Foundation for Economic Education

Foundation for Economic Education
Founded March 7, 1946 (1946-03-07)
Founder Leonard E. Read
Type Educational foundation
IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt[1]
136006960[1]
Focus economics, libertarianism
Location
Coordinates 33°48′04″N 84°23′36″W / 33.8010°N 84.3932°W / 33.8010; -84.3932Coordinates: 33°48′04″N 84°23′36″W / 33.8010°N 84.3932°W / 33.8010; -84.3932
Area served
United States
Method literature, lecture, academic scholarship
Key people
President Lawrence W. Reed, Executive Director Carl Oberg
Revenue
$4,774,708
Expenses: $3,823,955
(FYE March 2014)[2]
Mission "... to inspire, educate and connect future leaders with the economic, ethical and legal principles of a free society."[3]
Website fee.org

The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) "is a non-political, non-profit, tax-exempt educational foundation" dedicated to the "economic, ethical and legal principles of a free society."[4] FEE publishes books and since 1950 the magazine The Freeman, and hosts seminars and lectures.[5]

History

The foundation was founded in 1946 by Leonard E. Read,[6] Henry Hazlitt,[10] David Goodrich,[11] Donaldson Brown,[12] Leo Wolman,[13] Fred R. Fairchild,[14] Claude E. Robinson,[15] and Jasper Crane,[16] which makes FEE the oldest free-market think tank in the United States.[17] Read served as president from 1946 until his death in 1983.[18]

Perry E. Gresham followed his friend Read as president in 1983.[18] The presidency of FEE from 1983 to 1984 was held by John Sparks Sr., from 1984 to 1985 by Bob Love, from 1985 to 1988 by a series of acting presidents, then from 1988 to 1992 by Bruce Evans.[19] After retiring from Grove City College where he taught economics, Hans Sennholz served as president from 1992 to 1997.[20] Donald J. Boudreaux served as president from 1997 to 2001, before moving on to chair the Department of Economics at George Mason University. [21] Economist, investment analyst, professor and author Mark Skousen served as president from 2001 to 2002.[22] Author and professor Richard Ebeling served as president from 2003 to 2008.[23] The current president is economist, author, and professor Lawrence W. Reed, since 2008.[24]

Significance

During his extended graduate studies at Columbia University, Murray Rothbard was influenced by FEE economist Baldy Harper.[25] So it makes sense that Rothbard credited FEE with creating a "crucial open center" for a libertarian movement.[26] Friedrich Hayek saw FEE as part of the inspiration for the formation of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947.[27] Beyond inspiration, FEE provided a financial subsidy to the Mont Pelerin Society.[28] Hayek encouraged Anthony Fisher to found the Institute of Economic Affairs after visiting FEE in 1952. [29] Ludwig von Mises had a "long-term association with the Foundation for Economic Education."[30] According to the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report[31] FEE is number 47 out of 60 in the "Top Think Tanks in the United States".[32]

Location

FEE first occupied two rooms on the 30th floor of the Equitable Building in Manhattan in 1946.[33] Still in 1946, the organization moved to the Hillside mansion in Irvington, New York, where FEE would remain for 68 years.[34] In 2014, FEE sold its Irvington headquarters as a part of the transfer of operations to Atlanta, Georgia.[35]

Programs

FEE describes its mission as to "inspire, educate and connect future leaders with the economic, ethical and legal principles of a free society."[36] FEE offers a variety of programs for high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students.[37] Since 1946 FEE has sponsored lectures by Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, Milton Friedman, James M. Buchanan, Vernon Smith, Walter Williams, F.A. "Baldy" Harper, William F. Buckley Jr. and others.[38]

Publications

In 1945 du Pont executive Jasper Crane, along with Alfred Kohlberg, started a capital campaign for the organization.[39] After contributions from J. Howard Pew, Inland Steel, Quaker Oats, and Sears enough funding was available for FEE to purchase and take up publishing The Freeman[40] in 1950.[41] FEE publishes books, articles, and pamphlets both on paper and digitally that the foundation considers classic works on liberty.[42] These include the notable publications I, Pencil: My Family Tree by Read,[43] The Law by Bastiat,[44] Anything That's Peaceful by Read,[45] Planned Chaos by Mises,[46] Industry-Wide Bargaining by Wolman,[47] Up from Poverty: Reflections on the Ills of Public Assistance by Sennholz,[48] and The Virtue of Liberty by Machan.[49]

