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2017 AFRICA LIBERTY FORUM TACKLES CONTINENT’S BARRIERS TO PROSPERITY AND OPPORTUNITY

During Africa Liberty Forum 2017, more than 125 influencers and think tank professionals from 16 countries gathered to discuss the best and the brightest work breaking down the barriers to prosperity and opportunity on the continent. Sponsored by Atlas Network with organizing host the South Africa-based Free Market Foundation (F...

PROMOTING LIBERTY IN SPAIN THROUGH GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM

Spain has long had excellent think tanks that specialize in the economic aspects of freedom, and carry out the crucial work of producing high-level academic, theoretical papers. In 2015, though, a group of Spanish libertarians were concerned about the need to develop a more engaging approach toward civil society — a task that we...

POLL SHOWS THAT GREEKS TURN AWAY FROM BIG GOVERNMENT AS THEY SEEK JOBS AND GROWTH

The Greek economy has deteriorated steadily during the past eight years of unprecedented fiscal collapse, and the people may finally be fed up with big government, runaway spending, public-sector corruption, and job-killing regulations. A recent in-depth survey, published by the daily Kathimerini newspaper and the new think tank...

SLOVAKIA’S CATALYST FOR CHANGE

Modern Slovakia is like night and day compared to its years under communist rule, before the 1989 Velvet Revolution hastened the end of communist control, ultimately dissolving the Soviet Union in 1991. The nation has forged its own path since its Velvet Divorce separated Slovakia from the Czech Republic only two years after tha...

PULLING THE ANDON CORD: USING TEAMS TO MAKE DECISIONS

In the early 1980s, the workers at a General Motors plant in California had become so disillusioned with their jobs that they sometimes sabotaged the quality of the cars on purpose. The plant began to perform so poorly that the company shut it down. That failure, though, is only the first part of a great turnaround story. In a s...

ASIA LIBERTY FORUM SPOTLIGHTS EFFORTS TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO PROSPERITY IN THE REGION

Asia Liberty Forum brought together more than 225 leaders, advocates, and think tank professionals from 22 countries to explore the work being done to break down the barriers to prosperity in the region.

LFMI CASE STUDY SHOWS HOW STUDENTS ARE GETTING AN ECONOMIC EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE

In 2002, Lithuania added economic education to its national school curriculum, mandating that 9th or 10th grade students take 31 hours of classroom study. Teachers, many of them working out of their field, struggled to make outdated textbooks relevant to their students, especially as the available material emphasized government-...

INVESTIGATORY POWERS ACT SUBJECTS UK TO DYSTOPIAN SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY

Intelligence agencies and police in the United Kingdom have been secretly using unauthorized techniques to eradicate what they defined as online “safe spaces,” where criminals, terrorists, and paedophiles are believed to hide. In 2015, the U.K. government proposed legislation to make these techniques lawful, and ultimately passe...

INEQUALITY, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF MOBILITY

For Christmas, our five-year-old son Sebastian wants a Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage. Our two-year-old daughter Arianna will also play with those cars, although we will continue to try to get her to like dolls. Despite these presents and all the presents in the years to come, however, my wife and I think the best present we ever co...

LITHUANIAN FREE MARKET INSTITUTE ‘ECONOMICS IN 31 HOURS’ TEXTBOOK WINS 2016 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

In high schools across the world, most students graduate without any exposure to the concepts of market economics. The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI), based in Vilnius, sought to change that by developing its Economics in 31 Hours textbook, which has been awarded this year’s prestigious $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award....

DR. TOM G. PALMER NAMED TO NEWLY ESTABLISHED GEORGE M. YEAGER CHAIR FOR ADVANCING LIBERTY

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 10, 2016 — Dr. Tom G. Palmer has been named the George M. Yeager Chair for Advancing Liberty at Atlas Network. Palmer has devoted his life to the promotion of the common-sense principles of liberty in the United States and worldwide. He has created and taught numerous educational programs, authored and edi...

INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE RETURNS TO CONNECTICUT TO DEFEAT EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE

More than a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court shocked the nation when it upheld the condemnation of an entire neighborhood in New London, Conn., for “economic development.” This infamous instance of eminent domain abuse sparked a nationwide backlash: 44 states reformed their laws to provide greater protection for property owner...

THE PROSPERITY STATES INITIATIVE: A POLICY LESSON FROM ‘WHEN HARRY MET SALLY’

According to various reports recently published by the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute in Canada, the Legatum Institute in London, the Liberal Institute in Switzerland, and the Heritage Foundation, the United States clearly no longer ranks among the top 10 freest countries in the world. At best, we are among the top 20, alt...

THINK TANKS IN ISRAEL, LITHUANIA, SWEDEN, U.S. NAMED 2016 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD FINALISTS

Atlas Network is pleased to present the six finalists for the 2016 Templeton Freedom Award. The award is generously supported by Templeton Religion Trust and will be presented during Atlas Network’s Freedom Dinner on Nov. 10 in New York City at the historic Capitale. The winning organization will receive a $100,000 prize, and th...

ISRAEL CENTER FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS NAMED FINALIST FOR 2016 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

Despite more than 30 years of economic reforms that have helped transform Israel, its economy remains saddled with bureaucracy and regulation that make life difficult and expensive. The economic reform campaign developed by the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress (ICSEP), based in Mevaseret Zion, has been named one of...

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON FEAR AND FREEDOM

People raised in different circumstances often show different attitudes toward potential dangers. If you’ve never been near the water or learned how to swim, lakes, rivers, and oceans probably seem quite terrifying. Those who can swim generally see rivers, lakes, and oceans differently. Such different experiences may lead to dif...

WHY MOVIES MATTER (AND WHY WE SHOULD WRITE SOME GOOD ONES)

We are the stories we tell. And we are the stories we believe. In 1978, when Superman hit the big screen, we believed a man could fly. In 2016, when Batman met Superman, we believed a man wouldn’t want to. What happened in 38 short years?

THEY CANNOT MAKE US HATE THEM

When I think of examples of successful self control and dignity under the most difficult circumstances, one living person comes to mind before all others: 刘晓波, Liu Xiabo, the Chinese writer and human rights activist who was sentenced on Dec. 25, 2009, to 11 years of imprisonment in China on the charge of “inciting subversion of...

FRIEDMAN VS. SANDERS, OBSOLETE INDUSTRIES, AND BONE MARROW REGULATIONS

It’s almost eerie how Milton Friedman had the perfect responses years ago to the outrageous economic claims that Bernie Sanders would make during his U.S. presidential campaign this year. It’s also peculiar that the Australian government is bailing out nearly obsolete industries — why not also bring back the chimney sweep, the t...

EVERYONE, EVEN POLITICIANS AND OFFICIALS, SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS

Isn’t it interesting how often government leaders use passive voice to refer to their bad decisions? “Mistakes were made,” “The intelligence was flawed,” “Things got out of control,” etc., etc. And even when they say “I take responsibility,” they almost never actually take responsibility by, say, resigning or reimbursing or even...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS STOLEN FROM YOU?

It’s not so hard to talk about having one’s freedom taken away. “You’re under arrest” means you’re not free to go. Prisoners have had their freedom taken. When that’s done unjustly, we speak of freedom being “stolen,” because rightfully it should be yours to enjoy. But can your responsibility be stolen from you?

IS LIBERTY AN ASIAN VALUE?

A frequent challenge raised against classical liberalism is that it is not suitable for Asian people or Asian countries, because of “Asian values” that are allegedly unique to Asian countries. Is Asian liberty different from European or American or African Liberty? Or, if liberty is being used in the same way in those regions, i...

DO THEIR PASSIONS FORGE THEIR FETTERS?

The great British political thinker and politician Edmund Burke is frequently called a conservative, although he did not use the term for himself, preferring the term “Whig” — and “Old Whig,” at that. Those who call him a conservative often think of him as favoring a state that will use its coercive powers to control human being...

THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR STATE CONTROL

Supply and demand analysis isn’t limited to consumer goods. There is also a supply and a demand for government. Noted economists have focused much attention on the supply of state control, with a focus on the willingness of politicians to get into power and stay there, and of bureaucrats to maximize their budgets. Some attention...

FRIEDMAN FOUNDATION CHANGES NAME TO FOCUS ON BENEFITS OF EDUCATIONAL CHOICE

The Friedman Foundation is changing its name, and that’s exciting. Why is that “exciting”? Our founders, economists Milton and Rose Friedman, are globally recognized, and our brand is well known. Why wouldn’t we want to keep using the Friedman name forever?

HOW FEE.ORG HAS CHANGED

With 1 million readers per month, and a dramatically increased publication schedule, many people have noticed that this is clearly a new FEE.org. We think of it as an expanded implementation of the original purpose of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), which was not founded as a policy shop or a house for pure academic...

ECONOMIC FREEDOM ENABLES SUCCESS AFTER PRISON

Each year, 30,000 people leave Illinois prisons after completing their sentences. They’ve made mistakes and served their time. But now, the biggest challenge they face will be getting back on their feet and staying out of crime.

COMMEMORATING LEONARD LIGGIO’S LIFE AND LEGACY FOR FREEDOM

Leonard Liggio is one of the freedom movement’s great heroes. He spent the last two decades of his life with Atlas Network as its executive vice president, where he helped (among other achievements) to usher in Atlas Network’s important collaborations with John Templeton Foundation. He also served at various times as president o...

OIL PRICE VOLATILITY THREATENS FISCAL HEALTH OF TOP-PERFORMING STATES

Global crude oil prices finally started to creep back up in June in response to both political disruptions to oil production and growing demand. This trend — a reversal of what we’ve seen since 2014 — may be a good sign for producers, but it also introduces volatility into the market. This not only poses a threat to producers as...

ATLAS NETWORK EARNS 4-STAR CHARITY NAVIGATOR RATING FOR NINTH STRAIGHT YEAR

Atlas Network’s strong financial stewardship and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. This is the ninth consecutive year in which Atlas Network has earned this top distinction.

THE LIBERTAS INSTITUTE MAKES SURE KIDS KEEP THEIR LEMONADE STANDS IN UTAH

Lemonade stands are legal again in Utah. The Libertas Institute, an Atlas Network partner based in Utah, works to defend individual liberty, private property, and free enterprise. In advocating for the home business owners of Utah, Libertas works with the state legislature in attempts to end the crushing bureaucracy — which rece...

YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY FIGHT FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH

The problem of free speech suppression on U.S. college campuses takes many shapes and forms. And Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) says it might all boil down to the lack of knowledge of how the First Amendment applies to college students.

MEXICAN GOVERNMENT SPYWARE USED AGAINST ANTI-CORRUPTION THINK TANK

Juan Pardinas, the general director of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness [Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad-(IMCO)], an Atlas Network partner based in Mexico City, has been one of the targets of a sophisticated hacking scheme since 2015. Pardinas, his wife and a few others at IMCO received numerous threatening te...

NEW ZEALAND TAXPAYERS’ UNION EXPOSES AND HALTS FUNDING TO NORTH KOREA

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union (NZTU), a Wellington-based Atlas Network partner, has stopped taxpayer funds from going to the authoritarian regime in North Korea.

ALUMNI IN FOCUS: AYESHA BILAL

Founded in 2013, Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME) conducts research analysis and advocacy campaigns to influence economic policy toward free markets and limited government. PRIME’s Ayesha Bilal, a graduate of Atlas Leadership Academy and a former Atlas Network Smith Fellow, spoke with Daniel Anthony, Atlas Net...

BEACON CENTER OF TENNESSEE THREE FOR THREE IN COURT RULINGS

Tennesseans celebrate as the Beacon Center of Tennessee gets another win under its belt. The Beacon Center, a Nashville-based Atlas Network partner, continues its lawsuit-winning streak by shutting down two overly bureaucratic licensure programs. These victories sound a sigh of relief for independent contractors, free-market ent...

