Parallels
The world in 2022 is looking eerily similar to the 1930s and 1940s. Russia and China have emerged as global threats to peace. A war is underway in Europe. Authoritarianism and populism are on the rise. Covid has seen a massive expansion in government interventions globally. Economic challenges (in the form of rising government debt, runaway inflation, high energy prices, trade wars, and a looming recession) are rising. In this context, it is worth reading the “Statement of Aims” outlined at the first meeting held at Mont Pelerin in 1947:
The central values of civilization are in danger. Over large stretches of the Earth’s surface the essential conditions of human dignity and freedom have already disappeared. In others they are under constant menace from the development of current tendencies of policy. The position of the individual and the voluntary group are progressively undermined by extensions of arbitrary power. Even that most precious possession of Western Man, freedom of thought and expression, is threatened by the spread of creeds which, claiming the privilege of tolerance when in the position of a minority, seek only to establish a position of power in which they can suppress and obliterate all views but their own.
The group holds that these developments have been fostered by the growth of a view of history which denies all absolute moral standards and by the growth of theories which question the desirability of the rule of law. It holds further that they have been fostered by a decline of belief in private property and the competitive market; for without the diffused power and initiative associated with these institutions it is difficult to imagine a society in which freedom may be effectively preserved.
Believing that what is essentially an ideological movement must be met by intellectual argument and the reassertion of valid ideals, the group, having made a preliminary exploration of the ground, is of the opinion that further study is desirable inter alia in regard to the following matters:
- The analysis and exploration of the nature of the present crisis so as to bring home to others its essential moral and economic origins.
- The redefinition of the functions of the state so as to distinguish more clearly between the totalitarian and the liberal order.
- Methods of re-establishing the rule of law and of assuring its development in such manner that individuals and groups are not in a position to encroach upon the freedom of others and private rights are not allowed to become a basis of predatory power.
- The possibility of establishing minimum standards by means not inimical to initiative and functioning of the market.
- Methods of combating the misuse of history for the furtherance of creeds hostile to liberty.
- The problem of the creation of an international order conducive to the safeguarding of peace and liberty and permitting the establishment of harmonious international economic relations.
The group does not aspire to conduct propaganda. It seeks to establish no meticulous and hampering orthodoxy. It aligns itself with no particular party. Its object is solely, by facilitating the exchange of views among minds inspired by certain ideals and broad conceptions held in common, to contribute to the preservation and improvement of the free society.
MPS 2022 in Oslo, hosted by Civita, a Norwegian think tank, echoed some of the core ideas. As the Chair of the Organizing Committee, Lars Peder Nordbakken, wrote: “At a time of fundamental uncertainties and threats to both Liberalism and the open society and rules-based international order, it is also with a certain sense of urgency that we invite you to take part in this meeting. We will be covering many pressing and interrelated issues, some of them with clear parallels to the first meeting in 1947.”
