Mont Pelerin Society activities and neoliberal advocacy (1970–2000)

1. Munich general meeting opens 1970s agenda

   Jan 1, 1970Labels: Mont Pelerin, Munich meeting

   In 1970, the Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) held a general meeting in Munich, West Germany, as debates about inflation and the role of the state intensified across many industrial economies. These biennial gatherings helped members coordinate research priorities and build cross-border relationships among academics, journalists, and policy advisers. The Munich meeting marks a clear starting point for tracking MPS activity during the later neoliberal era (1970–2000).

   • MPS Meetings
   • Britannica

2. Milton Friedman serves as MPS president

   Jan 1, 1970Labels: Milton Friedman, Mont Pelerin

   Milton Friedman served as president of the Mont Pelerin Society from 1970 to 1972. His leadership signaled the rising influence of monetarism—an approach that stressed controlling the money supply to reduce inflation—and reinforced MPS attention to limits on government economic management. The presidency also helped connect MPS discussions to a wider public debate over inflation and regulation.

   • MPS Wiki
   • Britannica

3. Montreux meeting continues European network-building

   Jan 1, 1972Labels: Mont Pelerin, Montreux meeting

   In 1972, the MPS held its general meeting in Montreux, Switzerland. Regular meetings like this kept the society’s intellectual network active during a period of economic uncertainty and policy experimentation. They also provided a setting for members to refine arguments for market-oriented reforms and compare national experiences.

   • MPS Meetings

4. Brussels general meeting expands post-crisis debates

   Jan 1, 1974Labels: Mont Pelerin, Brussels meeting

   The 1974 general meeting in Brussels, Belgium, took place soon after the 1973–74 oil shock, when many governments faced both high inflation and rising unemployment. MPS meetings offered a forum for members to critique price controls, industrial policy, and expanded state management. The Brussels meeting illustrates how the society used current economic crises to sharpen its policy critique.

   • MPS Meetings

5. St. Andrews meeting sustains late-1970s momentum

   Jan 1, 1976Labels: Mont Pelerin, St Andrews

   In 1976, the MPS general meeting convened in St. Andrews, Scotland. By the mid-1970s, skepticism toward postwar economic planning was growing in some countries, and MPS members debated how to translate pro-market ideas into policy. The continued pace of meetings helped preserve the network through political transitions and economic volatility.

   • MPS Meetings

6. Hong Kong meeting reflects globalizing membership

   Jan 1, 1978Labels: Mont Pelerin, Hong Kong

   The MPS held its 1978 general meeting in Hong Kong, a major trading and financial hub. Hosting a general meeting in Asia highlighted the society’s increasingly global outlook and its interest in international trade, capital flows, and regulation. It also signaled a broader geographic reach for neoliberal policy conversations beyond Europe and North America.

   • MPS Meetings

7. Stanford meeting emphasizes “Constraints on Government”

   Jan 1, 1980Labels: Hoover Institution, Stanford meeting

   In 1980, the MPS general meeting was hosted at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, with the theme “Constraints on Government.” Sessions addressed limits on taxation, deregulation, and ways to restrict government power, bringing key neoliberal policy themes into one program. The meeting demonstrates how MPS networks intersected with prominent U.S. institutions that preserved archives and convened influential policy debates.

   • Hoover
   • MPS Meetings

8. Atlas Network founded to link free-market think tanks

   Jan 1, 1981Labels: Atlas Network, Antony Fisher

   In 1981, Antony Fisher founded the Atlas Economic Research Foundation (now Atlas Network) in the United States to connect and support a growing number of free-market think tanks. This created an organized infrastructure for training, networking, and resourcing groups that promoted market-oriented policy ideas. The new network reinforced the broader ecosystem in which many MPS members operated, bridging academic discussion and public-policy advocacy.

   • Atlas Wiki
   • MPS Wiki

9. Berlin meeting keeps transatlantic policy exchange active

   Jan 1, 1982Labels: Mont Pelerin, Berlin meeting

   The 1982 MPS general meeting in Berlin, West Germany, continued the society’s transatlantic exchange during a period of conservative political shifts in the United States and United Kingdom. MPS meetings helped members compare reform agendas such as privatization, deregulation, and anti-inflation policies. These events also sustained personal ties among economists and policy advisers working across different national contexts.

