it he argues that the central planning implemented in the United Kingdom during World War II can only lead to...
U.K., 1962-64 - Friedrich Lutz Germany, 1964-67
- Bruno LeoniBruno LeoniBruno Leoni was an Italian classical-liberal political philosopher and lawyer.Besides being editor for the political science journal Il Politico, Leoni was also involved as secretary and later president of the Mont Pelerin Society...
Italy, 1967-68 - Günter Schmölders Germany, 1968-70
- Milton FriedmanMilton FriedmanMilton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
U.S., 1970-72 - Arthur Shenfield U.K., 1972-74
- Gaston Leduc France, 1974-76
- George StiglerGeorge StiglerGeorge Joseph Stigler was a U.S. economist. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1982, and was a key leader of the Chicago School of Economics, along with his close friend Milton Friedman....
U.S., 1976-78 - Manuel AyauManuel AyauDr. Manuel F. Ayau Cordón was the Founder of the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala, a private University in Latin America. He was born in Guatemala City, on December 27, 1925. After diverse studies, he obtained a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1950,...
Guatemala, 1978-80 - Chiaki Nishiyama Japan, 1980-82
- Lord Harris of High Cross U.K., 1982-84
- James M. BuchananJames M. BuchananJames McGill Buchanan, Jr. is an American economist known for his work on public choice theory, for which he received the 1986 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Buchanan's work initiated research on how politicians' self-interest and non-economic forces affect government economic policy...
U.S., 1984-86 - Herbert GierschHerbert GierschHerbert Giersch was a German economist. He was one of the initial members of the German Council of Economic Experts in 1964, serving on the council until 1970, and also was president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy 1969–1989...
Germany, 1986-88 - Antonio MartinoAntonio MartinoAntonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
Italy, 1988-90 - Gary BeckerGary BeckerGary Stanley Becker is an American economist. He is a professor of economics, sociology at the University of Chicago and a professor at the Booth School of Business. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1992, and received the United States' Presidential Medal of Freedom...
U.S., 1990-92 - Max Hartwell U.K., 1992-94
- Pascal SalinPascal SalinPascal Salin is a libertarian French economist, professor at the Université Paris-Dauphine and a specialist in public finance. He is a former president of the Mont Pelerin Society ....
France, 1994-96 - Edwin J. Feulner U.S., 1996-98
- Ramon P. Diaz Uruguay, 1998-00
- Christian Watrin Germany, 2000-02
- Leonard P. Liggio U.S., 2002-04
- Victoria Curzon-PriceVictoria Curzon-PriceVictoria Curzon-Price was Professor of Economics at the University of Geneva and also at the European Institute . Her areas of interest include international trade, economic integration, institutional competition and political economy. Previously she was president of the Mont Pelerin Society...
Switzerland, 2004-06 - Greg LindsayGreg LindsayGregory John Lindsay AO is Executive Director of the prominent Australian think tank The Centre for Independent Studies which he founded in 1976 when a young mathematics teacher in the western suburbs of Sydney...
Australia, 2006-08 - Deepak LalDeepak LalDeepak Lal is a British development economist of Indian origin who was once a junior member of India's diplomatic corps. Lal was born in Lahore in 1940. He graduated in History from Delhi University's St. Stephens College in 1959; later at Jesus College, Oxford he received the B.A. degree in...
United States, 2008-2010 - Kenneth MinogueKenneth MinogueKenneth Robert Minogue is an Australian political theorist who is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics.-Biography:...
New Zealand, 2010-2012
Founder participants
The original participants were- Maurice AllaisMaurice AllaisMaurice Félix Charles Allais was a French economist, and was the 1988 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics "for his pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilization of resources."...
, French physicist and economist - Carlo Antoni
- Hans Barth
- Karl BrandtKarl Brandt (economist)Karl Brandt was a German-American agricultural economist.Brandt was born in Essen. He fled from Germany to the U.S. in 1933, shortly after the Nazi regime came to power...
, German-American agricultural economist - Götz BriefsGötz BriefsGötz Briefs was a Catholic social theorist, social ethicist, social philosopher and political economist, who together with Jesuit Gundlach, influenced the social teachings of Pope Pius XI.-Biography:...
German economist - Herbert Cornuelle
- John Davenport
- Stanley Dennison, British economist
- Aaron DirectorAaron DirectorAaron Director , a celebrated professor at the University of Chicago Law School, played a central role in the development of the Chicago school of economics...
, professor at the University of Chicago Law SchoolUniversity of Chicago Law SchoolThe University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S... - Walter EuckenWalter EuckenWalter Eucken was a German economist and father of ordoliberalism. His name is closely linked with the development of the "social market economy".-Life:...
