The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS), founded in 1947, is an international academic society of economists, political philosophers, and other intellectuals who share a classical liberal outlook. It is headquartered at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, United States. The society advocates freedom of expression, free market economic policies, and an open society. Further, the society seeks to discover ways in which the private sector can replace many functions currently provided by government entities.
History
The MPS was established on April 10, 1947, at a conference organized by Friedrich Hayek at the base of Mont Pèlerin on Lake Geneva. The conferees met as the International Trade Organization (ITO) charter was being drafted at the opposite end of the lake in Geneva, Switzerland.Ebenstein, Alan (2014). "Mont Pèlerin Society." (Chapter 18). Friedrich Hayek: A Biography. New York: Palgrave for St. Martin's Press. p. 146. . .
The MPS was originally to be named the Acton-Tocqueville Society. 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.
In its "Statement of Aims" on April 8, 1947, the scholars were worried about the dangers faced by civilization, stating:
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 among other things 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."
Notably absent are the range of human and political rights traditionally embraced by liberals (including the right to form coalitions and freedom of the press).
In 1947, 39 scholars, mostly economists with some historians and philosophers, were invited by Friedrich Hayek to meet to discuss the state and possible fate of classical liberalism, his goal being an organization which would resist interventionism and promote his conception of classical liberalism. The first meeting took place in the Hotel du Parc in the Swiss village of Mont Pèlerin, near the city of Vevey, Switzerland.
Funding for the conference came from the William Volker Fund thanks to Harold Luhnow, the Bank of England owing to the help of Alfred Suenson-Taylor, the Foundation for Economic Education in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York and the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (today known as Credit Suisse), which paid 93 percent of the total conference costs, 18,062.08 Swiss francs.
William Rappard, a Swiss academic, diplomat and founder of the Graduate Institute of International Studies, addressed the society's inaugural meeting. 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", namely Henry Simons (who trained Milton Friedman, a future president of the MPS, at the University of Chicago) and John Clapham, a British economic historian.
The MPS 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 MPS has continued to meet regularly, the General Meeting every two years and the regional meetings annually. The MPS has close ties to the network of think tanks sponsored in part by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation.
Influence Hayek stressed that the society was to be a scholarly community arguing against collectivism while not engaging in public relations or propaganda. The society has become part of an international think tank movement and Hayek used it as a forum to encourage members such as Antony Fisher to pursue the think tank route. Fisher has established the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in London during 1955, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York City in 1977 and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in 1981. Now known as the Atlas Network, they support a wide network of think tanks, including the Fraser Institute.
Prominent MPS members who advanced to policy positions included the late Chancellor Ludwig Erhard of West Germany, President Luigi Einaudi of Italy, Chairman Arthur F. Burns of the Federal Reserve Board and Secretary of State George Shultz. Among prominent contemporary political figures, former President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic and acting politicians, such as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe of Sri Lanka, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Geoffrey Howe of the United Kingdom, former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence Antonio Martino, Chilean Finance Minister Carlos Cáceres and former New Zealand Finance Minister Ruth Richardson, are all MPS members. 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), John Davenport (holder of editorial posts at Fortune and Barron's) and Felix Morley (Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at The Washington Post), have also been members. Members of the MPS have also been well represented on the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Eight MPS members, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, George Stigler, Maurice Allais, James M. Buchanan, Ronald Coase, Gary Becker and Vernon Smith have won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Graeme Maxton, and Jørgen Randers note that it is no surprise that so many MPS members have won a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences because the MPS helped to create that award, specifically to legitimize free-market economic thinking.Graeme Maxton, Jorgen Randers (2016). Reinventing Prosperity: Managing Economic Growth to Reduce Unemployment, Inequality and Climate Change. Greystone Books. . p. 77. In contrast, Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Romer attended a meeting of the MPS and found it "boring and depressing." One MPS member, Mario Vargas Llosa, received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010.
In the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, published by Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the University of Pennsylvania, MPS was ranked ninth out of 55 for "Best Think Tank Conference".
Past presidents Numerous notable economic/political theorists have served as president of the MPS:Past Presidents . The Mont Pelerin Society website.
