Summer 2008 - Atlas Network

highlights
A Quarterly Newsletter for the Atlas Network
2008
Liberty Forum
Summer 2008
Politics or Principles?
T
his year’s election choice of Barack Obama and John McCain has many
limited government aficionados more worried than ever.
But consider this: election outcomes are less important than the fundamental battle of ideas. Politicians come and go. The results of campaign contributions are
fleeting at best. But principles endure. Ultimately, we must focus on core principles
over politics. What do we stand for? How do we want our country to be governed
and guided? At Atlas, it’s clear: individual liberty, free markets, and limited government under the rule of law.
O
ur own Jo Kwong is joined by
Masaru Uchiyama (Japan),
Hiroshi Yoshida (Japan) and Nonoy
Oplas (Philippines) behind an Atlas
ice sculpture at the 2008 Liberty
Forum. More photos and highlights
begin on page 3!
These are the principles that are kept relevant by the think tanks associated with
Atlas. Over the years, we have provided advice, training, networking opportunities, and seed funding to 95 think tanks here in the U.S. (and many more around
the world). This “chorus” ensures our ideas are part of the American public
debate – even when the politicians in power prefer a different tune.
Few think tanks have generated returns like the National Center for Policy
Analysis, one of Atlas’s earliest think tank investments. Inside this issue of
Highlights, the NCPA’s founder and president John Goodman discusses this
year’s election, the battle of ideas, and the most important challenges facing
friends of freedom.
See interview on page 10
inside
2008 Liberty Forum .................................................... 3
Fisher Awards Winners............................................. 6
Free-Market Ideas on College
Campuses ............................................................................. 8
Supporter Spotlight: Pamela Hoiles......... 12
The Impact of Atlas Shrugged ....................... 14
One-on-One with Gerardo
Bongiovanni ......................................................................16
Network News .............................................................. 18
On September 25-26, 2008, Atlas will hold a workshop in Dallas to help celebrate the NCPA’s
25th anniversary. The photo above, of Milton and Rose Friedman being interviewed by NCPA’s
John Goodman, comes from the gala dinner that followed an Atlas workshop in Dallas on the
occasion of the Center’s 15th anniversary.
Liberty Forum 2008
atlas highlights
atlas highlights
At Atlas
Atlas works with think tanks and individuals
around the world to advance a vision of a
society of free and responsible individuals,
based upon private property rights, limited
government under the rule of law and the
market order. Atlas is a nonprofit 501(c)(3)
organization that is supported solely by
donations from individuals, foundations
and corporations.
Board of Directors
William Sumner (Chairman)
Dan Grossman (Vice-Chairman)
John Blundell
Tim Browne
Abby Moffat
George Pearson
Andrea Millen Rich
René Scull
Linda Whetstone
Hon. Curtin Winsor
Staff
Alejandro A. Chafuen
President & CEO
Leonard P. Liggio
Executive Vice President of Academics
Bradley A. Lips
Executive Vice President & COO
Jo Kwong
Vice President of Institute Relations
Eva Andraskova
Office Manager
Cindy Cerquitella
Coalition Relations Associate
Colleen Dyble
Director of Coalition Relations
Whitney Garrison
Donor Relations Associate
Allegra Hewell
Events Assistant
Rómulo Lopez
Program Manager
Alexis Serote
Associate Director of Donor Relations
Luke Seidl
Outreach Associate
Joseph Humire
Program Manager
Priscilla Tacujan
Program Manager
YiQiao Xu
Director of Program Management
Atlas Senior Fellows
William Dennis
Deroy Murdock
Gabriel Zinny
Jason Talley
2000 N. 14th Street, Suite 550
Arlington, Virginia 22201
703-934-6969 – Phone
2
Summer 2008
Atlanta,Georgia
The Launch of AtlasNetwork.org
To complement our primary institutional Web site (AtlasUSA.org), we have recently launched
AtlasNetwork.org to share news, commentary, and fun updates from the diverse network of independent think tanks, scholars, and friends
that collaborate with Atlas. Organized as
a blog, AtlasNetwork.org can be sorted
to find news by region, to find updates
on Atlas’s own programs, or to access
video and audio content. You can add
comments to posts, search by keyword
or tag cloud, and subscribe to our Atlas
Updates emails and our RSS feeds. You
can even get a widget for your own Web
site with news syndicated off
Check out the newly launched Atlas blog at
AtlasNetwork.org! ●
AtlasNetwork.org
In NYC with Centre for
Civil Society
On June 4, Atlas co-sponsored a
reception and panel at the Harvard Club
in New York City, which was hosted by
the Centre for Civil Society of New
Delhi, India, to bring attention to its
school choice campaign. The wellattended event featured remarks from
CCS chairman, Gurcharan Das author
of the international bestseller, India
Unbound. ●
Gurcharan Das, right of center, addresses school choice
~
April 25-27, 2008
tlas’s Liberty Forum, held annually in late April, has
become a fixture on the calendar of many think
tank leaders in the international freedom movement – as
well as a growing number of donors, who treasure the
opportunity to meet freedom champions from 50 different countries.
A
The 2008 Liberty Forum took place in Atlanta from
April 25-27, and featured speeches by entrepreneur and
philanthropist, Frank Hanna, and Hernán Büchi, one of
the key architects of Chile’s free-market reforms.
Attendees learned how think tanks are advancing liberty
in countries as diverse as Denmark, Ghana, Mongolia,
and Venezuela. There were workshops on how think
tanks can utilize “new media” and adopt strategies to
develop their donor base, and there was a two-hour discussion of the future of the freedom movement. But as
usual, the true stars of the Liberty Forum were the attendees themselves, who enjoyed and contributed to the
camaraderie that comes from meeting like-minded peers
from all over the world.
Atlas president Alex Chafuen proposes a toast in honor of Bill
Sumner, who is stepping down from his role as chairman of Atlas’s
Board of Directors after 20 years.
in India.
International Thursdays
On the third Thursday of the month, Atlas hosts at its headquarters a 90-minute meeting to foster collaboration among people interested in international policy topics, and to get insider
perspectives on international news events. Recent speakers have included Christopher Lingle on the
situation in Tibet, Sipho Khumalo on Zimbabwe’s contested elections, and privatization expert
Bruce McQueen. ●
Atlas Benefits from Koch Associates Program
The KAP program of the Koch Foundation is training young professionals in Market-Based
ManagementTM and providing them with work experience at participating non-profit organizations
like Atlas. Recently, we welcomed two new KAP’ers in Joseph Humire and Luke Seidl, who now
serve as a Program Associate and Outreach Associate, respectively. Atlas’s Yiqiao Hu and Whitney
Garrison graduated from the second KAP class and remain at Atlas, while KAP’er Niki Straub has
returned to her native Pittsburgh after finishing the program. ●
Representatives of six of the nine recipients of 2008 members of the
inaugural class of Fisher Venture Members attended the Liberty
Forum. From left to right: Gia Jandieri (New Economic School,
Republic of Georgia), Franklin Cudjoe (IMANI, Ghana), Alberto
Mingardi (Istituto Bruno Leoni, Italy), Eliana Santanatoglia (Fundación
Hayek, Argentina), Lui Junning (Cathay Institute for Public Affairs,
China) and Chris Derry (Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions,
Kentucky).