, German economist, father of OrdoliberalismOrdoliberalismOrdoliberalism is a school of liberalism that emphasised the need for the state to ensure that the free market produces results close to its theoretical potential . The theory was developed by German economists and legal scholars such as Walter Eucken, Franz Böhm, Hans Grossmann-Doerth and Leonhard... - Erick Eyck,
- Milton FriedmanMilton FriedmanMilton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
, American economist - Harry Gideonse, Dutch-American economist, President, Brooklyn College
- Frank GrahamFrank GrahamFrancis or Frank Graham may refer to:*Frank Graham , New York sportswriter*Frank D. Graham , writer of Audel guides*Frank Porter Graham , Democratic Senator from North Carolina, 1949–1950...
, - Friedrich HayekFriedrich HayekFriedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...
, Austrian economist - Henry HazlittHenry HazlittHenry Stuart Hazlitt was an American economist, philosopher, literary critic and journalist for such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, The American Mercury, Newsweek, and The New York Times...
, libertarian philosopher, economist and journalist - F. A. HarperF. A. HarperDr. Floyd Arthur Harper , better known as F. A. Harper or "Baldy" Harper, was an American academic, economist and writer best known for founding the Institute for Humane Studies in 1961. -Early life:...
- Trygve HoffTrygve HoffTrygve J. B. Hoff was a Norwegian businessman, writer and editor of the Farmand business magazine.Hoff is most well known for his role as editor of the Farmand in Norway until his death...
, Norwegian economist and journalist - Albert Hunold
- Carl Iversen, Danish economist
- John JewkesJohn JewkesJohn Jewkes was a British classical liberal economist. He was Professor of Economic Organisation at Merton College, Oxford.His main work, Ordeal by Planning, was written in 1946; in it he argues that the central planning implemented in the United Kingdom during World War II can only lead to...
, British economist - Filip Jolevski
- Bertrand de JouvenelBertrand de JouvenelBertrand de Jouvenel des Ursins, usually known only as Bertrand de Jouvenel was a French philosopher, political economist, and futurist.-Life:...
, French philosopher and political economist - Frank KnightFrank KnightFrank Hyneman Knight was an American economist who spent most of his career at the University of Chicago, where he became one of the founders of the Chicago school. Nobel laureates James M. Buchanan, Milton Friedman and George Stigler were all students of Knight at Chicago. Knight supervised...
, Chicago schoolChicago school (economics)The Chicago school of economics describes a neoclassical school of thought within the academic community of economists, with a strong focus around the faculty of The University of Chicago, some of whom have constructed and popularized its principles...
economist - Fritz MachlupFritz MachlupFritz Machlup was an Austrian-American economist. He was notable for being one of the first economists to examine knowledge as an economic resource....
, Austrian-American economist - Salvador de MadariagaSalvador de MadariagaSalvador de Madariaga y Rojo was a Spanish diplomat, writer, historian and pacifist. He had two daughters....
, Spanish diplomat and writer - Henri de Lovinfosse,
- Loren MillerLoren MillerLoren Miller was a civic reformer and libertarian activist in the first half of the 20th century. Perhaps Miller's most lasting contribution was his success in convincing business magnates to support libertarian causes and organizations. The most notable case was William Volker who, at Miller's...
, civic reformer and libertarian activist - Ludwig von MisesLudwig von MisesLudwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian economist, philosopher, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the modern Libertarian movement and the "Austrian School" of economic thought.-Biography:-Early life:...
, Austrian economist - Jose Isidro Morante
- Felix MorleyFelix MorleyFelix Muskett Morley was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from the United States.-Biography:Morley was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, his father being the mathematician Frank Morley. Like his brothers, Christopher and Frank, Felix was educated at Haverford College and enjoyed a Rhodes...
- Michael PolanyiMichael PolanyiMichael Polanyi, FRS was a Hungarian–British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and the theory of knowledge...
, Hungarian/British chemist, economist and philosopher of science - Karl PopperKarl PopperSir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
, Austrian/British philosopher - William RappardWilliam RappardWilliam Emmanuel Rappard was an influential academic and diplomat of the interwar-period, a passionate defender of the international scene....
, academic and diplomat - Leonard ReadLeonard ReadLeonard E. Read was an American economist and the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, which was the first modern free market think tank in the United States....
, founder, Foundation for Economic EducationFoundation for Economic EducationThe Foundation for Economic Education is one of the oldest free-market organizations established in the United States to study and advance the freedom philosophy. Murray Rothbard recognizes FEE for creating a "crucial open center" that he credits with launching the movement... - George Révay
- Lionel RobbinsLionel RobbinsLionel Charles Robbins, Baron Robbins, FBA was a British economist and head of the economics department at the London School of Economics...