Friedrich Hayek – United Kingdom, 1947–1961 Wilhelm Röpke – Switzerland, 1961–1962 John Jewkes – United Kingdom, 1962–1964 Friedrich A. Lutz – Germany, 1964–1967Lutz was a professor at the University of Zurich in Switzerland during the time he was president. Bruno Leoni – Italy, 1967–1968 Günter Schmölders – Germany, 1968–1970 Milton Friedman – United States, 1970–1972 Arthur Shenfield – United Kingdom, 1972–1974 Gaston Leduc – France, 1974–1976 George Stigler – United States, 1976–1978 Manuel Ayau – Guatemala, 1978–1980 Chiaki Nishiyama – Japan, 1980–1982 Lord Harris of High Cross – United Kingdom, 1982–1984 James M. Buchanan – United States, 1984–1986 Herbert Giersch – Germany, 1986–1988 Antonio Martino – Italy, 1988–1990 Gary Becker – United States, 1990–1992 Max Hartwell – United Kingdom, 1992–1994 Pascal Salin – France, 1994–1996 Edwin Feulner – United States, 1996–1998 Ramón Díaz – Uruguay, 1998–2000 Christian Watrin – Germany, 2000–2002 Leonard P. Liggio – United States, 2002–2004 Victoria Curzon-Price – Switzerland, 2004–2006 Greg Lindsay – Australia, 2006–2008 Deepak Lal – United States, 2008–2010 Kenneth Minogue – United Kingdom, 2010–2012 Allan H. Meltzer – United States, 2012–2014 Pedro Schwartz – Spain, 2014–2016 Peter Boettke – United States, 2016–2018 John B. Taylor – United States, 2018–2020 Linda Whetstone – United Kingdom, 2020–2021 Gabriel Calzada – Spain, 2021–2024
Other notable participants
Maurice Allais – French physicist and economist Karl Brandt – German-American agricultural economist Götz Briefs – German economist Ed Crane – Founder, Cato Institute Aaron Director – professor at the University of Chicago Law School Ludwig Erhard – Minister of Economics and Chancellor of postwar West Germany Frank Graham – American economist F. A. Harper – American economist Henry Hazlitt – American journalist Trygve Hoff – Norwegian economist and journalist Bertrand de Jouvenel – French philosopher and political economist Václav Klaus – Czech economist and politician Frank Knight – Chicago school economist Fritz Machlup – Austrian-American economist Salvador de Madariaga – Spanish diplomat and writer Loren Miller – American civic reformer and libertarian activist Ludwig von Mises – Austrian economist Felix Morley – American journalist Michael Polanyi – Hungarian/British chemist, economist and philosopher of science Karl Popper – Austrian/British philosopher William Rappard – American academic and diplomat Leonard Read – American founder of the Foundation for Economic Education Lionel Robbins – British economist Bellikoth Raghunath Shenoy – Indian economist Peter Thiel - German-American entrepreneur Herbert Tingsten – Swedish political scientist and journalist Cicely Wedgwood – British historian
Other noted members
Armen AlchianMont Pèlerin Society Directory (2010). Note: "DeSmogBlog recreated this directory in order to remove personal contact information." Martin Anderson John A. Baden Stephen J. Blackwood Danny Julian Boggs Rhodes Boyson William L. Breit Yaron Brook William F. Buckley Jr. Carlos Cáceres Contreras Steven N. S. Cheung Warren Coats Harold Demsetz Donald J. Devine Ross Eckert John Exter David D. Friedman Pierre F. Goodrich Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson Otto von Habsburg Ronald Hamowy Steven F. Hayward George Hilton Israel Kirzner Charles G. Koch Alan Charles Kors Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard Henri Lepage Leon Louw Henry Maksoud Henry Manne Paul McCracken Marcel van Meerhaeghe Ernst-Joachim Mestmäcker Maurice Newman John O'Sullivan J. Howard Pew William H. Peterson Madsen Pirie Richard Posner Enoch PowellChurchill Archives Centre. The papers of Enoch Powell. File POLL 1/1/20. Alvin Rabushka Richard W. Rahn Alan Reynolds Ljubo Sirc Lowell C. Smith Beryl W. Sprinkel Richard L. Stroup Gordon Tullock Mario Vargas LlosaChafuen, Alejandro (March 26, 2014). "Away From Socialism: Mario Vargas Llosa Joins The Mont Pèlerin Society." Forbes. Leland B. Yeager