I first heard about the IEA in the spring of 2006, at an economics conference in Berlin, where the then Director General, John Blundell, was one of the speakers. I did not really know what a "think tank" was, but I liked what I heard, so I decided to apply for an internship there.
What I got was a lot more than an internship: it was a full immersion in the Institute’s work, its mission, and its history over the summer of 2006.
I quickly realised that I had come to the right place.
I loved the intellectual buzz of the Institute, I loved the spirit of open debate and good-faith-disagreement, and I was fascinated by the Institute’s against-all-the-odds history. Most importantly, though, I realised that the IEA worldview, ethos and style perfectly matched my own.
Conventional academic writing, with its faux-neutrality and performative equivocation, was not really my cup of tea. When I have a strong opinion on something, I want to express it forcefully rather than waver and beat around the bush. But neither did I enjoy the kind of campaign-style, advocacy-style writing, where you start with a conclusion and then reason your way backwards, telling your audience – and yourself – what they want to hear.
The IEA was that rare beast that combined the best of both worlds. It was firmly and unashamedly rooted in the tradition of classical liberalism, but it still approached issues with scholarly rigour, openness, and intellectual curiosity. This includes honesty about those irritating occasions when the evidence does not show what we classical liberals would want it to show.
Two years later, in the autumn of 2008, I found my way back to the IEA, initially as a part-time researcher and bursary student, and eventually, on a full-time basis.
After covering a range of subjects for the IEA as a writer and public speaker, becoming its Editorial Director was the logical next step: the equivalent of a singer-songwriter becoming a music producer.
The IEA has changed a lot since I first knocked on its front door, but many of the things I found so impressive about the Institute back then are still very much alive. It is now part of my job to help ensure it stays that way.
I could ask for a more liberalism-friendly climate of opinion, and I could ask for a more encouraging policy environment – but I could not ask for a better team or a better place to be.
