- Source: Liberal Institute
The Liberal Institute (Czech: Liberální Institut) is a Czech public policy think tank based in Prague, which aims to promote the principles of Classical liberalism. Originally known as the F.A. Hayek Liberal Association, it was founded by Jiří Schwarz, Tomáš Ježek and Miroslav Ševčík in autumn 1989, and registered on February 6, 1990 under its current name. Currently led by Martin Panek, the Liberal Institute carries out research to apply the ideas of classical liberalism to the Czech and European political system, based on the principles of individual freedom, limited government, the free market and peace.
History
The F.A. Hayek Liberal Association was founded by Jiří Schwarz, Tomáš Ježek, and Miroslav Ševčík during the early stages of the Velvet Revolution in 1989, and was registered on February 6, 1990, as the Liberal Institute. The institute has been led by Miroslav Ševčík, Petr Koblovský and Dominik Stroukal. Ševčík was deposed as director in 2013, and later expelled from the institute following controversy related to his tenure as dean of the Faculty of Economics at the Prague University of Economics and Business. He has sued the institute to be reinstated.
A team led by Josef Šíma translated many seminal books on classical liberal economics in the 1990s and 2000s, including works by Adam Smith, Ludwig von Mises, Frédéric Bastiat, Mancur Olson, Milton Friedman, and Gary Becker. In the early 2010s, the institute saw a downturn in activities, but revived its publishing activities in the later part of the decade. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the institute established a humanitarian mission.
Six of the institute's former or current fellows have served as economic advisors to the Czech government: Jiří Schwarz and Miroslav Zámečník (to the Topolánek Cabinet), and Dominik Stroukal, Mojmír Hampl, Aleš Rod, and Libor Dušek (to the Fiala Cabinet). Hampl, a former editor of the institute's magazine Laissez Faire, went on to become a vice-governor of the Czech National Bank and a president of the Czech National Budget Council. Petr Mach, also a former editor of the magazine, was elected a member of the European Parliament after parting ways with the institute. Jiří Schwarz and Josef Šíma were elected presidents of the Anglo-American University and the CEVRO Institute, respectively.
Ideology and values
The Liberal Institute's activities and publications are centered around the ideas of classical liberalism, libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism, with emphasis on the reduction of taxes, deregulation, the promotion of competition, reducing the size of the state, and Euroscepticism. In recent years, the institute has begun promoting social liberties including immigration, same-sex marriage, abortion, and free speech.
Activities
The Liberal institute promotes its ideological values through the publication of books, lectures, in-house research, and media activity.
= Events
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Since 1991, the institute has organized summer schools for high school and college students, which promote the institute's ideology through lectures and discussions.
The institute also organizes a public relations event to mark Czech Tax Freedom Day, to highlight the extent of government spending and its cost to Czech taxpayers.
Every year, the Liberal Institute organizes a lecture with a prominent international figure of classical liberalism, who is awarded a prize for "contributing to the proliferation of ideas of liberty and free competition, for honouring private property and the rule of law."
= Publications
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In addition to its own publications, the Liberal Institute has published a number of Czech translations of foreign books, including The Wealth of Nations, Theory of Moral Sentiments, Economics in One Lesson, Man, Economy, and State, and Free to Choose. The institute also publishes its own journals, Terra Libera and Laissez Faire.
Operation "Kyseláč"
Under the leadership of Vít Samek, a former Prague paramedic, the Liberal Institute launched its humanitarian mission to Ukraine on February 25, 2022, under the satirical name Operation "Kyseláč" (Sour Ale), which the mission has retained.
The mission initially focused on bringing humanitarian aid to the Slovak-Ukrainian border and transporting refugees back to Prague or other destinations. Since April 2022, it has worked intensively with the First Volunteer Surgical Hospital in Lysets, near Ivano-Frankivsk. The humanitarian mission has its own dedicated website and a transparent account for fundraising.
In April 2022, thanks to a controversy with Hnutí pro život, a Czech pro-life movement, Operation "Kyseláč" raised CZK 2.3 million to buy abortion pills. In April 2023, the Liberal Institute organized a happening at the DOX Prague Gallery for Ukrainian children in the Czech Republic by having them paint a new van with Ukrainian motifs. In June 2023, Vít Samek received the third place award for Volunteer of the Year among small and medium-sized foreign organizations. The Liberal Institute reports that it has already delivered more than $1 million worth of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
References
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