About Brownstone Institute

ABOUT BROWNSTONE INSTITUTE

About Brownstone Institute

Brownstone Institute is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded May 2021. Its vision is of a society that places the highest value on the voluntary interaction of individuals and groups while minimizing the use of violence and force including that which is exercised by public or private authorities. This vision is that of the Enlightenment which elevated learning, science, progress, and universal rights to the forefront of public life. Presently, it is constantly threatened by ideologies and systems that would take the world back to before the triumph of the ideal of freedom.

The motive force of Brownstone Institute was the global crisis created by policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. That trauma revealed a fundamental misunderstanding alive in all countries around the world today, a willingness on the part of the public and officials to relinquish freedom and fundamental human rights in the name of managing a public health crisis, which was not managed well in most countries. The consequences were devastating and will live in infamy.

The policy response was a failed experiment in full social and economic control in most nations. And yet the lockdowns are also widely considered a template of what is possible.

It’s Not About This One Crisis

It’s not just about this one crisis but past and future ones as well. Above all, this lesson concerns the desperate need for a new outlook that rejects the power of the legally privileged few to rule over the many under any pretext.

The name Brownstone originates from the malleable, but long-lasting building stone (also called “Freestone”) used so commonly in 19th-century American cities, preferred for its beauty, practicality, and strength. Brownstone Institute regards the great task of our times as rebuilding the foundation of liberalism as classically understood, including core values of human rights and freedom as non-negotiables for an enlightened society.

OUR MISSION

The mission of Brownstone Institute is constructively to come to terms with what happened, understand why, discover and explain alternative paths, and seek reforms to prevent such events from happening again. Lockdowns and mandates have set a precedent in the modern world; without accountability, social and economic institutions will be shattered once again.

Brownstone Institute plays an essential role in preventing a recurrence by holding decision makers, media elites, technology companies, and intellectuals accountable. This is especially true given the ubiquity of tech censorship. In addition, Brownstone Institute hopes to shed light on a path to recovery from the devastating collateral damage, while providing a vision for a different way to think about freedom, security, and public life.

The Great Restoration

Brownstone Institute looks to influence a post-lockdown world by generating new ideas in public health, philosophy, scientific discourse, economics, and social theory. It hopes to enlighten and mobilize public life to defend and promote the liberty that is critical for an enlightened society from which everyone benefits. The purpose is to point the way toward a better understanding of essential freedoms – including intellectual freedom and free speech – and the proper means to preserve essential rights even in times of crisis.

Moreover, the research and content of the institute are sophisticated but accessible. Operationally, Brownstone Institute’s mode is no fluff in the budget, no bureaucrats, no cronies. The institute employs only a highly competent, small team working to change the world. It will have media reach and call on scientists, intellectuals, and others who are dedicated to this task.

WHAT IS BROWNSTONE INSTITUTE?

Brownstone Institute is not about partisan attachments or exclusionary ideological labels.

The content is not by intention left, right, or politically partisan, though individual contributors have their own views. Celebrating freedom as the path to cultural and scientific progress, a trustworthy system of public administration, and economic prosperity. Therefore, in accordance with these ideals, Brownstone Institute airs a wide variety of perspectives, including contradictory viewpoints by different authors.

In addition, Brownstone Institute focuses on commentary, analysis, research and interpretation and does not function as a news agency. Verified misstatements of fact are corrected as editors become aware. Content is the responsibility of the authors.

In conclusion, Brownstone Institute depends, for its financing, on the generosity of individuals who appreciate the mission and vision, and that can include matching grants from companies that offer such programs. Brownstone Institute accepts no quid pro quo donations and receives no money from governments, pharmaceutical companies, or other large and well-known foundations such as the Gates Foundation.

WHO IS BROWNSTONE INSTITUTE?

President and Founders

Jeffrey Tucker, President, Founder, Author/EditorLucio Saverio Eastman, Co-founder, Tech/Creative Director

Staff

David Schatz, Editorial AssistantJanet Gorbitz, Operations ManagerLogan Chipkin, Managing Editor

Brownstone Fellows

• Aaron Day
• Alan Cassels
• Andrew Lowenthal
• Bert Olivier
• Bret Swanson
• Bill Rice
• Bobbie Anne Flower Cox
• Bret Weinstein
• David Gortler
• David Hughes
• Debbie Lerman
• James Bovard
• Jessica Rose
• Jordi Pigem
• Julie Ponesse
• Maryanne Demasi
• Rebekah Barnett
• Roger Bate
• Thomas Harrington
• Toby Rogers
• Walter Kirn

Senior Counselor​

Aaron Kheriaty

Senior Scholars​

Clayton J. Baker, MDDavid Bell, former WHODonald Boudreaux, George Mason UniversityMattias Desmet, Ghent UniversityGigi Foster, University of New South WalesPaul Frijters, London School of EconomicsGeorge Gilder, AuthorThomas Harrington, Emeritus Trinity CollegeJill Malone, Malone InstituteHarvey Risch, Yale UniversityDavid Stockman, ContraCornerJohn Tamny, AuthorRamesh Thakur, Emeritus Australia National UniversityTodd Zywicki, George Mason University

Friends of Brownstone