Members of the Atlas Club were treated to a special presentation by
Natasha Srdoc-Samy and Joel Samy of the Adriatic Institute, about
their work to promote economic freedom and reduce corruption in
Croatia. Natasha and Joel are pictured here with Atlas trustee, Linda
Whetstone.
Newsletter for the Atlas Network
3
Liberty Forum 2008 continued
atlas highlights
Roger Robinson and Jana Kosarkova of Prague Security Studies
Institute (Czech Republic) and Edita Maslauskaite (Lithuanian Free
Market Institute).
Frank Hanna delivered an inspiring keynote address at the Fisher
Memorial Dinner. He is pictured here (center) with Rand Getlin (left)
and Matt Harrison (right) of the recently-formed Prometheus Institute
in California.
“If I am an investor, and I want to invest in
that which yields the greatest return, and I
believe that which is material is becoming less
and less valuable in relation to the non-material, in what ought I invest? Well, at that point,
I will seek to invest in that which is non-material that has the greatest impact. I will invest
in ideas; I will invest in truth, for truth is eternal, and pays dividends forever.
“Those of you who are donors, that is what
you are doing in this endeavor. You are investing in a great treasure. Those of you laboring
for these ideas are creating that which has the
greatest value…. [Ideas] pay dividends for a
long period of time and thus are worth more
than comparable investments. Aristotle’s
investment of time and energy in putting forth
his ideas continues to pay dividends today.
Thousands of years later, Frank Hanna still
benefits from Aristotle, though I get no benefit from anything material that was created at
that time.”
Peruvian think tank leader, José Luis Tapia (Instituto de Libre
Empresa) visits with Ernest and Jan Taylor and Bridgett and Barry
Conner during a special reception that Atlas arranged at Rhodes Hall,
one of the last of Atlanta’s historic Peachtree mansions.
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Summer 2008
This is an excerpt of Frank Hanna’s speech,
which can be viewed in its entirety on video at
the AtlasNetwork.org web page.
atlas highlights
The final session of the Liberty Forum was a two-hour discussion of the future of freedom. Brad Lips asked the question,
“25 years from now, what will lovers of freedom wish we had
done more to address right now in 2008?”
The discussion with audience members, such as Luxman
Siriwardena (Sri Lanka), pictured above, was interspersed with
YouTube videos prepared by friends from Atlas from around
the world in the weeks leading up to the event.
Panelists included Atlas’s Bill Sumner, Lauren Templeton
(Lauren Templeton Capital Management, USA), Hernán
Büchi (Instituto Libertad y Desarrollo, Chile), Tom Palmer
(Cato Institute, USA), Becky Norton Dunlop (The Heritage
Foundation, USA), and Lui Junning (Cathay Institute for
Public Affairs, China).
How would you answer this question? You can still participate
in the conversation now—viewing videos, reading others’
answers, and contributing your own, at http://timecapsule.atlasnetwork.org
Atlas offered a special tour of Atlanta to its participants on the Sunday
of Liberty Forum. It was only appropriate to make a stop at the home
of capitalism’s most recognized international brand, the World of
Coke®, where Atlas’s Alexis Serote and Colleen Dyble posed with the
Coca Cola® polar bear.
Latin American Intellectual Entrepreneurs, Rocio Guijarro (CEDICE,
Venezuela), Guillermo Peña (Instituto Veritas, Honduras), and Marissa
Krienart (Fundación Libertad, Panama).
Newsletter for the Atlas Network
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atlas highlights
atlas highlights
Fisher Awards Recognize
Best Think Tank Publications
he Sir Antony Fisher International
Memorial Awards honor think tank
publications that have made the greatest contributions to the public
understanding of the free society.
T
Atlas announced the winners of the
2008 Fisher Awards at the Annual
Liberty Forum. Three U.S. institutes
took home honors, while Denmark’s
Center for Politiske Studier and
Australia’s Institute for Public Affairs
also claimed prizes.
Independent Institute
California, USA
Winner in the “Established Institutes”
Category
Street Smart by Gabriel Roth (editor)
Transaction Publishers, NJ, United
States, 2006
Street Smart systematically examines
private, market-based alternatives for
road services, both in theory and practice. The book explores numerous
possible directions for private services,
such as testing and licensing vehicles
and drivers, management of government-owned road facilities, franchising,
and outright private ownership. The
book further traces the history of private roads in Great Britain and the
United States, and examines contemporary examples of entrepreneurial
innovation in road pricing, privatization, and marketization in environs as
diverse as Singapore, California,
Ghana, Norway, and England.
A Fisher Award judge remarked, “This
is a major anthology dedicated to the
idea of private roads, one of the most
important applications of free market
principles. It does a superb job of
advancing the public understanding of
these principles, through ample illustrations. The fact that everyone is
familiar with the problems associated
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Summer 2008
with public funding of highways in particular and roads in general makes it
easier for people to appreciate the arguments presented in these articles.” As
the winner in the Established Institutes
category, the Independent Institute
received a $5,000 prize.
Center for Politiske Studier
Copenhagen, Denmark
Co-winner in the “Young Institutes”
Category
The Origins of Wealth by David Gress
Borgens Forlag, Copenhagen,
Denmark, 2007
The Origins of Wealth describes freedom as the fundamental building block
from which prosperity flows. It makes
the case for freedom, not only as a
“right,” but as the condition that best
allows people to develop traits of virtue,
rationality, and creativity.
Observing that Denmark must nourish
its sources of wealth so they aren’t
depleted, the Center for Politiske
Studier (CEPOS) set the task of finding
the origins of wealth, and explaining
this to a wider audience in order to
bring about a shift in the intellectual
debate. The Origins of Wealth has
become a national bestseller, praised in
reviews as a bold and innovative intellectual approach to controversial issues.
Since its launch in May 2007, it has
been republished in a second edition to
meet public demand.
A Fisher Award judge remarked, “The
Origins of Wealth is a very well-written,
original, accessible and stimulating
book with a wide potential audience in
Denmark as well as in other countries.
It explains the origins of wealth in terms
of the historical evolution of culture,
norms and institutions, in particular private property rights, free trade and state
pluralism. A very good winner.” Sharing
top recognition in the Young Institute
category, CEPOS received a $5,000
prize.
Public Policy Foundation
of West Virginia
West Virginia, USA
Co-Winner in the “Young Institutes”
Category
Unleashing Capitalism by Russell S.
Sobel
Public Policy Foundation of West
Virginia WV, United States 2007
Covering a broad range of issues –
revamping the tax code, judicial selection, strategy for economic growth,
education, property rights, eliminating
government waste and burdensome regulatory system – author Russell Sobel
demonstrates that free market solutions
can make West Virginia more dynamic
and prosperous.
