The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is an international organization composed of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals and business leaders.

Michael Novak Michael John Novak Jr. (September 9, 1933 – February 17, 2017) was an American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. The author of more than forty books on the philosophy and theology of culture, Novak is most widely known ...

, 'The Moral Imperative of a Free Economy', in '' The 4% Solution: Unleashing the Economic Growth America Needs'', Bush Institute, Crown Business, 2012, p. 294 The members see the MPS as an effort to interpret in modern terms the fundamental principles of economic society as expressed by classical Western economists, political scientists and philosophers. Its founders included

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Haye ...

Frank Knight Frank Hyneman Knight (November 7, 1885 – April 15, 1972) 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 Milton Friedman, George ...

Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the cl ...

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and Sociology, sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberali ...

George Stigler George Joseph Stigler (; January 17, 1911 – December 1, 1991) was an American economist. He was the 1982 laureate in Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and is considered a key leader of the Chicago school of economics. Early life and e ...

and

Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...

. The society advocates

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

economic policies and the political values of an open society. Further, the society seeks to discover ways in which the private sector can replace many functions currently provided by government entities.

Aims

In its "Statement of Aims" on 8 April 1947, the scholars were worried about the dangers faced by civilization, stating the following: 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 MPS was created in Fall 1947 at a conference organized by Friedrich Von Hayek during the

International Trade Organization The International Trade Organization (ITO) was the proposed name for an international institution for the regulation of trade. Led by the United States in collaboration with allies, the effort to form the organization from 1945 to 1948, with the ...

(ITO) drama of that year. As ITO delegates met in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

in to draft the world trade charter, another group of intellectuals convened at the opposite end of the lake at the base of

Mont Pèlerin Mont Pèlerin (; ; ) is a mountain of the Swiss Plateau, overlooking Lake Geneva in the canton of Vaud. It lies north of Chardonne, over Vevey, the border with the canton of Fribourg running at the eastern foot of the mountain. The Vevey–Char ...

. Taking their name from the location, the Mont Pèlerin Society was formally established on April 10, 1947. Ebenstein, Alan (2014). "Mont Pèlerin Society." (Chapter 18). ''Friedrich Hayek: A Biography''. New York: Palgrave for

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

. p. 146. . . Originally, it was to be named the

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his work ...

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.

History

In 1947, thirty-nine 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. He wanted to discuss how to combat the "state ascendancy and

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

Keynesian Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...

planning

hat was A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

sweeping the globe". The first meeting took place in the Hotel du Parc in the Swiss village of Mont Pèlerin, near the city of

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Funding for the conference came from various sources including the

William Volker Fund The William Volker Fund was a charitable foundation established in 1932 by Kansas City, Missouri, businessman and home-furnishings mogul William Volker. Volker founded the fund with the purposes of aiding the needy, reforming Kansas City's health ...

thanks to

Harold Luhnow Harold W. Luhnow (September 25, 1895 – August 1978) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and political activist. He is most well known for his management of the influential William Volker Fund during the period between 1947 and 1964 in t ...

and the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

owing to the help of Alfred Suenson-Taylor.

William Rappard William Emmanuel Rappard (April 22, 1883, New York City – April 29, 1958) was a Swiss academic and diplomat. Rappard was as a co-founder of the Graduate Institute of International Studies (now IHEID), Professor of Economic History at the Univer ...

, a Swiss academic, diplomat and founder of the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

, 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 The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

) 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 tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

s sponsored in part by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation.

Influence

Hayek stressed that the society was to be a scholarly community arguing against

collectivism Collectivism may refer to: * Bureaucratic collectivism, a theory of class society whichto describe the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin * Collectivist anarchism, a socialist doctrine in which the workers own and manage the production * Collectivis ...

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 The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further ...

(IEA) in London during 1955, the

Manhattan Institute for Policy Research The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (renamed in 1981 from the International Center for Economic Policy Studies) is a conservative American think tank focused on domestic policy and urban affairs, established in Manhattan in 1978 by Anto ...

in New York City in 1977 and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in 1981. Now known as the

Atlas Network Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...