, British economist - Wilhelm RöpkeWilhelm RöpkeWilhelm Röpke was Professor of Economics, first in Jena, then in Graz, Marburg, Istanbul and finally in Geneva, and the main spiritual father of the German social market economy, theorising and collaborating to organise the post-World War II economic re-awakening of the then destroyed German...
, social marketSocial market economyThe social market economy is the main economic model used in West Germany after World War II. It is based on the economic philosophy of Ordoliberalism from the Freiburg School...
economist - George Joseph Stigler, U.S. economist
- Herbert TingstenHerbert TingstenHerbert Lars Gustaf Tingsten was a Swedish political scientist, writer and newspaper publisher. He was a professor of political science at Stockholm University from 1935 to 1946, and executive editor of the newspaper Dagens Nyheter from 1946 to 1959.Herbert Tingsten was born in Järfälla, Stockholm...
, Swedish political scientist and journalist - François Trevoux
- Orval Watts
- Cicely Wedgwood
Board of Directors 2008-2010
- Deepak LalDeepak LalDeepak Lal is a British development economist of Indian origin who was once a junior member of India's diplomatic corps. Lal was born in Lahore in 1940. He graduated in History from Delhi University's St. Stephens College in 1959; later at Jesus College, Oxford he received the B.A. degree in...
, President (USA/UK) - Greg LindsayGreg LindsayGregory John Lindsay AO is Executive Director of the prominent Australian think tank The Centre for Independent Studies which he founded in 1976 when a young mathematics teacher in the western suburbs of Sydney...
, Senior Vice President (Australia) - Carl-Johan Westholm, Secretary (Sweden)
- Edwin J. Feulner, Treasurer (USA)
- Victoria Curzon-PriceVictoria Curzon-PriceVictoria Curzon-Price was Professor of Economics at the University of Geneva and also at the European Institute . Her areas of interest include international trade, economic integration, institutional competition and political economy. Previously she was president of the Mont Pelerin Society...
, Vice President (Switzerland) - Eamonn ButlerEamonn ButlerEamonn Butler is Director and co-founder of the Adam Smith Institute think tank, and an author and broadcaster on economic and social issues.-Career:...
, Vice President (UK) - Peter Kurrild-KlitgaardPeter Kurrild-Klitgaard-Education and employment:Kurrild-Klitgaard is Ph.D. , M.Sc. and B.A. , and M.A....
, Vice President (Denmark) - Michael Zoeller, Vice President (Germany)
- Veselin VukoticVeselin VukoticVeselin "Vesko" Vukotić is a Montenegrin criminal and hitman. He's been arrested in February 2006 and released from jail in August 2009. Currently is living free in Novi Sad....
, Director (Montenegro) - Giancarlo Ibárgüen, Director (Guatemala)
- Suri RatnapalaSuri RatnapalaSuri Ratnapala is an Australian academic. He is a Professor of Public Law and Director of the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law in the School of Law at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. He is the author of several books on legal philosophy, constitutional...
, Director (Australia) - Linda Whetstone, Director (UK)
- Enrique Ghersi, Director (Peru)
- J.R. Clark, Vice President(USA)
- Hiromitsu Ishi, Director (Japan)
Further reading
- R. M. Hartwell (1995), History of the Mont Pèlerin Society (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund)
External links
- Mont Pelerin Society, the official site
- Marc Haegeman, The general meeting files of the Mont Pèlerin Society (1947-1998). 108pp pdf.
- William H. Peterson, A History of the Mont Pelerin Society by R. M. Hartwell (book review), The FreemanThe FreemanThe Freeman: Ideas on Liberty is one of the oldest and most respected libertarian journals in the United States. It is published by the Foundation for Economic Education . It started as a digest sized monthly study journal; it currently appears 10 times per year and is a larger-sized magazine. FEE...
, Foundation for Economic EducationFoundation for Economic EducationThe Foundation for Economic Education is one of the oldest free-market organizations established in the United States to study and advance the freedom philosophy. Murray Rothbard recognizes FEE for creating a "crucial open center" that he credits with launching the movement...
, July 1996. - Greg Kaza, The Mont Pelerin Society’s 50th Anniversary, The FreemanThe FreemanThe Freeman: Ideas on Liberty is one of the oldest and most respected libertarian journals in the United States. It is published by the Foundation for Economic Education . It started as a digest sized monthly study journal; it currently appears 10 times per year and is a larger-sized magazine. FEE...
, Foundation for Economic EducationFoundation for Economic EducationThe Foundation for Economic Education is one of the oldest free-market organizations established in the United States to study and advance the freedom philosophy. Murray Rothbard recognizes FEE for creating a "crucial open center" that he credits with launching the movement...
, June 1997. - The Mont Pelerin Society records at the Hoover Institution Archives.