A Fisher Award judge remarked, “This
book outlines the theoretical basis for a
free market economy and to an unusually high degree succeeds in showing
how these principles can be employed
to explain the West Virginian predicament, as well as pointing to the concrete
reform proposals in the book.” Sharing
first prize in the Young Institute category, the Public Policy Foundation of West
Virginia received a $5,000 prize.
controversial because it presents ideas
that are not regularly presented in the
mainstream media. Published quarterly,
the magazine has a small but loyal subscriber base which continues to grow.
Amongst those who read the IPA Review
are some of Australia’s most prominent
politicians, journalists and business
minds. Sales of the magazine over the
counter are also increasing as they aim
to constantly boost the magazines circulation so that free thinking ideas can
reach as many people as possible. To
celebrate its 60th birthday, the IPA
Review had a full make-over, reformatting its style and increasing its content.
Mackinac Center for
Public Policy
Michigan, USA
Winner in the “Innovative Projects”
Category
Students for a Free Economy
Special Innovative Projects Award
Mackinac’s “Students for a Free
Economy” (SFE) multimedia project
has taken a thoroughly modern
approach to the task of enticing
Michigan college students to learn
about free market ideas. The program
recognizes that America’s youth have
long passed the point of excitement
over most “new media”; after all,
they’ve grown up with CDs and DVDs,
and they’ve watched these media get
left in the dust by MP3s and YouTube.
Projects in the SFE portfolio have
included: a Economic Freedom and
Human Prosperity booklet; the Vive La
Liberte blog; postcard invitations to join
SFE; a line of original T-Shirts; “I Party
with Economic Models” frisbees;
“Because Freedom Needs a Young
Voice” stickers; SFE business cards; as
well as SFE writing contests that have
generated dozens of free-market articles
in campus newspapers across the state.
SFE hosted more than 25 events last
summer, including Competition
Makes it Better, where they took 20
students to a baseball game to celebrate the late Milton Friedman’s
birthday and the value of competition;
two colloquia; booths with iPod raffles;
Templeton Freedom
Awards 2008
Your think tank can apply now for
$10,000 and the recognition that
comes with Atlas’s prestigious
Templeton Freedom Awards program. Atlas will give two $10,000
prizes in eight different categories.
• Solutions to Poverty
• Ethics & Values
• Student Outreach
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Initiative in Public Relations
• Innovative Media Award
Institute for Public Affairs
• Special Achievement by a
University-Based Center
Melbourne, Australia
Winner in the “Best Magazines”
Category
IPA Review
Best Magazine Award
In its 60th year, the IPA Review is one of
the world’s oldest free market magazines
with a proud history of providing clear,
analytical commentary from some of
Australia’s and the world’s most free
thinking minds. The IPA Review is often
free market book fairs. A Fisher Award
judge remarked, “The Mackinac
Center’s project addresses an absolutely crucial group of people – young
students. In the future, they will possibly become multipliers as they
advance to top careers. In that sense,
with regard to the focus group, the
project does effectively advance public
understanding of the principles of a
free society. In the nicely designed
booklet, e.g., the project provides brief,
reliable summaries of the core principles and values of a free society. All
the media that the Center uses convey
the impression that these principles
are of top relevance.” ●
• Special Achievement by a Young
Institute
Holding their Fisher Awards, Chris Berg (Institute of Public Affairs, Australia), Martin
Agerup (CEPOS, Denmark), Lawrence Reed (Mackinac Center for Public Policy,
Michigan), Jim Shaefer (Jim Shaffer, Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia) and
Martin Buerger (Independent Institute, California).
Apply online at AtlasUSA.org.
The deadline is August 1, 2008.
Winners will be announced at a
special event surrounding Atlas’s
Freedom Dinner celebrations on
November 12-13.
Newsletter for the Atlas Network
7
atlas highlights
atlas highlights
Promoting Free-Market Ideas
On College Campuses
Universidad Francisco Marroquín in
Guatemala and the University of
Buckingham in the United Kingdom
among its fledging network of allied
institutions.
Richard Fink (Charles G. Koch Foundation) maps the presence of free-market professors
on America’s campuses as part of the Foundation’s strategy to promote the growth of
classical liberalism in higher education.
hey’re afraid to give their
viewpoints in class, because
they know it won’t be tolerated.”
These are the words of one of the college students interviewed in
Indoctrinate U, a recent documentary
about the stifling of independent
thinking on American college campuses. And this, in a nutshell, is the
problem that Atlas’s Teach Freedom
Initiative (TFI) seeks to address by
encouraging the formation of a new
breed of “academic centers” within
universities.
“T
Under the direction of Leonard
Liggio, the TFI combines Atlas’s
expertise in consulting on the start-up
and management of non-profit institutions with its long experience of
involvement in academic programs
promoting liberty.
Atlas aficionados will recall The
Freedom Project, which Atlas admin-
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Summer 2008
In recent years, several encouraging
examples of university-based centers
have emerged, exposing students to
the ideas of limited government and
free-market economics – ideas often
neglected (or, worse yet, disparaged)
in most college classrooms. Atlas’s
TFI program grows and strengthens
the network of such centers by showcasing successful models to other
potential “intellectual entrepreneurs,”
and helping startups and existing centers to grow via seed grants and
ongoing advisory services. (We
include a cautionary tale about the
special challenges posed by organizing within a university. For example,
the subject of our Highlights cover
story, the National Center for Policy
Analysis, was first organized as a center within the University of Dallas
before disputes over control of its
istered with support from the John
Templeton Foundation from 1999
through 2002. The program led to
the creation of 64 different university
courses on the
nature of freedom. But
perhaps few are
aware that
Atlas’s earliest
publications
focused on the
challenge of
promoting freedom within
universities, as
well as think
tanks. In 1983,
the first
Joâo Carlos Espada (Catholic University, Portugal) speaks to the
Highlights
newsletter, pro- challenge of educating future generations about the virtues of freemarket economics. Panelists left to right: Nicholas Capaldi (Loyola
duced by Atlas’s University, Louisiana), Jonathan Fortier (Institute for Humane
founder, Antony Studies, Washington DC) and Enrico Colombatta (University of
Turin, Italy)
Fisher, listed
funds prompted its relaunch as an
independent think tank.)
Since 2005, Atlas has held TFI events
on building academic centers prior to
the annual meetings of the
Philadelphia Society. Its most recent
event in this series, “Why Academic
Centers Matter in Promoting
Economic and Political Liberties,”
took place on April 11, 2008, in
Arlington, Virginia.
Richard Fink, president of the
Charles G. Koch Foundation and
founder of the Mercatus Center, gave
the lunchtime speech on the Koch
Foundation’s strategy to assist the
growth of free-market academic centers. Suggesting that a center’s
viability is improved by the presence
of clusters of free-market professors on
campus, Fink showed a map during
his presentation showing where
future centers had strong possibilities
of developing. He discussed the Koch
Foundation’s activities all along the
“supply chain,” which identifies talented students, encourages their
academic careers, and takes them to
the point where they can develop academic centers, which have the
potential of cultivating even bigger
numbers of students with knowledge
of the ideas of liberty.