, they support a wide network of think tanks, including the

Fraser Institute The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. The institute describes itself as independent and non-partisan. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, T ...

. Prominent MPS members who advanced to policy positions included the late Chancellor

Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is known for leading the West German postwar economic ...

of West Germany, President

Luigi Einaudi Luigi Numa Lorenzo Einaudi (; 24 March 1874 – 30 October 1961) was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the president of Italy from 1948 to 1955. Early life Einaudi was born to Lorenzo and Placida Fracchia in Carrù, in the prov ...

of Italy, Chairman

Arthur F. Burns Arthur Frank Burns (April 27, 1904 – June 26, 1987) was an American economist and diplomat who served as the 10th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1970 to 1978. He previously chaired the Council of Economic Advisers under President Dwight ...

of the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

Board and Secretary of State George Shultz. Among prominent contemporary political figures, former President

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

of the Czech Republic and acting politicians, such as Prime Minister

Ranil Wickremasinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...

of Sri Lanka, former

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

Sir

Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015) was a British Conservative politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990. Howe was Margaret Thatch ...

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 Ruth Margaret Richardson (born 13 December 1950) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who served as Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1993. Her 1991 budget, which she dubbed the "Mother of all Budgets", formed the catalyst ...

, are all MPS members. Of 76 economic advisers on

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's 1980 campaign staff, 22 were MPS members. Several leading journalists, including

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning columnist

Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the te ...

, former radical

Max Eastman Max Forrester Eastman (January 4, 1883 – March 25, 1969) was an American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet and a prominent political activist. Moving to New York City for graduate school, Eastman became involved with radical ...

(then roving editor at ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

''), John Chamberlain (former editorial writer for ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine),

Henry Hazlitt Henry Stuart Hazlitt (; November 28, 1894 – July 9, 1993) was an American journalist who wrote about business and economics for such publications as ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The Nation'', ''The American Mercury'', ''Newsweek'', and '' ...

(former financial editor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and columnist for ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

''), John Davenport (holder of editorial posts at ''

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...

'' and ''

Barron's Barron's or Barrons may refer to: *Barron's Educational Series, a publisher of books, as well as college entrance exam preparation classes and materials, now an imprint of Kaplan Test Prep ** B.E.S. Publishing, the former owner of Barron's * ''Barr ...

'') and

Felix Morley Felix Muskett Morley (January 6, 1894 – March 13, 1982) was a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and college administrator from the United States. Biography Morley was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, his f ...

(Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''), 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 The Committee for the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is the prize committee for the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, and fills the same role as the Nobel Committees do ...

. Eight MPS members, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, George Stigler,

Maurice Allais Maurice Félix Charles Allais (31 May 19119 October 2010) was a French physicist and economist, the 1988 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for his pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilization o ...

James M. Buchanan James McGill Buchanan Jr. (; October 3, 1919 – January 9, 2013) was an American economist known for his work on public choice theory originally outlined in his most famous work co-authored with Gordon Tullock in 1962, ''The Calculus of Consen ...

Ronald Coase Ronald Harry Coase (; 29 December 1910 – 2 September 2013) was a British economist and author. Coase received a bachelor of commerce degree (1932) and a PhD from the London School of Economics, where he was a member of the faculty until 1951. ...

Gary Becker Gary Stanley Becker (; December 2, 1930 – May 3, 2014) was an American economist who received the 1992 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was a professor of economics and sociology at the University of Chicago, and was a leader of ...

and Vernon Smith have won the

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ( sv, Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne), is an economics award administered ...

Graeme Maxton Graeme Maxton is a British climate change economist and writer. Biography Maxton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and currently lives in Asia. He is related to politicians John Maxton, the Lord Maxton, and the 1930s Leader of the Independent ...

and

Jørgen Randers Jørgen Randers (born 22 May 1945) is a Norwegian academic, professor emeritus of climate strategy at the BI Norwegian Business School, and practitioner in the field of future studies.

