Mont Pelerin Society

What Mont Pelerin Society does

The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is an international intellectual society founded in 1947 at Mont Pelerin, Switzerland, by economist Friedrich Hayek and 35 other scholars, including Ludwig von Mises, Karl Popper, Frank H. Knight, Milton Friedman, and George Stigler. Its purpose is to facilitate scholarly exchange on classical liberal principles—individual liberty, free markets, private property, and voluntary association—among economists, political scientists, philosophers, historians, policy analysts, and intellectuals. The society has grown from under 50 members at founding to over 500 members from approximately 40 nations, and has hosted nine Nobel Prize winners among its membership across economics and literature.

The society's core 'products' are its meetings and scholar-pipeline programs. The flagship event is the Biennial Congress and General Meeting (e.g., the 2026 Indianapolis congress themed '1776: Liberty in Conversation'), supplemented by Regional Meetings (e.g., the 2027 Buenos Aires meeting on Latin American liberalism) and Special Meetings. Pipeline programs include the Young Scholars Program (scholars aged 35 or younger, reduced registration USD 550), the Hayek Essay Contest (scholars aged 36 or younger, cash prizes up to USD 2,500 plus travel grants), and the Serge Weisager Grants for French-speaking communicators (up to USD 2,500). Member services are delivered through the MPS Member Planet Portal. The society has held 43 General Meetings and 38 Regional Meetings since 1947.

The Mont Pelerin Society is a private, nonprofit scholarly organization governed by an elected Board of Directors and Executive Committee (President Deirdre Nansen McCloskey, Vice President Randall Holcombe, Secretary Alberto Mingardi, Treasurer Benjamin Powell). It has no parent company, no external shareholders, no venture capital backing, and no commercial revenue model; it is financed through member dues and private donations/bequests. The society does not have proprietary technology, AI/ML capabilities, or commercial products, and operates on a global footprint across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Name

Mont Pelerin Society

Legal name

The Mont Pelerin Society

Website

https://montpelerin.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Mont Pelerin Society is an international intellectual society founded in 1947 by Friedrich Hayek, serving over 500 scholars across 40 nations through biennial congresses, regional meetings, and young-scholar pipeline programs focused on classical liberal thought.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scholarly Society and Intellectual Exchange

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Business Associations (813910), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Academic & Education Conference Organizers (THAHACAE), Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN)

Keywords

• Classical liberal thought
• Scholarly membership society
• Intellectual exchange programs
• Academic conference society
• Policy research network

Headquarters

HQ city

Lubbock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Mont Pelerin Society is a scholarly membership organization that convenes and supports an international community of academics, economists, philosophers, historians, policy makers, and intellectuals committed to classical liberal ideas. Its primary offerings are biennial congresses, regional and special meetings where members present and debate scholarly papers, plus targeted programs for young scholars including the Hayek Essay Contest, Young Scholars Program, and Serge Weisager Grants. Membership is nomination-based and the society is financed through member dues, meeting registrations, and private donations.

Product overview

The Mont Pelerin Society is a scholarly membership organization focused on classical liberal thought, not a technology company. It offers a portfolio of intellectual programs including the Biennial Congress and General Meeting, Regional Meetings, and Special Meetings where members present research on economics, political science, philosophy, and history. The society supports young scholars through the Young Scholars Program, Hayek Essay Contest (offering Fellowships with cash awards up to USD 2,500 plus travel grants), and Serge Weisager Grants for French-speaking communicators. Member services are provided through the MPS Member Planet Portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Biennial Congress and General Meeting
• Regional Meetings
• Special Meetings
• Hayek Essay Contest
• Young Scholars Program
• Serge Weisager Grants
• MPS Member Planet Portal

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• American Economic Association: The largest professional society of economists in the U.S., publishing the American Economic Review and hosting the annual AEA meeting. Comparable as a scholarly society serving economists and policy-oriented academics, though ideologically broader and far larger in scale than MPS.
• Cato Institute: A large, well-funded U.S. libertarian think tank that operates as a research and policy institution in the same classical liberal intellectual space as MPS, but with a much larger staff, broader policy portfolio, and direct advocacy focus. Comparable as the most prominent institutional heir to Mont Pelerin-style classical liberalism in the U.S.
• American Enterprise Institute: Washington-based think tank advocating free enterprise, limited government, and classical liberal economic ideas. Overlaps with MPS in its defense of market economics and intellectual roots in mid-20th century classical liberal thought, but operates more as a policy shop than a scholarly society.
• Hoover Institution: Stanford University-affiliated public policy research center that promotes the principles of individual, economic, and political freedom. Comparable as a prestigious classical liberal-oriented institution that hosts fellows, conferences, and publications in the same ideological tradition as MPS.
• Heritage Foundation: Major U.S. conservative think tank that shares classical liberal commitments to free markets and limited government. Comparable as a large institutional competitor in the broader pro-liberty intellectual ecosystem that overlaps with MPS's classical liberal constituency.

Direct peers

• Foundation for Economic Education: U.S.-based educational foundation dedicated to the economic and moral principles of a free society, with deep roots in the same mid-century classical liberal movement as MPS. Comparable as an ideologically aligned organization that runs educational programs, publishes, and cultivates the next generation of classical liberal thinkers.
• Institute of Economic Affairs: UK-based classical liberal think tank founded in 1955, deeply intertwined with the same Mont Pelerin intellectual network (Hayek, Friedman) and committed to the same free-market and individual liberty agenda. Closest direct peer in mission, geographic origin, and ideological lineage to MPS.
• Philadelphia Society: A smaller U.S.-based scholarly society founded in 1964 for academics and intellectuals studying the moral, intellectual, and cultural conditions of a free and humane society. Closely comparable as a membership-based classical liberal intellectual society that organizes meetings and discussions for academics, much like MPS.
• Liberty Fund: Private educational foundation that studies the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals, with extensive publishing, conferences, and online library programs. Operates in the same classical liberal tradition as MPS and frequently co-hosts events with Mont Pelerin affiliates.

Emerging players

• Institute for Humane Studies: Arlington, VA-based organization that supports students and scholars exploring the principles of a free society through graduate programs, fellowships, and academic networking. Comparable as a classical liberal-aligned institution focused on the academic pipeline that MPS's Young Scholars Program also serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mont-pelerin-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mont Pelerin Society