The afternoon sessions featured
prominent scholars affiliated with university-based programs that teach and
conduct research on free-market topics. Scholars included: Dan Klein of
George Mason University (Virginia),
Chris Coyne of West Virginia
University, James Otteson of Yeshiva
University (New York), Nick Capaldi
of Loyola University (Louisiana), as
well as scholars of international
stature such as Enrico Colombatto of
the University of Turin (Italy) and
João Carlos Espada of the Catholic
University of Portugal. ●
2008 FSSO PRIZE WINNER
he Fund for the Study of Spontaneous
Orders at the Atlas Economic Research
Foundation has bestowed Professor Emily
Chamlee-Wright, the Elbert H. Neese Professor
of Economics at Beloit College and an Affiliated
Senior Scholar at the Mercatus Center, George
Mason University, the 2008 FSSO Prize.
T
These $10,000 prizes are awarded on an occasional basis to scholars whose work, informed by
the Austrian perspective of methodological individualism, has pursued in significant ways areas outside the normal fields of
academic economics. In Chamlee-Wright’s case, the Fund cites in particular
her work at the intersection of studies of entrepreneurship, philanthropy, the
civil society, and market activities through her work on female entrepreneurs
in local markets in Zimbabwe and Ghana and on voluntary disaster relief
and reconstruction efforts after the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and
Rita. This latter project she is currently pursuing as principal investigator at
the Katrina project of The Mercatus Center.
Chamlee-Wright did both her undergraduate and graduate studies at George
Mason University where she worked closely with the late Don Lavoie, professor of economics and friend of liberty. Chamlee-Wright credits Lavoie
with inspiring in her the central question that guides her scholarship: how
do societies achieve a level of complexity, coordination, and social intelligence that far surpasses the capacity of individual human intelligence? She
has been a Claude Lambe Fellow, an Earhart Fellow, and a Kellogg
National Leadership Fellow.
She is the author of two books and is working on a third, The Learning
Society: Social Coordination in Post-Katrina New Orleans. Among her many
articles (some available for study on her web home page), and ones of particular interest to the Fund that convey the general approach of her work,
include: “Local Knowledge and the Philanthropic Process: Comment on
Boettke and Prychitko (Conversations on Philanthropy, 2004), “Indigenous
African Institutions and Economic Development” (Cato Journal, 1993),
“Savings and Accumulation Strategies in Urban Market Women in Harare
Zimbabwe” (Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2002), “Church
Provision of Club Goods and Community Development in New Orleans
East” (a Mercatus Center Working Paper), and “Signaling Effects of
Commercial and Civil Society in Post Katrina Reconstruction.” (forthcoming, International Journal of Social Economics, 2008).
In this last article she writes, “Though most post-Katrina redevelopment
plans assume that a large scale government response is the only way to overcome the collective action problem, qualitative analysis presented here
suggests that the resources found within and signals emanating from commercial and civil society represent an alternative paradigm for how
communities can rebound in the wake of disaster.” From her work we can
see that a similar argument can be made about economic development in
non western cultures and in the effectiveness of private philanthropy. ●
Newsletter for the Atlas Network
9
atlas highlights
atlas highlights
The NCPA’s John Goodman
on the Battle of Ideas in the U.S.
As the NCPA gears up for its 25th
Anniversary, its founding president
John Goodman sat down with Atlas’s
Brad Lips to share
his thoughts on this
year’s election and
the longer term battle of ideas.
John Goodman
BL: Many advocates
of limited government are dreading
the coming U.S.
elections in
November. Do you
share their pessimism?
JG: The general public is certainly
unhappy with the Bush administration,
and even more unhappy with
the U.S. Congress. The reason
for the popularity of Barack
Obama, and the Democratic
Party in general, is their
promise of a very generic
“change.” However, there is no
general desire on the part of
the public to increase taxes or
expand the role of government—so the Democrats may
capitalize on public dissatisfaction to win a lot of seats and
then try to push through a big
government agenda, but it is
not clear that they will succeed.
BL: But it seems that we have lost
ground, for example, in areas such as
rising protectionism and the return
of inflationary monetary policies.
JG: We have won the intellectual battle over these topics, and there has
been very little, if any, retreat in the
intellectual world. So we may lose
some political battles, but if we lose, it
will only be a slowing down of the
movement toward freer trade. I don’t
expect to see any major reversals.
10 Summer 2008
BL: So you are generally optimistic
about the direction of the battle of
ideas.
JG: Well, if the Democrats win the
Presidency, we are going to have higher taxes on capital. But even here, I
think we have won the intellectual battle, and there still will be broad
intellectual support for a consumption
tax of some sort, or at least for a more
efficient tax system. By consumption
tax, I mean a flat tax, a value-added
tax, or general sales tax. I am not sure
what form it ultimately will take.
The NCPA has proposed a “progressive flat tax.” This would create a
uniform tax on wages, which would be
the same regardless of income, so
lem that needs to be solved, and it will
be easier to get Democrats to cooperate if their leader is involved.
Remember that President Clinton was
prepared to cooperate on Social
Security reform going into 1998 before
he got caught up in his sex scandal.
The mistake that President Bush made
on these issues was in focusing only on
Social Security. We have an across-theboard problem with all of our elderly
entitlements.
We have 78 million baby boomers looking toward retirement, and we’re not
ready for them in Social Security, or
Medicare, or Medicaid, or in any of public pension plans, or in the private sector
pension plans, or in the private sector
post-retirement health plans.
Relative to what has been
promised the baby boomers,
there is a big gap between
what has been promised and
what can be delivered. The
best way to begin to address
this is by recognizing the enormity of the full problem—and
the Bush administration did
not do that. In fact, they contributed to the problem with
their Medicare Part B program.
Would either limit government?
everyone would pay payroll taxes on
all earned income, as well as income
taxes. We call it “progressive” because
it is more progressive than the flat tax
proposals by Steve Forbes and Dick
Armey, and we think it has a better
chance at passage.
BL: The NCPA is especially known
for its work on entitlement reform.
Where do you see this debate headed?
JG: We may have better chance of
reforming Social Security if Obama is
elected. Everyone knows this is a prob-
BL: Looking back, what has been the
toughest challenge that NCPA has
had to overcome?
JG: There are four major policies that
have been enacted, that we would not
have today, if not for the NCPA.
JG: The three most important problems for all think tanks are
management, money, and marketing.
There is a scarcity of managerial ability, a scarcity of money, and then there
is the hurdle of marketing ideas to a
media that is not particularly receptive
to them.
Because of the NCPA’s ideas on health
savings accounts, 12 million families
are managing some of their own
health care dollars.
BL: On that last point, what has
been the most important ingredient
to your success in marketing ideas?
JG: From the beginning, we searched
for ways to make our findings interesting to the national news media, and
we have been more successful than
some other organizations. We were
very conscious of what is newsworthy
and what is not newsworthy. And we
were careful not to sell as news, findings that were not really news.
BL: What are some of the Center’s
proudest accomplishments?
Because of the NCPA’s idea of the
Roth IRA, $145 billion of retirement
money has been invested and will never be taxed again.