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.

, Jorgen Randers (2016).
Reinventing Prosperity: Managing Economic Growth to Reduce Unemployment, Inequality and Climate Change
'.

Greystone Books Greystone or Graystone may refer to: Locations * Graystone Manor, the first condominium building built in the continental United States * Greystone, West Virginia * Greystone Airport, a private airport in Ocala, Florida * Greystone (estate), a h ...

. . p. 77. In the ''2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report'' (

Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) was a non-profit program at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that operated from 1989 to 2021. TTCSP was originally established at the Foreign Policy Research Instit ...

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

), the MPS is noted as having the 9th (out of 55) "Best Think Tank Conference". In 2018, the Swiss blockchain banking Fintech company Mt Pelerin has named itself after the Mont Pelerin Society as an hommage to the values that the organization advocates.

Past presidents

Numerous notable economists have served as president of the MPS: *

– United Kingdom, 1947–1961 *

Wilhelm Röpke Wilhelm Röpke (October 10, 1899 – February 12, 1966) was a German economist and social critic, best known as one of the spiritual fathers of the social market economy. A Professor of Economics, first in Jena, then in Graz, Marburg, Ist ...

– Switzerland, 1961–1962 * John Jewkes – United Kingdom, 1962–1964 * Friedrich A. Lutz – Germany, 1964–1967 *

Bruno Leoni Bruno Leoni (26 April 1913 – 21 November 1967) was an Italian classical-liberal political philosopher and lawyer. Whilst the war kept Leoni away from teaching, in 1945 he became Full professor of Philosophy of Law. Leoni was also appointed Dea ...

– Italy, 1967–1968 *

Günter Schmölders Günter Schmölders (29 September 1903 in Berlin – 7 November 1991 in Munich) was a German economist at Breslau and Cologne universities. Work He was among the early pioneers of behavioral studies in economics. His first works dealt with th ...

– Germany, 1968–1970 *

– United States, 1970–1972 * Arthur Shenfield – United Kingdom, 1972–1974 * Gaston Leduc – France, 1974–1976 *

– United States, 1976–1978 *

Manuel Ayau Manuel Francisco Ayau Cordón (December 27, 1925 – August 4, 2010) was the founder of the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala. He was born in Guatemala City, on December 27, 1925. After diverse studies, he obtained a B.S. in mechanica ...

– Guatemala, 1978–1980 * Chiaki Nishiyama – Japan, 1980–1982 *

Lord Harris of High Cross Ralph Harris, Baron Harris of High Cross (10 December 1924 – 19 October 2006) was a British economist. He was head of the Institute of Economic Affairs from 1957 to 1988. Background Harris, the son of a tramways inspector, was "one of four ...

– United Kingdom, 1982–1984 *

– United States, 1984–1986 *

Herbert Giersch Herbert Giersch (11 May 1921 – 22 July 2010) 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 W ...

– Germany, 1986–1988 * Antonio Martino – Italy, 1988–1990 *

– United States, 1990–1992 * Max Hartwell – United Kingdom, 1992–1994 *

Pascal Salin Pascal Salin (born May 16, 1939) is a French economist, professor '' emeritus'' at the Université Paris-Dauphine and a specialist in public finance and monetary economics. He is a former president of the Mont Pelerin Society (1994 to 1996). Bio ...

– France, 1994–1996 *

Edwin Feulner Edwin John Feulner Jr. (born August 12, 1941) is a former think tank executive who founded the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and served as its president from 1977 to 2013 and again from 2017 to 2018. Feulner's positions have in ...

– United States, 1996–1998 *

Ramón Díaz Ramón Ángel Díaz (born 29 August 1959) is a former Argentine footballer and the current manager of Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal. He played for River Plate as a striker, and coached it for three tenures, winning eight titles. ...