Notes

    1. 1 2 Internal Revenue Service 2012.
    2. Charity Navigator 2015.
    3. Horwitz 2013 " ..a thorough introduction to the economic, ethical, and legal principles of a free society."; Foundation for Economic Education 2013 "FEE’s mission is to inspire, educate and connect future leaders with the economic, ethical and legal principles of a free society.".
    4. Horwitz 2013 " ..a thorough introduction to the economic, ethical, and legal principles of a free society."; Foundation for Economic Education 2016 "FEE is a non-political, non-profit, tax-exempt educational foundation and accepts no taxpayer money." and "FEE's mission is inspire, educate, and connect young adults with the economic, ethical, and legal principles of a free society."; Singleton 2001 "a small market-oriented group that works with students and academics"; Hayek 2014 "I believe that what the Foundation for Economic Education, with Leonard Read at its head, and all co-fighters and friends are committed to is nothing more nor less than the defense of our civilization against intellectual error."; Internal Revenue Service 2015 "Educational Organization".
    5. Phillips-Fein 2009, p. 115; Hamowy 2008, p. 217; Perelman 2007, p. 64; Schneider 2009, p. 47; Mirowski & Plehwe 2009, p. 285 "… going so far as to help Mises publish his Magnum Opus Human Action …"; Olson 2009; Lichtman 2008, p. 160; Shiflett 2015-07-28, p. 176; McGann 2015 (think tank).
    6. Read was the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce executive director,[7] from 1938[8] to 1945.[9]
    7. Burns 2005, p. 84; Rothbard 2006, p. 451.
    8. Dochuk 2010, p. 116.
    9. Heller 2009, p. 197.
    10. of the New York Times
    11. of B. F. Goodrich
    12. of General Motors Corporation
    13. of Columbia University
    14. of Yale University
    15. of Opinion Research Corporation
    16. of duPont
    17. White 2012 "The oldest free-market American think tank is the foundation for Economic Education, founded in 1946..."; Skousen 2015 "In his eighties, he continued to lecture at the Foundation for Economic Education in IrvingtononHudson, New York (the oldest freemarket think tank, founded in 1946 by Leonard Read), and ..."; Hazlitt 2006 "The original officers were David M. Goodrich, chairman of the Board (he was then also chairman of the board of the B. F. Goodrich Company); Leonard Read, president; myself, vice-president; Fred R. Fairchild, professor of economics at Yale University, secretary; and Claude Robinson, president of the Opinion Research Institute, treasurer. [The] sixteen [original] trustees ... included H. W. Luhnow, president of William Volker & Company; A. C. Mattei, president of Honolulu Oil Corporation; William A. Paton of the University of Michigan; Charles White, president of the Republic Steel Corporation; Leo Wolman, professor of economics at Columbia; Donaldson Brown, former vice-president of General Motors; Jasper Crane, former vice-president of Du Pont; B. E. Hutchinson, chairman of the finance committee of Chrysler Corporation; Bill Matthews, publisher of the Arizona Star; W. C. Mullendore, president of the Southern California Edison Company."; Dochuk 2010, p. 114 "The job of economic education must be undertaken now while those who appreciate the value of liberty are still in a position to support it."; Schneider 2009, p. 47; Mirowski & Plehwe 2009, p. 387; Backhouse 2005; Backhouse 2009; Kashyap & Wilcox 1993, p. 384; Farrell 2011.
    18. 1 2 Sennholz 1993, p. 185.
    19. Reed 2012.
    20. Wilcox 2000, p. 151.
    21. Boudreaux 2011.
    22. Skousen 2010.
    23. Ebeling 2009.
    24. Farrell 2011.
    25. Gordon 2010, p. 12-14 (Rothbard was influenced by Harper at Columbia University); Hazlitt 2006, p. 1 (Harper's title of economist)
    26. Gordon 2010, p. 14.
    27. Phillips-Fein 2009, p. 86; Mirowski & Plehwe 2009, pp. 15, 19, 21, 53, 156, 190, 196, 243, 281, 284, 293, 387, 397, 410; Plehwe 2006, p. 31.
    28. Hamowy 2008, p. 492; Mirowski & Plehwe 2009, p. 15.
    29. Mirowski & Plehwe & 2009 p. 387.
    30. Vaughn 1998 "long-term association with the Foundation for Economic Education...".
    31. Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, University of Pennsylvania
    32. McGann 2015.
    33. Dodsworth 1995, p. 2 "In those anxious moments, Thomas I. Parkinson, president of Equitable Life Assurance Company, came to the rescue. He provided Fee with two rooms in the Equitable Building at 737 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. On the 30th floor, with a magnificent view over the city, Leonard Read set about conducting the affairs of his new organization.".
    34. Spikes & Leone 2009, p. 26 " Hillside was sold in 1922 to Gordon Harris, a son of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad president. ... was purchased in 1946 by Leonard Read and remains the headquarters of Read's Foundation for Economic Education."; Dodsworth 1995; Phillips-Fein 2010.
    35. Farrell 2011 "In early May 2010, FEE opened a branch office in downtown Atlanta."; Olson 2014.
    36. Foundation for Economic Education 2016.
    37. Ashford 2011; Giannotta 2011; Foley 2010; Olson 2009.
    38. Phillips-Fein 2009, p. 116 (Ludwig von Mises); Hamowy 2008, p. 335 (Ludwig von Mises); Olson 2009 (Ludwig von Mises); Phillips-Fein 2009, p. 52 (Friedrich Hayek); Hamowy 2008, p. 217 (Friedrich Hayek); Mirowski & Plehwe 2009, p. 285 (Friedrich Hayek); Olson 2009 (Friedrich Hayek); Phillips-Fein 2009, p. 43 (Henry Hazlitt); Olson 2009 (Henry Hazlitt); Hamowy 2008, p. 492  (Milton Friedman).
    39. Phillips-Fein 2009, p. ii; Hamowy 2008, p. 62; Schneider 2009, p. 47; Lichtman 2008, p. 160.
    40. ISSN 0016-0652; OCLC 1570149
    41. Phillips-Fein 2009, p. 115; Hamowy 2008, p. 62; Schneider 2009, p. 47; Lichtman 2008, p. 160.
    42. Phillips-Fein 2009, p. 52; Hamowy 2008, p. 62; Olson 2009; Shiflett 2015-07-28, p. 176.
    43. Read 1958.
    44. Bastiat 1950.
    45. Read 1998.
    46. Mises 1947.
    47. Wolman 1948.
    48. Sennholz 1997.
    49. Machan 1994.

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