Because of another NCPA idea, 78
million baby boomers will be able to
reach the age of 65 and continue
working even as they receive Social
Security benefits—which is important
because we cannot afford to have all
those people head off to the golf
course.
And finally, in a joint effort with the
Brookings Institution, we pioneered
the current policy of allowing employers to automatically enroll their
employees in 401(k) plans with diversified portfolios.
Atlas will hold a workshop
on “Risk and the Free
Society” on September
25–26 in Dallas as a prelude to NCPA’s 25th
Anniversary Dinner. See
AtlasUSA.org for details.
BL: What role in the market of ideas
do you see NCPA playing, now and
over the next 25 years?
JG: The NCPA is the nation’s youngest
full-service think tank. When we were
created, there were already a number
of other older, larger think tanks. To
differentiate ourselves, we focused on
areas the other think tanks were not
focusing on. Those were, largely, social
insurance issues—health care, retirement, disability, and unemployment.
These social insurance issues are the
reason we got big government in the
20th century. Those are our hardest
problems. It is fairly easy to privatize a
steel company. It is very hard to privatize a health care system.
So we started out dealing with these
very tough issues, and by the time we
reached the end of the 20th century,
everyone acknowledged that these were
the most important issues. We have
invested time, money and resources.
We have developed institutional
knowledge and formed a network of
academics. All this makes us especially
qualified to deal with these key issues.
BL: This year, NCPA celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Can you tell us what motivated you
to establish a free-market think tank?
JG: Well, Sir Antony Fisher convinced
me that with a think tank we could
have enormous impact in helping
ideas change the world. I first met
Fisher at the 1980 Mont Pelerin
Society (MPS) meeting at Stanford
University. He was aware of two studies
I had done on the British health care
and social security systems. Our conversations at that MPS meeting were
the seed that led to the NCPA.
Register Today!
An early meeting of the NCPA Board of Directors, circa 1984. Atlas founder Sir Antony
Fisher is seated at far left.
For the next 25 years – and I do think
it will take 25 years – we need to solve
these very difficult problems, of which,
far and away, the most difficult is
health care. ●
Newsletter for the Atlas Network 11
atlas highlights
atlas highlights
Supporter Spotlight: How a Passion for Singing led to the
Creation of New Markets in Eastern Europe
By Jo Kwong, Vice President of
Institute Relations
tlas’s Jo Kwong
interviewed Atlas
friend and supporter,
Pamela Hoiles, a classical singer,
grandmother and
opera lover who lives
in Greenwich,
CT. She is a descendant of R.C. Hoiles, a
rewell knowned advocate for freedom and
Jo Kwong individuality. Pamela
is also a regular participant at Atlas’s Liberty Forum, The Atlas
Experience and Atlas’s Freedom Dinner.
A
JK: When I first became involved with
the Freedom Movement, I worked with
John Blundell at the Institute for
Humane Studies, who introduced me to
your father, Harry Hoiles. Our meeting
is one of my most memorable introductions to committed free-market people.
Tell me a little about your family.
Pamela: Well actually, my free-market
genealogy goes back even farther than
my father — my grandfather, R.C.
Hoiles was also an ardent freemarketer. He was the founder of the
Freedom Newspaper chain, a group of
daily newspapers that were well known,
particularly among free-market people,
for the contents of their editorial pages.
During my teenage years, Orange
County, California, was widely associated with free-market conservatism, in
large part due to my grandfather.
While the news sections of the
Freedom Newspapers adhered to the
traditional industry standards, the editorial pages were quite controversial.
They spoke out against issues such as
tax-supported compulsory education,
labor unions, the United Nations and
against anything that took away individual liberty and responsibility.
12 Summer 2008
On the anniversary of what would have
been my grandfather’s 106th birthday,
the Freedom Papers carried an editorial
that credited my grandfather with providing encouragement to Frank
Chodorov, Rose Wilder Lane, Robert
LeFevre, Ludwig von Mises, Leonard
Read and other people “who were
largely responsible for the creation of
the libertarian movement in the last
quarter of the 20th Century.”
Throughout his writings, my grandfather consistently argued that “human
beings can enjoy happier, more prosperous lives in a voluntary society
where force or threats of force are
absent from human relationships.“” He believed
that a single standard
governed all human
relationships: that neither the lone individual
nor any group of people
– (even if it were the
majority and called itself
the State) – had any
right to initiate force.
JK: What was it like to
be immersed in free-market thinking as a child?
along with a desire to share those ideas
with others.
JK: Did you always embrace your parents’ and grandparents’ perspectives?
PH: In looking back, I knew that my
parents believed in a certain set of ideals, and I saw how they organized their
lives to adhere to these ideas. For example, we attended private schools because
they believed it was not the role of the
government to provide. We wore buttons saying, “Let’s Get Out of the UN.”
Their beliefs certainly had an impact
on me. I didn’t put my children in
public schools with a couple of tempo-
Pamela (left) with the Cellist and Agent in Rousse, Bulgaria.
PH: It was actually
rather lonely to be raised by people who
believed as my father did. Most people
didn’t agree with him. They didn’t
always like him because of his ideas. At
the same time, I always admired my
father because he stood for something
that he felt was right even if it meant he
wasn’t socially accepted.
But, even as a child, I had this feeling
that we had knowledge and, or insights,
that most people didn’t have. In a funny way, this is almost a terrible
responsibility to share these ideas with
others. That was the legacy my family
handed down to me – an exposure to a
principled and coherent set of ideas,
rary exceptions. I didn’t vote for years,
and when I did, it was largely to vote
against the candidate who advocated
the most government. However, like my
father, I would prefer to check a box on
the voting ballot that says, “None of the
above is acceptable. “
I even ended up applying free-market
thinking, perhaps unwittingly at first, to
my musical profession, which led to
surprising outcomes.
JK: It is always interesting to me to see the
many ways that people are involved with
developing and creating markets in the daily lives of “human action.” How did your
musical pursuits intersect with markets?
PH: Through my music, I frequently
sought orchestras to concertize with.
For example, during the late ‘90s and
early 2000s, I worked in Eastern
Europe where most of the orchestras
were state-owned. Not surprisingly,
most of the musicians were very poorly
paid by the government. This ended
up providing interesting opportunities –
for both the musicians and for me. In
many ways, we ended up operating in a
developing new market.
the director of the orchestra to understand what to do because the
government had always taken care of
them. Those who figured it out prospered better than others.
The orchestra in Moscow, for example,
made key changes and learned how to
promote itself. They changed directors,
and I ended up working with one who
started to understand the market and
recognize what consumers were interested in. In other
words, a private
market was evolving. For me, it
was interesting
and exciting to be
part of their learning as they began
to grasp how to
operate in a much
freer market.
