The Mont Pelerin Society is a think tank made up of classically liberal economists, political scientists, philosophers, business leaders, and other big-brain types. Now, when we say “classically liberal,” we mean this group is all about private property rights, free markets, personal freedoms, and minimal government intervention in all aspects of life. This is not the government-heavy “liberalism” we might be used to from recent political discourse, but is actually more in line with libertarian economic and political values.
Anyhoo, these folks aren’t trying to run for elections or shape political parties; their whole purpose is to study and debate the effects of classical liberal policies—and the effects of policies that are not so classically liberal. They meet, they write papers, they share ideas with other like-minded think tanks, and as of 2019, they’ve churned out nine—yes, nine—Nobel Prize winners. Some of the society’s most notable members over the years include Friedrich Hayek, Karl Popper, and our very own Milton Friedman, American economist extraordinaire.
