INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Liberty Fund announced it will host The Mont Pelerin Society 2026 Biennial Congress and General Meeting, taking place October 11–15, 2026, in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, convening the international society of scholars in the United States in the year the nation marks the 250th anniversary of its founding.
The theme of the meeting, "1776: Liberty in Conversation," takes its starting point from two watershed events of that year: the signing of the American Declaration of Independence and the publication of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. Tracing the ideas that connected these founding moments to the present, the program examines whether the principles that animated 1776 still offer the best answers to today's economic, political, and cultural challenges. Featured speakers include George Will, Mitch Daniels, Dr. Larry Arnn, Megan McArdle, Aaron MacLean, and Martin Gurri.
The Mont Pelerin Society was founded in 1947 by F.A. Hayek along with a group of economists, historians, philosophers, and other scholars committed to strengthening the principles of a free society. Named for the Swiss village where its founders first convened, the Society is a nonpartisan, international forum for individuals committed to individual liberty, the rule of law, and the market order to exchange ideas across disciplines and national boundaries. The 2026 meeting brings together 500 speakers and scholars from around the world for five days of discussions. The meeting's theme will revolve around topics such as the origins of the 1776 tradition and Adam Smith's influence on the American founding; present-day questions of economic freedom, state power, nationalism, and the international order; and forward-looking discussions on authoritarianism, artificial intelligence and surveillance, and the future of liberty itself.
"The Mont Pelerin Society was founded to defend the principles of a free society at a moment when those principles were under serious threat, and the questions its founders raised have never stopped being relevant," said Ben Powell, MPS Board Member and Treasurer. "Returning to the United States in the year of its 250th anniversary gives our members an opportunity to reflect on that tradition in the country where so much of it began. Indianapolis, and Liberty Fund, provide a fitting setting to do just that."
"Pierre F. Goodrich, who founded Liberty Fund in 1960, was himself a member of the Mont Pelerin Society, having joined its early meetings in the 1950s. He headquartered Liberty Fund in Indianapolis because he believed ideas about liberty deserved a permanent home and serious, sustained conversation," said Nate Feltman, Chairman of Liberty Fund's Board of Directors. "Hosting the Mont Pelerin Society's Biennial Congress and General Meeting in the same year our country marks 250 years of independence is exactly the kind of moment Liberty Fund exists for. We're proud to convene some of the world's most prominent minds in economics, philosophy, and history at such a significant milestone in our nation's history."
To preserve the candor of its discussions, the meeting's sessions are closed to the public and press. Liberty Fund welcomes media engagement and can arrange offsite interviews with its leadership and participating scholars. To request an interview or program details, contact Cassandra Karnick at [email protected].
For more information, visit www.mps2026.org.
About Liberty Fund
Liberty Fund was founded in 1960 by Pierre F. Goodrich, an Indianapolis businessman and lawyer. Liberty Fund conducts its own educational programs to encourage research and discussion on the values and institutions of a society of free and responsible individuals. These programs focus on the place individual liberty has in an intellectual heritage evident from ancient times and continuing through our own times. As a non-profit, private operating foundation, Liberty Fund's purposes are educational, fulfilling this mission through its conference program, web properties and by publishing books pertaining to liberty. For more information about Liberty Fund, visit https://www.libertyfund.org/
About the Mont Pelerin Society
The Mont Pelerin Society was founded in 1947 by F.A. Hayek and a group of economists, historians, and philosophers committed to studying the principles of a free society. Named for the Swiss village where its founders first convened, MPS is not a research or advocacy organization but a forum—a nonpartisan, international association of individuals who share a commitment to individual liberty, the rule of law, and the market order, and who gather to exchange ideas across disciplines and national boundaries. The Society holds general meetings biennially and regional meetings in the intervening years, rotating among host countries worldwide.
Media Contact
Cassandra Karnick, Liberty Fund, 1 5026489330, [email protected], https://www.libertyfund.org/
SOURCE Liberty Fund
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