Guardians of the Permanent Things
The Free Enterprise Institute exists to preserve, defend, and transmit the principles upon which a free and ordered society depends.
Our History
The Free Enterprise Institute was established with a singular conviction: that the ideas which sustain a free society are not self-perpetuating. They must be taught, argued, published, and defended in every generation — or they will be lost.
Founded as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the Institute has dedicated itself to supporting the institutions, scholars, and publications that carry this work forward. We operate in the tradition of those who understood that the battle for civilization is ultimately a battle of ideas.
From our earliest days, we recognized that the most enduring contribution we could make was to sponsor serious intellectual work — work that engages the great questions of politics, culture, and the human person with rigor, beauty, and conviction.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."
— Ronald Reagan
To advance the principles of free enterprise, ordered liberty, and the Western intellectual tradition through the sponsorship of scholarship, education, and serious publication.
Our Mission
Ordered Liberty
We believe that genuine freedom is not license but the fruit of self-governance, moral formation, and institutions that have stood the test of time.
The Life of the Mind
We hold that ideas have consequences — and that the cultivation of serious intellectual life is among the most important works a free society can undertake.
The Western Tradition
We are committed to the great conversation of Western civilization — the inheritance of Athens, Jerusalem, and Rome — as the foundation of enduring human flourishing.
Stewardship
We are faithful stewards of the resources entrusted to us by our donors, directing every gift toward work of lasting consequence and intellectual integrity.
The Imaginative Conservative
The Institute's flagship initiative is its sponsorship of The Imaginative Conservative, a journal of ideas founded in the tradition of Russell Kirk, T.S. Eliot, and the great conservative men of letters. Each week, scholars and writers from across the English-speaking world contribute essays, reviews, and reflections on culture, politics, history, and the life of the mind.
Join the Work
The Free Enterprise Institute depends entirely on the generosity of those who share our conviction that ideas matter and that the principles of a free society must be actively defended. Your support makes this work possible.