THE BUCKEYE INSTITUTE’S OHIO, LOUISIANA, AND DC POLICY REFORM PARTNERSHIPS

The Buckeye Institute, an Atlas Network partner based in Ohio, is quickly becoming a leader of strategic partnerships. By leveraging its network, The Buckeye Institute has enjoyed a streak of successes, specifically promoting education savings accounts (ESAs), encouraging lower taxes, and producing relevant free-market research...

INESCAPABLE CONCLUSIONS

In my lifetime, I want to see the benefits of free trade as broadly appreciated as the fact of gravity. I want to see civil society replace much of what exists today as the welfare state, so government’s role is reduced to a simple safety net for those who need it the most. I want a sound monetary system that’s immune from the t...

GREG LINDSAY OF AUSTRALIA’S THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES PASSING THE TORCH

Greg Lindsay, executive director of The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) in Australia, will be stepping down after almost 42 years as Executive Director of CIS early next year. Lindsay retires as the longest-serving head of an Atlas Network partner organization.

YOUNG SPANIARDS WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP VENEZUELA

For more than two months now, heroic Venezuelans have taken to the streets to oppose President Nicolás Maduro's dictatorship. “Fifty-nine young demonstrators have already paid with their lives,” said Isadora Zubillaga, a political exile currently living in Spain, at a recent event in Madrid.

NEW DOCUMENTARY REMEMBERS POLAND’S LEGACY OF FREE-MARKET ECONOMICS

Poland was home to prominent free-market economists who played a prominent role in the country’s public policy and economic development during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but the loss of millions of lives through war and political instability have left their contributions largely forgotten. A new documentary from the...

ILAPI-GHANA LAUNCHES AFRICAN JOURNALISTS FOR LIBERTY

In Ghana, the Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI-Ghana) recently launched a project to help diffuse economic freedom and question the status quo through journalism. Through African Journalists for Liberty, ILAPI-Ghana hopes to inspire African journalists to share messages of freedom, individual liberty, and econo...

THE PERUVIAN TAXPAYER’S HERO

Contribuyentes por Respeto (CpR) is the taxpayer’s hero in Peru. Peruvian citizens are not receiving the benefits they expect, given how much they pay in taxes, so CpR is on a mission to defend the taxpayers in their side of the social bargain. For this mission, CpR leads four programs: Voices for Health, Infrastructure for All...

DENMARK UPHOLDS FREEDOM OF SPEECH, REPEALS BLASPHEMY PROVISION

Ranked No. 1 in the World Justice Project’s 2016 Rule of Law Index® and given a “free press” status by Freedom House, Denmark is often looked to as a progressive beacon of free thought. Yet until June 3, the country upheld a provision criminalizing “any person who, in public, ridicules or insults the dogmas or worship of any law...

ALUMNI IN FOCUS: CONNOR BOYACK

Connor Boyack, president of the Utah-based Libertas Institute, has an entrepreneurial hustle. From his unique children’s liberty book series The Tuttle Twins to his work protecting economic liberty in the burgeoning Utah food truck industry, he isn’t afraid to tackle numerous projects at once. And he does it all...

LITHUANIAN LABOR CODE NEEDS MORE SUBSTANTIAL REFORM

The passage of a new labor code provides an opportunity for substantial reform, but a recent study from the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) compares Lithuania’s labor legislation with that of 10 other European Union member states, and shows that the new labor code only tinkers around the edges without making the kind of...

ALUMNI IN FOCUS: ÁLVARO IRIARTE

One of the major challenges in Chile today is that there seems to be almost a permanent bias against the ideas of justice and freedom. We take this challenge seriously, and that’s why we strive to be the rational, emotionally relevant voice for these ideas within the public arena — and, in particular, with students. Young...

ALUMNI IN FOCUS: AKASH SHRESTHA

Akash Shrestha, research coordinator with Kathmandu-based Samriddhi Foundation, is somewhat obsessed with ensuring that entrepreneurs can earn their own living in the new Nepal. Akash and Daniel Anthony, editor-in chief of Freedom’s Champion and Atlas Network’s vice president of marketing and communications, first met over break...

