Atlas emerged from the IEA as a deliberate global franchising of think tanks

Evidence

Atlas was incorporated in July 1981. The founder, Sir Antony Fisher, had created the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in London in 1955, which played a pivotal role in spreading neoliberal ideology within British public opinion, policy, and political circles in the 1970s and 1980s. The success of the IEA meant that Fisher was invited to launch sister organizations in Canada and the US and soon became a “think tank entrepreneur.” In the late 1970s, Fisher was ready to take the next step—to create an organization with the mission to “litter the world with free-market think tanks.” In 1979, he sought formal endorsement from key neoliberal luminaries—Margaret Thatcher, F. A. Hayek, and Milton Friedman, writing “A letter from you … expressing your confidence in the effectiveness of a proliferation of the IEA idea would be immensely valuable.” — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 542

Categorization

• QUESTION: The authorship and texts of the 1979 endorsement letters would be worth chasing; did Thatcher, Hayek, and Friedman all reply?
• XREF: connects to: A single foundation seeded a third of all market-oriented think tanks; The Atlas Network scaled from fifteen think tanks to 457 across ninety-six countries. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 43; Atlas systematically recruited and trained global think tank entrepreneurs — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 566 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Atlas Foundation exported the neoliberal think-tank model worldwide #corroborates (0.92) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1943
• Atlas systematically recruited and trained global think tank entrepreneurs #expands (0.85) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 566
• Atlas incubated think tanks by identifying and financing local individuals #expands (0.80) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 572
• Franchise chains make locational knowledge transferable across cities #exemplifies (0.80)
• The Atlas Foundation seeded dozens of think tanks globally with small grants #expands (0.78) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 573
• The Atlas network co-produces and co-diffuses free market content across borders #expands (0.75) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 597