Foundation For Economic Education - Foundation For Economic Education

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." FEE publishes books and hosts seminars and lectures.

History

Founded in 1946 by Leonard E. Read, Henry Hazlitt, David Goodrich, Donaldson Brown, Leo Wolman, Fred R. Fairchild, Claude E. Robinson, and Jasper Crane, the foundation is the oldest free-market think tank in the United States. Read served as president from 1946 until his death in 1983.

Perry E. Gresham followed his friend Read as president in 1983. 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. After retiring from Grove City College where he taught economics, Hans Sennholz served as president from 1992 to 1997. Donald J. Boudreaux served as president from 1997 to 2001, before moving on to chair the Department of Economics at George Mason University. Economist, investment analyst, professor and author Mark Skousen served as president from 2001 to 2002. Author and professor Richard Ebeling served as president from 2003 to 2008. Since 2008, the current president is economist, author, and professor Lawrence W. Reed.

Location

FEE first occupied "two rooms in the Equitable Building at 737 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan" in 1946. Soon after, the organization moved to the mansion on the Hillside estate in Irvington, New York, which Read purchased from Gordon Harris, a son of the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The Foundation would remain there for 68 years. In 2014, FEE sold its Irvington headquarters as a part of the transfer of operations to Atlanta, Georgia.

Impact

During his extended graduate studies at Columbia University, Murray Rothbard was influenced by FEE economist Baldy Harper. Rothbard credited FEE with creating a "crucial open center" for a libertarian movement. Friedrich Hayek saw FEE as part of the inspiration for the formation of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947. Beyond inspiration, FEE provided a financial subsidy to the Mont Pelerin Society. Hayek encouraged Antony Fisher to found the Institute of Economic Affairs after visiting FEE in 1952. Ludwig von Mises had a "long-term association with the Foundation for Economic Education."

Programs

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

Publications

In 1945 du Pont executive Jasper Crane, along with Alfred Kohlberg, started a capital campaign for the organization. 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 magazine in 1954. In 2016 FEE ended publication of The Freeman. FEE publishes books, articles, and pamphlets both on paper and digitally that the foundation considers classic works on liberty. These include the notable publications I, Pencil: My Family Tree by Read, The Law by Bastiat, Anything That's Peaceful by Read, Planned Chaos by Mises, Industry-Wide Bargaining by Wolman, Up from Poverty: Reflections on the Ills of Public Assistance by Sennholz, and The Virtue of Liberty by Machan.