   • MPS Meetings

10. Cambridge meeting highlights maturing neoliberal toolkit

    Jan 1, 1984Labels: Mont Pelerin, Cambridge meeting

    In 1984, the MPS general meeting took place in Cambridge, England. By this time, many market-oriented policy proposals had moved from intellectual debate into active government programs in several countries. The meeting served as a checkpoint where members could assess early results and argue over next steps in reform.

    • MPS Meetings

11. St. Vincent meeting continues mid-1980s consolidation

    Jan 1, 1986Labels: Mont Pelerin, St Vincent

    The 1986 general meeting in St. Vincent (Italy) occurred as neoliberal ideas gained stronger footholds in policy circles and international institutions. MPS meetings provided continuity—allowing supporters, critics, and internal factions to debate how far liberalization should go and what institutional rules were needed. This period shows the society’s role in maintaining an intellectual community as real-world reforms spread.

    • MPS Meetings

12. Tokyo meeting underscores interest in Pacific economies

    Jan 1, 1988Labels: Mont Pelerin, Tokyo meeting

    In 1988, the MPS held its general meeting in Tokyo, Japan. The choice of location reflected attention to East Asian economic performance and the policy lessons members believed could be drawn from trade openness, industrial organization, and regulation. It also continued the society’s pattern of rotating meetings across major economic regions.

    • MPS Meetings

13. Munich meeting signals post–Cold War transition debates

    Jan 1, 1990Labels: Mont Pelerin, Munich meeting

    The MPS returned to Munich for its 1990 general meeting, as the Cold War order was rapidly changing in Europe. Questions about privatization, market institutions, and constitutional rules for economic policy became more urgent as countries considered transitions away from state-socialist systems. The meeting captures a turning point where neoliberal advocacy increasingly focused on institutional “transition” problems.

    • MPS Meetings

14. Vancouver meeting coincides with expanding think-tank ecosystem

    Jan 1, 1992Labels: Mont Pelerin, Vancouver meeting

    In 1992, the MPS general meeting was held in Vancouver, Canada, a city associated with an influential market-oriented think tank, the Fraser Institute (founded in 1974). While MPS is a membership society rather than a public campaign organization, meeting locations like Vancouver highlight proximity between scholarly networks and policy-oriented institutions. This period reflects a broader shift from small intellectual circles toward an organized, international ecosystem of research and advocacy groups.

    • MPS Meetings
    • Fraser Wiki

15. Cannes meeting tracks neoliberalism’s 1990s globalization phase

    Jan 1, 1994Labels: Mont Pelerin, Cannes meeting

    The 1994 general meeting in Cannes, France, took place during the 1990s wave of globalization and trade and investment expansion. MPS networks offered a place to debate how open markets should be governed, including questions about regulation, competition policy, and national sovereignty. The meeting marks how neoliberal discussion increasingly engaged international economic integration, not only domestic reform.

    • MPS Meetings

16. Vienna meeting continues late-1990s institutional focus

    Jan 1, 1996Labels: Mont Pelerin, Vienna meeting

    In 1996, the MPS general meeting convened in Vienna, Austria. By the mid-1990s, many neoliberal arguments emphasized “rules of the game,” such as central bank independence, fiscal constraints, and legal protections for markets. The Vienna meeting fits this phase, where institutional design became a central theme in how market reforms were justified and promoted.

    • MPS Meetings

17. Washington, D.C. meeting reflects peak policy access

    Jan 1, 1998Labels: Mont Pelerin, Washington meeting

    In 1998, the MPS held its general meeting in Washington, D.C., placing the society close to major U.S. federal institutions and international economic organizations headquartered there. This location illustrates how, by the late 1990s, neoliberal ideas were no longer marginal in many policy debates. It also signals a mature stage of influence, where an intellectual society could convene in a global policy capital.

    • MPS Meetings
    • MPS Wiki

18. Santiago meeting closes the 1970–2000 arc

    Jan 1, 2000Labels: Mont Pelerin, Santiago meeting

    In 2000, the MPS held a general meeting in Santiago, Chile, a country often discussed in neoliberal policy histories because of market-oriented reforms implemented under authoritarian rule in the late 20th century. Holding a meeting there at the turn of the millennium underscored both the global reach of the MPS network and the contested legacy of neoliberal reform programs. The Santiago meeting serves as a clear endpoint for this 1970–2000 timeline of MPS activities and advocacy-linked networking.

    • MPS Meetings
    • MPS Wiki