Eamonn Butler recently visited my home, and we had a wonderful time discussing ideas.
Eamonn is cofounder and director of the Adam Smith Institute (ASI), secretary of the Mont Pelerin Society, and author of many books, including works on the ideas of Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Ludwig von Mises, and Ayn Rand (his book on Rand was funded by Prometheus Foundation).
I love speaking with authors. They understand their subjects deeply and convey ideas concisely. I also love bringing together people who have similar aims and can benefit from each other’s talents and resources.
Craig Biddle, author and founder/editor of The Objective Standard, joined us for dinner, and the conversation was stimulating. We discussed Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments (about which Eamonn has written as well), how Smith’s ideas relate to Rand’s, the ideas that animated Margaret Thatcher (Eamonn and ASI were influential with and aided the Thatcher revolution), the state of the world today, and the role of ideas in shaping the future. We also discussed the possibility of doing some joint projects with the Atlas Network and having ASI staff attend TOS-Con in Boston this summer.
Synergy is building among people in the liberty movement. I’m glad to see it. And I want to do what I can to foster it.
2020 will be a Promethean year.