– Uruguay, 1998–2000 * Christian Watrin – Germany, 2000–2002 * Leonard P. Liggio – United States, 2002–2004 * Victoria Curzon-Price – Switzerland, 2004–2006 *

Greg Lindsay Gregory John Lindsay Order of Australia, AO (b. 1949) was until 2018 the Executive Director of the Australian think tank the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS), which he founded in 1976 when a young mathematics teacher in the western suburbs of ...

– Australia, 2006–2008 *

Deepak Lal Deepak Kumar Lal (1940 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian-born British author, professor and consultant focused on the subject of liberal economics. Best known for his 1983 book, "The Poverty of Development Economics", Lal was also known for bu ...

– United States, 2008–2010 *

Kenneth Minogue Kenneth Robert Minogue (September 11, 1930 – June 28, 2013), also known as Ken Minogue, was an Australian academic and political theorist. Long residing in the United Kingdom, Minogue was a prominent part of the intellectual life of British ...

– United Kingdom, 2010–2012 *

Allan H. Meltzer Allan H. Meltzer (; February 6, 1928 – May 8, 2017) was an American economist and Allan H. Meltzer Professor of Political Economy at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business and Institute for Politics and Strategy in Pittsburgh, ...

– United States, 2012–2014 * Pedro Schwartz – Spain, 2014–2016 *

Peter Boettke Peter Joseph Boettke (; born January 3, 1960) is an American economist of the Austrian School. He is currently a professor of economics and philosophy at George Mason University; the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism, vice president for ...

– United States, 2016–2018 *

John B. Taylor John Brian Taylor (born December 8, 1946) is the Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics at Stanford University, and the George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He taught at Columbia Univer ...

– United States, 2018–2020 *

Linda Whetstone Linda Whetstone (; 17 November 1942 – 15 December 2021) was a British libertarian and free market campaigner, and also a significant figure in British List of equestrian sports, equestrian sport. Whetstone was born in Binfield, Berkshire on 17 N ...

– United Kingdom, 2020–2021 * Gabriel Calzada – Spain, 2021–

Other notable participants

– French physicist and economist *

Karl Brandt Karl Brandt (8 January 1904 – 2 June 1948) was a German physician and ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) officer in Nazi Germany. Trained in surgery, Brandt joined the Nazi Party in 1932 and became Adolf Hitler's escort doctor in August 1934. A member of ...

– German-American agricultural economist *

Götz Briefs Götz Briefs (born 1 January 1889 in Eschweiler; died 16 May 1974 in Rome) was a Catholic social theorist, social ethicist, social philosopher and political economist, who together with Gustav Gundlach, SJ influenced the social teachings of Pope ...

– German economist *

Aaron Director Aaron Director (; September 21, 1901 – September 11, 2004) was a Russian-born American economist and academic who played a central role in the development of the field Law and Economics and the Chicago school of economics. Director was a profe ...

– professor at the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

– Minister of Economics and Chancellor of postwar

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

* Frank Graham – American economist * F. A. Harper – American economist *

– American journalist *

Trygve Hoff :''See Trygve Henrik Hoff for the singer, composer and artist.'' Trygve J. B. Hoff (12 November 1895 – 4 January 1982) born in Kristiana, Norway was a Norwegian businessman, writer and editor of '' Farmand'', the Norwegian business magazine. B ...

– Norwegian economist and journalist *

Bertrand de Jouvenel Bertrand de Jouvenel des Ursins (31 October 1903 – 1 March 1987) was a French philosopher, political economist, and futurist. He taught at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Manchester, Yale University ...

– French philosopher and political economist *

– Czech economist and politician *

– Chicago school economist *

Fritz Machlup Fritz Machlup (; ; December 15, 1902 – January 30, 1983) was an Austrian-American economist who was president of the International Economic Association from 1971–1974. He was one of the first economists to examine knowledge as an economic re ...

– Austrian-American economist *

Salvador de Madariaga Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo (23 July 1886 – 14 December 1978) was a Spanish diplomat, writer, historian, and pacifist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the Nobel Peace Prize. He was awarded the Charlemagne Prize in 1 ...