IN EASTERN INDONESIA, STUDENTS ENJOY AFTERNOON COFFEE AND ADAM SMITH

Until recently, the concepts of economic freedom and free trade were virtually unknown in eastern Indonesia. Ever since the Suharto government implemented a centralized development plan 32 years ago, half of the country has been the victim of policy enacted by an authoritarian regime. As such, eastern Indonesia has been left out...

HOW TO APPEAL TO THE WORLD’S FORGOTTEN 70 PERCENT?

This article by Linda Whetstone, chairman of Atlas Network, was originally given as a speech during the first regional conference of Conservatives International, a flagship initiative of ACRE, in Miami, Fla. on May 26-27, 2017

2017 AFRICA LIBERTY FORUM TACKLES CONTINENT’S BARRIERS TO PROSPERITY AND OPPORTUNITY

LAND OF THE FREE AND THE AMERICAN DREAM

How do people escape from poverty and begin to build wealth? Economic mobility is one of the foremost policy concerns in United States, across the political spectrum, but it’s not obvious which conditions create opportunity and foster mobility. The Archbridge Institute is a newly established Atlas Network partner based in Washin...

EFFECTS OF COLONIAL INSTITUTIONS PERSIST IN MODERN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS

Colonial settlement and political control of developing countries during the past few centuries has had long-lasting effects the world’s economies that persist to this day. A recent study accepted for publication in the prestigious World Development journal, “Economic Institutions and Comparative Economic Development: A Post-Col...

FORGING NEW ALLIANCES AT THE OSLO FREEDOM FORUM

Where can freedom champions hear short, 12-minutes speeches by a collection of people including a Pakistani squash player, Afghanistan’s first female tech CEO, the head Syria’s Netflix-famous volunteer rescue group the White Helmets, and the prime minister of Norway? The annual Oslo Freedom Forum.

MAKING THE MOST OF FREEDOM FOR NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES

Casey Lartigue Jr., Atlas Leadership Academy alumnus from Teach North Korean Refugees (TKNR), may be the only Harvard-educated black Texan libertarian who has dedicated his life to teaching North Korean refugees how to tell their stories. In 2013, Lartigue and South Korean Eunkoo Lee co-founded the nonprofit TKNR to help the 30,...

BRAZILIAN CONFERENCE USES 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AS CAUTIONARY EXAMPLE

It may not seem like an obvious choice for a libertarian conference in Brazil to choose the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution as a theme, but the organizers of II Conferência Atlantos, sponsored in April by Instituto Atlantos in Porto Alegre, believe that the decades of oppression and mass death that resulted in the So...

4TH ANNUAL ISRAELI FREEDOM CONFERENCE DRAWS 400 PARTICIPANTS

The fourth annual Freedom Conference in Israel aimed to make the classical liberal conception of liberty available to the general public, and to discuss burning issues in Israeli public discourse. This year’s conference, sponsored by the Israeli Freedom Movement (IFM) and Ayn Rand Center Israel, discussed the welfare state, free...

PROTECTING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN CANADA

In a recent trend, Canadian campuses are suppressing free speech more than ever, and the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), an Atlas Network partner based in Calgary, Canada, is fighting back. “Universities are supposed to be the sanctuary of critical inquiry, reasoned debate, and the free exchange of ideas, said...

YOUNG VENEZUELANS GATHER IN D.C. FOR INTENSIVE PLAN PAÍS CONFERENCE

For seven years, the Plan País conference has gathered young Venezuelans, both students and young professionals residing all over the world, to discuss the array of problems that Venezuela faces. More than 200 young Venezuelans participated in this year’s Plan País, held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., only...

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE CATO INSTITUTE

During the past four decades, the Cato Institute has established itself as the world’s premier libertarian policy think tank. In May, Cato celebrated its 40th anniversary with events that included remarks from such notable figures as Rand Paul, George Will, P. J. O'Rourke, Dave Barry, and Charles Murray. Articles, videos, and a...