Mont Pelerin Society

The Mont Pelerin Society is an international academic society of economists, historians, philosophers, political theorists, journalists, and other intellectuals who share an interest in the preservation and development of a free society. It was founded in April 1947 by economist and political philosopher Friedrich Hayek, who brought together 39 scholars at the Hotel du Parc near the Swiss village of Mont Pèlerin, overlooking Lake Geneva. The gathering took place during a period when many participants believed that collectivism, state economic planning, authoritarian politics, and restrictions on individual liberty were expanding across Europe and elsewhere. The society's founding purpose was not to create a political party, lobbying organization, or tightly disciplined ideological movement. Its members instead sought a private forum in which they could examine the intellectual, moral, legal, and economic foundations of liberal societies. The group's original statement of aims emphasized freedom of thought and expression, private property, competitive markets, the rule of law, limits on arbitrary government power, and the search for minimum social standards compatible with individual initiative. It also called for study of international arrangements that could support peace, economic cooperation, and liberty. The organization initially considered the name Acton-Tocqueville Society, but objections from Frank Knight and Ludwig von Mises contributed to the adoption of the geographic name Mont Pelerin Society. Hayek wanted the society to facilitate scholarly exchange rather than establish a detailed orthodoxy or conduct conventional propaganda. This distinction has remained central to its identity, although the society and many of its members have been influential in the wider postwar network of free-market research institutes, advocacy organizations, universities, and policy communities. The MPS has generally operated through recurring general and regional meetings. These gatherings allow members to discuss economic policy, constitutionalism, political philosophy, law, monetary affairs, international trade, development, and the institutional conditions of economic freedom. The society does not function as a commercial brand and does not sell a standardized product. Its principal offerings are intellectual: conferences, discussion networks, papers, scholarly exchange, and access to an international community of like-minded researchers and public-policy figures. Its historical influence has been connected to the careers of members such as Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, George Stigler, Maurice Allais, James M. Buchanan, Ronald Coase, Gary Becker, and Vernon Smith, all of whom received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Other members or participants held important public offices, including Ludwig Erhard in West Germany, Luigi Einaudi in Italy, Arthur F. Burns at the United States Federal Reserve, George Shultz in the United States government, Václav Klaus in the Czech Republic, and finance or cabinet positions in countries including the United Kingdom, Chile, Italy, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. These connections helped make the society an important meeting point between academic economics and public policy. The MPS has also been associated with the development of a broader international think-tank ecosystem. Hayek encouraged member Antony Fisher to pursue the think-tank model, leading to the establishment of the Institute of Economic Affairs in London and later organizations in the United States and elsewhere. The society has maintained relationships with organizations in the Atlas Network, although it is distinct from those institutions and is principally an academic membership society. The organization has attracted both admiration and criticism. Supporters regard it as an important venue for defending liberal institutions, market coordination, and limits on state power. Critics have described it as a formative node in the intellectual development of neoliberalism and have questioned the social and political consequences of the policy ideas promoted by some members. The society itself presents its role as facilitating discussion rather than endorsing a single policy program. It remains active as an international forum for debate about economic freedom, constitutional government, and the future of open societies.