– Spanish diplomat and writer * Loren Miller – American civic reformer and libertarian activist *

– Austrian economist *

– American journalist *

Michael Polanyi Michael Polanyi (; hu, Polányi Mihály; 11 March 1891 – 22 February 1976) was a Hungarian-British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and philosophy. He argued that positivism supplies ...

– Hungarian/British chemist, economist and philosopher of science *

– Austrian/British philosopher *

– American academic and diplomat *

Leonard Read Leonard Edward Read (September 26, 1898 – May 14, 1983) was the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), one of the first free market think tanks in the United States. He wrote 29 books and numerous essays, including the well-k ...

– American founder of the

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1948 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network. FEE offers ...

Lionel Robbins Lionel Charles Robbins, Baron Robbins, (22 November 1898 – 15 May 1984) was a British economist, and prominent member of the economics department at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is known for his leadership at LSE, his proposed def ...

– British economist *

Bellikoth Raghunath Shenoy Bellikoth Ragunath Shenoy (1905–1978) was an Indian classical liberal economist. He was a highly influential advocate of classical liberalism in India and was President of the Indian Economic Association and a member of the Mont Pelerin Socie ...

– Indian economist *

Herbert Tingsten Herbert Lars Gustaf Tingsten (17 March 1896 – 26 December 1973) was a Swedish political scientist, writer and newspaper publisher. An influential figure in Swedish political science, he was a professor of political science at Stockholm Unive ...

– Swedish political scientist and journalist * Cicely Wedgwood – British historian

Other noted members

Armen Alchian Armen Albert Alchian (; April 12, 1914February 19, 2013) was an American economist. He spent almost his entire career at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A major microeconomic theorist, he is known as one of the founders of new i ...

''Mont Pèlerin Society Directory'' (2010).
Note: "

DeSmogBlog DeSmog, (formerly The DeSmogBlog) founded in January 2006, is an international journalism organization that focuses on topics related to climate change. DeSmog's emphasis is investigating and reporting on misinformation campaigns and organizatio ...

recreated this directory in order to remove personal contact information." *

Martin Anderson (economist) Martin Anderson (August 5, 1936 – January 3, 2015) was an American academic, economist, author, policy analyst, and adviser to US politicians and presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Under the Nixon administration, Anderson wa ...

* John A. Baden *

Danny Julian Boggs Danny Julian Boggs (born October 23, 1944) is an American attorney and a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was appointed to the court in 1986 and served as its Chief judge from S ...

Rhodes Boyson Sir Rhodes Boyson (11 May 192528 August 2012) was an English educator, author and Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament for Brent North. He was knighted and made a member of the Privy Council in 1987. Early life B ...

* William L. Breit *

Yaron Brook Yaron Brook ( he, ירון ברוק; born May 23, 1961) is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, writer, and activist. He is an Objectivist and the current chairman of the board at the Ayn Rand Institute, where he was executive director from 2000 to ...

William F. Buckley Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...

* Steven N. S. Cheung *

Warren Coats Warren L. Coats, Jr. (born May 19, 1942, in Bakersfield, Calif.), is an economist specializing in monetary policy. He retired from the International Monetary Fund in May 2003 to join the board of directors of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority ...

Harold Demsetz Harold Demsetz (; May 31, 1930 – January 4, 2019) was an American professor of economics at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Career Demsetz grew up on the West Side of Chicago, the grandchild of Jewish immigrants from centra ...

* Donald J. Devine * Ross Eckert *

John Exter John Exter (September 17, 1910 – February 28, 2006) was an American economist, member of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System, and founder of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. He is also known for creating ''Exter's Py ...

David D. Friedman David Director Friedman (born February 12, 1945) is an American economist, physicist, legal scholar, and anarcho-capitalist theorist. Although he studied chemistry and physics and not law or economics, he is known for his textbook writings on m ...

Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson (born February 19, 1953 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is a professor of political science at the University of Iceland and a frequent commentator on current affairs in the Icelandic media. He is best known as a staunch s ...

Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...

Ronald Hamowy Ronald Hamowy (; April 17, 1937 – September 8, 2012) was a Canadian academic, known primarily for his contributions to political and social academic fields. At the time of his death, he was professor emeritus of Intellectual History at the Univ ...

* Steven F. Hayward * George Hilton *

Israel Kirzner Israel Meir Kirzner (also Yisroel Mayer Kirzner ; born February 13, 1930) is a British-born American economist closely identified with the Austrian School. Early life and education The son of a well-known rabbi and Talmudist, Kirzner was born i ...

* Charles G. Koch *

Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard , (born 1966) is a Danish political scientist with a particular interest in public choice analysis and classical liberalism. Education and employment Kurrild-Klitgaard holds the degrees of Ph.D. in political science, M. ...

* Henri Lepage * Leon Louw * Henry Maksoud * Henry Manne * Paul McCracken *

Marcel van Meerhaeghe Marcel Alfons Gilbert van Meerhaeghe (Wetteren, 12 April 1921 – Ghent, 22 March 2014) was a Belgian economist, professor, publicist and columnist. Marcel van Meerhaeghe was Professor of International Economic Relations at the State University ...

* Ernst-Joachim Mestmäcker *

Maurice Newman Maurice Lionel Newman AC (born 20 April 1938 in Ilford, England) is an Australian businessman who has served in a range of public roles, including as Chairperson of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, chair of the board of the Australian S ...

John O'Sullivan John O'Sullivan may refer to: Sports *John O'Sullivan (cricketer) (1918–1991), New Zealand cricketer *John O'Sullivan (cyclist) (born 1933), Australian cyclist *John O'Sullivan (footballer) (born 1993), Irish footballer for Accrington Stanley *J ...

* J. Howard Pew * William H. Peterson * Madsen Pirie *

Richard Posner Richard Allen Posner (; born January 11, 1939) is an American jurist and legal scholar who served as a federal appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 2017. A senior lecturer at the University of Chica ...

Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...

* Alvin Rabushka * Richard W. Rahn * Alan Reynolds *

Ljubo Sirc Ljubo Sirc CBE (19 April 1920 – 1 December 2016) was a British- Slovene economist and prominent dissident from Yugoslavia. Life and work Sirc was born in Kranj, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, in a wealthy and reno ...

* Lowell C. Smith * Beryl W. Sprinkel *

Gordon Tullock Gordon Tullock (; February 13, 1922 – November 3, 2014) was an economist and professor of law and Economics at the George Mason University School of Law. He is best known for his work on public choice theory, the application of economic thinkin ...

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

Chafuen, Alejandro (March 26, 2014)
"Away From Socialism: Mario Vargas Llosa Joins The Mont Pèlerin Society."
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

''. *

Leland B. Yeager Leland Bennett Yeager (; October 4, 1924 – April 23, 2018) was an American economist dealing with monetary policy and international trade. Biography Yeager graduated from Oberlin College in 1948 with an A.B. and was granted an M.A. from Columb ...

References

External links

Official website

Organization profile
at

Organization profile
at

National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases and develops sta ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and pr ...

)
''Mont Pèlerin Society (1947–…): Inventory of the General Meeting Files (1947–1998)''.
Preface by

Jacques Van Offelen Jacques Louis Gustave Van Offelen (Isleworth, 18 October 1916 – Uccle, 22 February 2006) was a Belgian liberal politician, burgomaster and minister for the PVV. He graduated from the ''Institut Supérieur de Commerce de l'Etat'' (1938) in Ant ...

. Belgium: Liberaal Archief (2004)
Archived.

Guide to the Mont Pelerin Society Records
an
sound recordings of meetings online
at th
Hoover Institution Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mont Pelerin Society 1947 establishments in Switzerland Think tanks established in 1947 Classical liberalism Political and economic think tanks based in Europe Libertarian think tanks Libertarianism in Switzerland Neoliberal organizations