Free markets and free market economics are often seen as being in deep tension with the demands of morality. Economics and ethicists often struggle to bridge the gap. However, one of the most important 20th century economists, the market liberal Wilhelm Röpke, provides us with guidance about how economic freedom and dynamic markets can be reconciled with a concern for a society that takes the good seriously. This lecture explains Röpke’s ideas and their relevance for our time.

Bio
Samuel Gregg is the Friedrich Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History at the American Institute for Economic Research, and Contributing Editor at Law & Liberty. The author of 16 books—including The Commercial Society (Rowman &Littlefield), Wilhelm Röpke’s Political Economy (Edward Elgar), Becoming Europe (Encounter), Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization (Regnery), and most recently, The Next American Economy: Nation, State, and Markets in an Uncertain World (Encounter), as well as over 700 essays, articles, reviews, and opinion-pieces—he writes regularly on political economy, finance, American conservatism, Western civilization, and natural law theory. Two of his books have been listed for the ISI Conservative Book of the Year and one has been listed for the Manhattan Institute’s Hayek Prize. He has a D.Phil. in moral philosophy and political economy from Oxford University, and an M.A. in political philosophy from the University of Melbourne.

In March 2024, Gregg was named a Bradley Prize winner. Given on an annual basis, the Bradley Prizes honor scholars and practitioners whose accomplishments reflect The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation’s mission to restore, strengthen, and protect the principles and institutions of American exceptionalism.

Lunch will be provided.