JK: Wow! So you
witnessed, and
Pamela performs in Moscow with the Russian National Orchestra.
had a direct hand
in, the evolution of markets in orchestras,
I made a point to pursue orchestras only
particularly in Eastern Europe.
through private channels and not to use
Through your efforts, you ended up
government agencies. Because the
introducing an opportunity, and, exposmusicians were eager to supplement
ing people to a new “economic way of
their incomes, I was able to sing with
thinking.” As you look back, that must
the top orchestras in Moscow, Budapest,
be a very rewarding time in your life – to
Krakow, Sophia and Oradea, as well as
create such value for others.
other places in Bulgaria. With few
In some ways, your experience in this
exceptions – (for example, Gergiev in
region is a terrific illustration of why freeSt. Petersburg), - few people knew how
dom is important, and ultimately, why
to market the orchestras at that time.
your parents and grandparents were so
It turned out to be an incredible learndevoted to advancing freedom.
ing experience on both ends. I learned,
PH: Yes, it was very moving for me to
for example, to watch out for predatory
see, at such a personal level, the impact
middle men. One private agent I
of communism upon the mindset of the
worked with in Hungary ended up
people. I noticed that the tour guides,
keeping most of the payments for himfor example, had become accustomed
self, giving very little of the money to
to letting others think for them. There
the musicians. After I learned that, I
seemed to be a tendency to aspire to litdidn’t use him anymore. He took
tle more than being like everyone else.
advantage of the situation.
I wish everyone could experience the
On the other end, the orchestras in
chance to put their own talents and crePoland and Bulgaria were just starting
ativity to work.
to figure out how to develop opportuniAfter writing this, I realize I have always
ties and make money to support the
believed and practiced as much as posorchestras. I even sponsored someone
sible what I grew up with. But I’ve also
to go over and talk to the people in
learned that respect for individual rights
Krakow. Initially, it was very hard for
has challenges, not just in relation to
the government, but also in relation to
community, neighborhood, and even
family. It is easy to awaken people from
government tyranny, but from one’s
families and even one’s social thinking,
it can sometimes be harder. Might
does not make right in any instance:
governmental or personal.
JK: Yes, that’s often a difficult situation.
For me, I remember many challenges from
my teenage daughters, demanding, “How
can you claim to be a libertarian when
you want to control me all the time?”
Let’s switch gears and talk a little about
something much more pleasant…your
interest in Atlas! What attracts you to
Atlas?
PH: I fully support Atlas’s mission to
advance freedom around the world.
Even though my parents focused largely
on issues pertaining to the U.S., I
believe it is important to look beyond
our borders. When I first came across
Atlas, I was drawn to its international
focus. The more I came to understand
how Atlas operates, and how it supports
free markets, the rule of law, and limited
government, the more I came to see
that Atlas deals with the whole range of
human issues. It doesn’t promote just
one issue or one aspect, it promotes an
entire belief system.
I was interested enough in the materials
that I read that I decided to attend an
Atlas event. At my very first Atlas
Liberty Forum, I was absolutely delighted to learn that many of the Atlas
people knew and admired my father.
Coming from the childhood that I
described, where people were frequently in disagreement with him, it was so
exciting to see the admiration that people, like you, Leonard Liggio, and
Linda Whetstone, have for my dad.
JK: You’ve attended several Atlas events
over the past years, including the annual Liberty Forum and Freedom
Dinners. You’ll also come to your first
“Atlas Experience” shortly. I believe
that these events are the very best way to
Continues on page 17...
Newsletter for the Atlas Network 13
atlas highlights
atlas highlights
What book moves you?
Atlas partners cite Atlas Shrugged
yn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged is
one of the top books most often
cited by Atlas’s international think tank
partners as the “turning point” in influencing their world views (Other
influential books include F.A. Hayek’s
The Road to Serfdom and The
Constitution of Liberty and Frederic
Bastiat’s The Law).
A
Consequently, Atlas launched its Atlas
Shrugged project this year, which distributed nearly $50,000 to its think
tank partners to use Rand’s writings to
teach about the virtues of
entrepreneurship, individual initiative,
wealth generation and prosperity. By
tailoring Rand’s writings to their particular cultures – through reading groups,
discussion sessions, seminars, workshops and other programs – these
organizations are advancing the understanding of the free society with the
longer-term goal of achieving free market reforms in their respective
countries.
With initial seed funding of $40,000
from BB&T, Atlas provided grants to
the Minsk Mises Center in Belarus,
Bulgarian Society
for Individual
Liberty (BSIL),
Cathay Institute
for Public Affairs
(CIPA) in China,
and IMANI in
Ghana.
Additional funding enabled Atlas
to extend a grant
to the Instituto
Invertir in Peru.
Enthusiasm for the BB&T Rand project is growing!
Atlas friend and supporter Lyn Rales is also a big fan
of Atlas Shrugged. When she learned about the
BB&T project, she offered additional support,
enabling Atlas to fund a Latin American institute,
Instituto Invertir in Peru. Instituto Invertir’s program
focuses on engaging students with Rand’s ideas; the
program will take place in three Peruvian cities over
the course of this summer.
The ideas of Ayn
Fisher Venture Grant recipient, CIPA, discuss Ayn Rand with
Rand “are more
students and journalists over tea.
powerful than
Yiqiao Xu, Atlas’s Asia program managatomic and hydrogen bombs!” said one er, can attest to the importance of
Chinese participant in the Cathay
Cathay’s promotional activities. During
Institute’s program to promote Atlas
her visit to Shanghai in May, Yiqiao
Shrugged. The Chinese translation of
had a hard time finding a copy of Atlas
Atlas Shrugged came out in November
Shrugged at local bookstores. One dili2007, but due to the political climate
gent clerk finally found two copies of
the publisher refrained from promoting Rand’s book on a dark, backroom shelf.
the book. Luckily, Atlas’s daring friends
Many countries, however, still don’t
at CIPA recognized the importance of
have access to translations of Rand’s
this translation and actively promoted
work.
For that reason, the Bulgarian
it to students, journalists and the generSociety
for Individual Liberty translated
al public.
another Rand work, For the New
Intellectual, which includes key philosophical passages from Atlas Shrugged.
Other countries, such as Belarus, have
translations available in their local language, but those are often available in
limited print runs or at exorbitant cost.
Despite these challenges, the Minsk
Mises Center leveraged Rand’s work
with supplemental publications and
programs so that as many people as
possible could have an opportunity to
engage with these important philosophical and economic concepts.
Ghanaians at Imani Center for Policy and Education are the proud new owners of Atlas
Shrugged.
14 Summer 2008
resources. For instance, ARI Executive Director
Yaron Brook will travel to Ghana to participate in
IMANI’s summer seminar for students. The theme of
IMANI’s discussion on Rand centers on redefining
Ghanaians’ relationship with society and government.
Atlas is particularly grateful to the Ayn
Rand Institute (ARI) in California,
which provided the participating institutes with additional guidance and
A long-time Rand aficionado, Jaroslav Romanchuk of the Minsk Mises
Center (center) inspires young Belarusians with the ideas of
individualism and freedom.
AT L A S N E T W O R K
N E W PA RT N E R
Instituto Invertir is the youngest institute to be currently conducting an
Ayn Rand project with Atlas sponsorship. The Peruvian institute was
founded in 2007 by Daniel Cordova,
who has long been involved with
Atlas as an economics professor at
the Universidad Peruana de
Ciencias.
