November 14 through 17 I was very fortunate to be able to attend the 75th Anniversary meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society at the Universidad Francisco Marroquin (UFM) in Guatemala City, at which UFM was celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Ron Manners, founder and head of the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation in Perth, Australia, sponsored me as a guest, with Yuliya Tychkivska, his other guest, a freedom fighter from Ukraine. Below, he’s pictured between me and Yuliya.
As Ron tells it, she started the Maidan Revolution and did not back off until the crooked President fled the country, never to be seen again. What an honor to meet her!
The theme of the conference was “Rising From the Crisis: Advancing the Future of a Free Society.” The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) had been instrumental in the founding of UFM, the premier university educating with classical liberal principles.
Classical Liberalism was a politico-economic philosophy which arose during the 19th century, advocating a free society based on strong property rights, limited government, free trade, and free exchange of ideas.
With the rise of Marxism, Fascism, and Progressivism, it went slowly out of favor. (In every part of the world except the U.S. “liberalism” still means this; in the U.S. the collectivists co-opted the term via all the various “rights” they advocate and have now besmirched it. It is based in the same root as the word “liberty.”)
The MPS was organized in 1947 by a small band, what remained of the Classical Liberals, including Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Milton Friedman among others.
The members of the MPS wanted to keep these ideals alive and the MPS has been a center force in the development of many free market think tanks and libertarian organizations.
Here is part of their founding statement, which is relevant to today more than ever!
“The central values of civilization are in danger. Over large stretches of the Earth’s surface the essential conditions of human dignity and freedom have already disappeared. In others they are under constant menace from the development of current tendencies of policy. The position of the individual and the voluntary group are progressively undermined by extensions of arbitrary power. Even that most precious possession of Western Man, freedom of thought and expression, is threatened by the spread of creeds which, claiming the privilege of tolerance when in the position of a minority, seek only to establish a position of power in which they can suppress and obliterate all views but their own.”
The organization is strong and growing, thanks to the tireless efforts of its members. Let’s hope we see more and more of its fruit!
Workshop on Dialogue as an Effective Teaching Tool
On Friday, November 12th, at UFM, I ran a workshop on how to effectively use dialogue in the classroom to strongly enhance student understanding and thinking. It was organized by the head of Continuing Education at UFM, Carmen Rodriguez Alcarón, who is also my former student.
A group of 15, including professors from UFM, high school teachers from the American School in Guatemala City, and others spent the morning chewing over numerous readings I had provided on the psychology and effects of dialogue and brainstorming about how to improve their dialogue classes. In the afternoon I led a session on the use of art to enhance independent thinking.
I also participated in a panel with (from left below) Carmen Rodriguez, me, Rob Schimenz of the Center for Independent Thought which produces Stossel in the Classroom, Stefany Bolanos a professor at UFM, Bryan Caplan of George Mason University, and Martin Cox of the John Locke Institute in a discussion about what students need to learn if we are to advance free society ideals.