The Mont Pelerin Society emerged from the intellectual crisis surrounding classical liberalism after the Second World War. Friedrich Hayek believed that advocates of individual liberty needed a durable international forum to reconsider the foundations of liberal society and respond to the growing appeal of central planning, collectivism, and authoritarian political systems. In 1947 he invited 39 scholars to meet at the Hotel du Parc in the Swiss village of Mont Pèlerin, near Vevey and Lake Geneva. The meeting coincided with international negotiations concerning the proposed International Trade Organization in Geneva, held at the opposite end of the lake. The conference formally established the society on April 10, 1947. The participants had considered naming it the Acton-Tocqueville Society, but Frank Knight objected to associating the organization with two figures he regarded as unsuitable namesakes, while Ludwig von Mises expressed concern about linking the new society to perceived errors in their thought. The geographic name was ultimately adopted. Swiss academic and diplomat William Rappard addressed the inaugural meeting, and Hayek discussed the intellectual origins of the gathering, including conversations with Henry Simons and John Clapham, both of whom had died before the conference took place. The founders issued a statement of aims that framed the problem in broad moral, political, and economic terms. They argued that individual dignity and freedom were threatened by the growth of arbitrary power and by ideologies that sought to suppress opposing views. The statement called for examination of the crisis facing liberal civilization, clarification of the state's proper functions, protection of the rule of law and private rights, social minimums compatible with market initiative, resistance to politically motivated distortions of history, and an international order conducive to peace and economic cooperation. The society deliberately rejected a detailed and compulsory doctrine. Its purpose was to exchange ideas among scholars and to study the operation, strengths, and weaknesses of market-oriented systems. Hayek particularly emphasized that it should not become a propaganda organization or align itself with a political party. Nevertheless, the network developed considerable influence because its members occupied prominent positions in universities, journalism, central banking, government, and public-policy institutions. Early financial support for the founding conference came from several sources, including the William Volker Fund, the Foundation for Economic Education, the Swiss bank Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, and assistance connected with the Bank of England. The conference costs were documented in Swiss francs in historical accounts, but the society's broader finances and current operating budget are not established by the supplied material. During the postwar decades, the MPS became a continuing forum with general meetings held every two years and regional meetings held annually. Its members contributed to debates over monetary policy, trade, competition, constitutional limits, privatization, welfare policy, and the role of government. The organization's influence was often indirect: it created relationships among people who later wrote books, advised governments, founded research institutes, served in public office, or shaped economic journalism. A major channel of influence was the development of the modern think-tank model. Hayek encouraged Antony Fisher to establish the Institute of Economic Affairs in London in 1955. Fisher later helped establish or support institutions including the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, now associated with the Atlas Network. The MPS itself remained separate from these organizations, but its membership overlapped with the wider network of policy institutes that promoted market-oriented research and public education. The society's membership has included several Nobel Memorial Prize winners in Economic Sciences: Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, George Stigler, Maurice Allais, James M. Buchanan, Ronald Coase, Gary Becker, and Vernon Smith. Mario Vargas Llosa, a member, received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Members and participants also included public officials such as Ludwig Erhard, Luigi Einaudi, Arthur F. Burns, George Shultz, Václav Klaus, Geoffrey Howe, Antonio Martino, Carlos Cáceres, Ruth Richardson, and Ranil Wickremasinghe. The presence of MPS members among political advisers and officeholders helped connect the society's intellectual discussions with policy debates, including in the United States during the Reagan era. The society's legacy remains contested. Historians and critics have characterized it as an important organizational center in the formation of neoliberal thought, while supporters describe it as a scholarly defense of liberal institutions and economic freedom. The MPS has continued to emphasize discussion rather than party politics or a rigid program. Its contemporary identity is therefore best understood as an international academic network focused on the conditions required for a free and open society.

• 2014

  Recognition in global think-tank conference ranking

  [1]Mont Pelerin Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The society placed ninth in the Best Think Tank Conference category of the University of Pennsylvania's Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.

• 1981

  Atlas Economic Research Foundation established

  [1]Mont Pelerin Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Antony Fisher helped establish the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, later known as the Atlas Network, which became part of the wider international network of market-oriented think tanks.

• 1955

  Institute of Economic Affairs established

  [1]Mont Pelerin Societyen.wikipedia.org

  MPS member Antony Fisher founded the Institute of Economic Affairs in London after encouragement from Hayek, helping extend the society's influence into the think-tank world.

• 1947

  Founding conference at Mont Pèlerin

  [1]Mont Pelerin Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Friedrich Hayek convened 39 scholars near Lake Geneva to discuss the future of classical liberalism and establish an international intellectual society.

• 1947

  Statement of aims adopted

  [1]Mont Pelerin Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The founders articulated concerns about arbitrary state power and collectivism while supporting private property, competitive markets, the rule of law, and international cooperation.

A nonpartisan international intellectual society positioned as a forum for scholarly discussion of classical liberalism, economic freedom, private property, competitive markets, the rule of law, and open society institutions.

Product categories. Academic and policy conferences · Private scholarly meetings · Intellectual exchange among economists, historians, philosophers, and policy thinkers · Discussion of market institutions, liberal democracy, law, and economic policy

1. 1Mont Pelerin Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Mont Pelerin Society official websitemontpelerin.org
3. 3The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making of the Neoliberal Thought Collectivejstor.org