Instituto Invertir does hands-on work
with small- and medium-sized businesses, as a practical application of
Cordova’s passion for free-market
ideas. He says, “We select companies with sound business plans and
help them in their search for funding
through education, training, and
technical assistance.” Incorporating
Atlas Shrugged, with the celebration
If Rand’s work has similarly influenced your thinking,
please help us continue this program. To learn more
about how you can help, please contact Donor
Relations Associate Whitney Garrison. She would
love to help you share your love of Rand’s work
through the Atlas network. ●
Instituto Invertir
of individualism
and entrepreneurship at its heart, is
a natural fit for an
organization that
sees entrepreneurship as the
essential ingredient for growing
the economy and
reducing poverty
in Peru. Invertir’s
Atlas Shrugged
project will reach out to
entrepreneurs in several cities and
students at five different universities
to spread the liberating message of
individualism and moral capitalism
to as wide a market as possible. ●
Daniel Cordova (center) with the rest
of the Instituto Invertir team.
Newsletter for the Atlas Network 15
atlas highlights
atlas highlights
One-on-One Interview with
Gerardo Bongiovanni, Fundación Libertad
In March 2008,
Argentina’s Fundación
Libertad (FL) celebrated
its 20th anniversary by
organizing a major
event in conjunction with
Fundación Internacional
para la Libertad (see the
story on p. 9 of our
Spring 2008 Highlights).
Soon after, FL founder
Gerardo Bongiovanni sat
Gerardo Bongiovanni
down with Atlas to
explain the secrets of
sustaining a successful think tank.
Can you begin by telling us the story
of FL’s founding?
My first steps toward forming a think
tank began while I was at the
University of Rosario, participating in
several Austrian economics seminars. I
then began a Milton Friedman Day
event, and things developed from that
point. We had a group of young university students and entrepreneurs who
recognized the need for an institution
that could defend and promote the values of freedom, democracy, and the
rule of law. Fundación Libertad was
born.
FL has been able to grow greatly
over the last 20 years. You now own
an eight-story building. You have a
staff of 50. And you have hosted
many world leaders. How has FL
succeeded in fundraising to accomplish all of this?
FL raises funds for its activities exclusively through private contributions.
We have the support of more than 300
member companies.
There are several things to keep in
mind when fundraising, especially
when dealing with businesses. First, it
is important to present a sound product. You must follow tried and trusted
management techniques in order to
16 Summer 2008
show that your organization is a sound
investment.
It can be difficult in Latin America,
and in many other countries, to find
individual donors. We all understand
that the culture of philanthropy is lacking outside of the United States. That
does not mean, however, that individuals are not interested in supporting
your work. Often, individuals are eager
to give through their companies.
there are points of disagreement. From
common ground, you can begin to
build and exchange ideas.
On a related note, I would encourage
other institutes to find ways of integrating with civil society. For instance, one
of the floors at Fundación Libertad is
devoted to an art gallery. It is important to impact all forms of popular
culture in order to spread the ideas of
liberty to many different types of people.
I encourage gaining a broader mass of
support from local businesses, as
Through this very open approach –
opposed to large multinational corporather than defining our work narrowly
rations. Independence is an invaluable
– Fundación Libertad has been able to
principle for a think tank, and many
host seven Nobel Prize winners, perwill view support
from large multinational corporations
with suspicion. If
your institute does
receive funding
from a multinational, I encourage
you to not shy
away from programs that they
may not agree
with. This should
help you prove and
maintain your
independence.
Entrance to Fundación Libertad’s contemporary headquarters in
Rosario, Argentina.
Maintaining your
reputation for independence seems
an important point. But does this
make it more difficult to attract
major figures to your events?
No. The reason we can attract world
leaders is that we are ideologically
broad. That does not mean we are neutral. We hold firm to our principles, but
we believe in exchanging views with
people who think differently from us.
This enables us to understand and
more effectively argue against our opponents. Further, it is wise to find some
common ground with others, even if
sonalities such as Paul Johnson, Lech
Walesa and Gary Becker, as well as
political Leaders like José María Aznar
and Jorge Quiroga. At our recent 20th
anniversary conference, we featured six
former presidents from Spanish-speaking countries, as well as 50 other
speakers from around the world.
Hosting big-name speakers can do a
great deal toward building the reputation of your institute, as this shows that
these visiting speakers respect your
work.
At the very beginning stages of
Fundación Libertad, I wrote to Milton
Friedman, telling him about our
Friedman Day activities. He responded
with a very kind letter, which I was
able to display to future contributors,
showing that renowned economists
respected and acknowledged our work.
What other advice would you give to
think tanks in other parts of the
world?
Be ready to stay the course.
Argentina has suffered greatly over the
past 100 years. We went from being
one of the wealthiest nations in the
world to one that is much further down
the list. We have suffered dictatorships
and populist leaders. You must believe
strongly in your principles and be prepared to fight the battles that come
your way. Perhaps Fundación
Libertad’s most important contribution
...continued from page 13
Supporter Spotlight:
How a Passion for Singing...
truly see the widespread reach and
impact of the Atlas network and its
efforts to advance freedom. Can you
share some of your experiences and perceptions from these events? What keeps
you coming back?
PH: At Atlas’s events, I meet fascinating
people who are passionately committed
to the ideas of liberty. I particularly love
meeting other women who share my
views. As an artist, I’m surrounded by
women who hold far leftist perspectives
– (particularly the Latin American
women!). My Atlas friends understand
how free markets work. Consequently,
they know why freedom matters and
their commitment is very infectious and
engaging. I like to be surrounded by
these “freedom fighters” and to hear
their stories.
JK: After nearly twenty years at Atlas, I’m
still constantly impressed by the amazing
Staff at Fundación Libertad reward courageous ideas at their 20th anniversary
celebration event.
for Argentina’s fight to defeat violence,
populism and demagogy is simply to
have prevailed over 20 years by holding
onto the strong conviction that only
through capitalistic democracy, the
rule of law and the free market economy, will we be able to, one day, again
be a developed country. ●
challenges that our “ideas entrepreneurs”
endure in order to bring the ideas of liberty in their home countries? Are there
any particularly memorable individuals
that you’ve met through Atlas?
you could say one thing to encourage
them to participate in an Atlas program,
what would that be?
PH: I particularly enjoyed hearing from
Elena Leontjeva, the former president
of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute
and Natasha Srdorc, founder of the
Adriatic Institute in Croatia. I heard
them speak at the Atlas Club Briefings
in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
Both of them are young, articulate, and
beautiful women who grew up in
repressive communist regimes. They
know what it means to live without freedom. They are making a difference in
their home countries. Since I believe it
is important to change the way people
think over the long term, I very much
enjoyed hearing the stories about their
personal journeys and how this led
them to dedicate their lives to advancing
free market ideas.
