“You are an extraordinary fellow who is having an enormous impact on much of the civilized world. It must be heartening to you how much your institutes are influencing public debates!”
Steve
June 1, 1987
"Communism (and Fascism) are poison for the people-Socialism is the cup they are given to drink it from.” Antony Fisher
". . . above all I must express my debt to Prof. F. A. Hayek who inspired my original interest in economic research thirty years ago on who has ever since encouraged me by his example and teachings to hold firm to the faith that it is the battle of ideas which will decide the future prospects of the free society." (1974)
Antony was studying and writing about economics before the founding of the IEA. In or before 1948 he wrote:
Antony Fisher in a 1985 Atlas video
Quotes from Antony Fisher
Introduction to Fisher's book "The Case for Freedom" (1948-1949) "I have found myself writing this booklet as the result of a study of politics and economy, a study which had its origin in a very ordinary background. Very few people before the war took much interest in such matters and as I was not one of the few, it was only natural that my knowledge of them should be as limited as my interest. However a series of events helped to start me thinking and I set out to study these things for myself; my knowledge may not have increased in relation to the study but as the overall picture cleared a little, I found myself writing down my findings." My service as a pilot in the R.A.F., a short spell at the Air Ministry, the General Election of 1945, a subsequent By-Election, and my return to civilian employment and a chance to travel, have all played their part in stirring up my thoughts. These events together with the reading of many books and papers, particularly Adam Smith's “The Wealth of Nations,” Karl Marx’s “Capital” and the official Report of the Communist Spy Trial in Canada have all taught me many things, but one conclusion became increasingly obvious, and that is that there is a relationship between sound legislation, prosperity and peace, a relationship that seems to have been forgotten, and because of this one major communist weapon-the false economy-is not seen for what it is. If my conclusions are correct then there is a positive answer to our problems. The object of this book is to put at least my main conclusions on paper. I hope that the reader will find my statements understandable; I do believe they make sense. More: Fisher on bailouts "It is idiocy to re-negotiate loans to governments so they may continue making the same mistakes, or “bail out” banks so their shareholders never discover and correct bad banking procedures. But this is all part of government profligacy. We don’t face up to mistakes; we just throw more money at them." (from a speech at Athens College in 1984) "Even the most cursory study of the history of the human race provides evidence of constant human failure, leading to violence and men's inhumanity to man. Those who have lived through the most recent expressions of this violence-- the second world war, the wars in Korea and Vietnam, the Castro revolution, the Russian invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and the Chinese purges-- will know something of the stress, the pain, the fear, and the hysteria that such devastating explosions produce in man." (1978) *What did Henry Hazlitt write about Fisher? *Correspondence between Fisher and Freedom Champions | More from Fisher on Think Tanks and Universities
"new understanding has to come from independent individuals who can give sufficient time to intellectual study. . . one person, can suffice to move government to make correct policy decisions. The essential ingredient is deep understanding, which in turn can be achieved only by dedicated concentration and research." *What sort of President Fisher wanted for Atlas, how did he see Atlas mission? Click for the answer |