JK: We have many friends and supporters
who work with us from a distance but
have never attended one of our events. If
PH: I love the sharing and exchange that
occurs at Atlas events. Atlas provides a
comforting opportunity for people to
come together – people like my father,
who was misunderstood because of his
steadfast free -market views, and people
in countries across the globe who likewise find themselves standing apart from
the prevailing belief systems. Atlas provides an outlet where you can be
appreciated for your ideas. I enjoy the
chance to admire Atlas’s ideas
entrepreneurs for what they are doing
and what they believe – it’s uplifting to
be part of a place where these brave men
and women can be respected without
having to be afraid. I find it comforting
to bring all these people together to
freely explore the ideas that we all share.
JK: I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Thank you, Pamela, for taking the time
to talk to me today, and most importantly, for your friendship and commitment
to the Atlas vision. ●
Newsletter for the Atlas Network 17
atlas highlights
atlas highlights
Network News
Adriatic Institute
International Leaders
Summit, Washington,
D.C. 2008
On May 14, the Adriatic Institute
(Croatia) held its annual International
Leaders Summit in Washington D.C.
Speakers included several Members of
the European Parliament (MEPs), as
well as think tank leaders from the
United States. The MEPs also had
meetings with several U.S. senators,
allowing them the opportunity to relay
their growing concerns about the
European Union’s (EU) growing
bureaucratic meddling. Topics covered
at this year’s International Leaders
Summit included Freedom and
Security and the Economics of
Europe. A second ILS meeting was
held in late May in Brussels; this meeting focused on the Flat Tax Debate;
speakers opposed the European
Union’s attempts to “harmonize” taxes
among its member countries. Edward
Lucas of The Economist moderated the
event. The next International Leaders
Summit will take place November 12
in Brussels, Belgium.
Atlas Events
The purpose of the Colloquium is to
educate Mexican federal judges on
economic principles and how those
affect the nation’s laws and economy.
The Colloquium is scheduled to be
broadcast across Mexico, and a collection of the presentations will be
available in book form at a later date
through Oxford University PressMexico.
of India (LYF India, pronounced “Life
India”) last April. LYF India will build
on CCS’s youth network to establish
chapters across the nation to help
spread classical liberal ideas. It seeks to
act as a network for classcal liberal
youth, supporting and providing networking opportunities for its members
with like-minded organizations across
the globe.
Tennessee Center for
Policy Research
Association for Liberal
Thinking
The Tennessee Center for Policy
Research (USA) recently celebrated
several legislative successes: a reduction in state government waste of
taxpayer funds and the utilization of
those savings toward the lowering of
the state’s sales tax on groceries; legislation to enable merit pay and bonuses
to help alleviate teacher shortages at
high-risk or failing schools; and a
requirement for state and local officials
to respond to open record requests
within four days.
On May 17, the Association for
Liberal Thinking (ALT, Turkey) celebrated its 16th Anniversary at its
seventh Annual Freedom Dinner in
Ankara, Turkey. This year ALT honored Ali Bayramoglu with its Freedom
Award for his great contributions to
Turkish freedom through his columns
and other publications. In addition,
the winners of ALT’s Bastiat essay contest were announced. A documentary
on the 10th anniversary of Liberte
Publishing House was also shown.
New Institute, Liberal
Youth Forum, established
in Mumbai, India
PAFERE Foundation
Cato Institute tax expert Daniel J.
Mitchell visited Warsaw at the invitation of the PAFERE Foundation
(Poland) for three days in April.
During his visit, Mitchell participated
in more than 10 meetings, delivered
five presentations and gave several
interviews to the media. More than
300 people, including students and
entrepreneurs, attended the lectures.
Instituto Liberdade
Atilla Yayla (fourth from right) and other
members and friends celebrate during
ALT’s Freedom Dinner in Turkey.
CLACDE International
Colloquium for Judges
Centre des Affaires
Humaines
In late May, Mexico’s Centro
Latinoamericano y del Caribe de
Derecho y Economía (CLACDE)
hosted its third International
Colloquium for Judges on the relationship between Law and Economics in
Mexico. Atlas, which co-sponsored the
event, sent 10 judges representing five
Latin American countries to the event.
The Centre des Affaires Humaines
(CEDAH) (Burkina Faso), founded
this year, held a conference on
“Intellectual Property and
Globalization” at the University of
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on April
12. The topic was selected in response
to the Burkina Social Forum, a recent
anti-globalization conference that was
18 Summer 2008
heavily attended by university students
and attacked free-market ideas. The
main speaker for CEDAH’s event was
Tiguiane Yelemou, a lecturer at the
polytechnic University of BoboDioulasso and an information
technology specialist. The goal of
CEDAH is to teach students about
limited government, free markets, individual liberty and private property
rights.
With the help of the Centre for Civil
Society in New Delhi and the
Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(Germany), a group of CCS alumni
established the Liberal Youth Forum
On May 31, Instituto Liberdade
(Brazil) organized its Colloquium ILRS – 12th Edition, with the theme,
”Globalization, Economic Growth
and Sustainable Development, with
support from the Institute of
Entrepreneurial Studies and the
Faculty of Administration,
Economics and Accounting at the
Pontifice Catholic University of Rio
Grande do Sul.
Maryland Public Policy
Institute teams with AIMS
Be sure to mark you calendar
for the following events!
Atlas Experience
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada
July 17-19, 2008
Maryland Public Policy Institute and
the Atlantic Institute for Market
Studies (Canada) recently released a
joint evaluation of the proposal for a
universal health care system in
Maryland, providing both a
Marylander and Canadian perspective.
The paper, “Single-Payer Health Care
for Maryland: Two Analyses,” issues a
strong warning to Marylanders from
Canadians living under a single-payer
system, and evaluates a bill currently
before the Maryland Legislature.
Civitas Institute
Civitas (United Kingdom), a 2007
winner of the Templeton Freedom
Award for their supplementary school
program, celebrated the two-year
anniversary of the London Boxing
Academy with a gala on May 14. The
Gala attracted over 220 guests,
including several Members of
Parliament. As part of the evening’s
entertainment, the celebration featured a boxing exhibition between
LBA pupils and 2012 Olympic hopefuls, Chavez Campbell and Luke
Robinson. The London Boxing
Academy aims to reintegrate troubled
youth into mainstream education and
society through academic assistance
and training in fitness and boxing.
Atlas MBA for Think Tanks
Alexandria, Virginia
July 21 -August 1, 2008
“Economic Freedom in Asia”
Co-hosted with the
Center for Free Enterprise
and FNF Korea
Seoul, South Korea
September 4-5, 2008
“Risk in a Free Society”
Co-hosted with the NCPA
Dallas, TX
September 25-26
Freedom Dinner
Washington, DC
November 12, 2008
Liberty Forum
Los Angeles, CA
April 24-26, 2009
International Thursdays
Atlas’s office in Arlington, Virginia
(Held on the third
Thursday of each month)
July 24;
August 21;
September 18;
October 16;
November 20;
December 18
Be sure to check Atlas’s Web site
(www.AtlasUSA.org) or email to
[email protected] for other event
announcements and details!
Newsletter for the Atlas Network 19
atlas highlights
Freedom Dinner
20 Summer 2008