Conservatives in a Marketplace of Ideas: Think Tanks, Interests, and Expertise in the 1970s

In the 1970s, the funding and intellectual work of conservative think tanks saw massive increases over the previous decade. Through a case study of the American Enterprise Institute, Jason Stahl examines the interrelationship of these increases with changing conceptions of public policy expertise -- namely, a move from a liberal technocratic ideal to a conservative "marketplace of ideas." Stahl shows how this shift created a new dominant discourse of public policy expertise which still thrives today and has greatly aided in the postwar conservative resurgence.

Speaker Biography: Jason Stahl is holder of the Jameson Fellowship in American History. The Jameson Fellowship is awarded jointly with the Library of Congress and the American Historical Association. Stahl attended the University of Minnesota where he obtained his Master's and Doctorate in Modern History. He has been in residency at the Library and is working on converting his doctorate dissertation into a book titled "Right Moves: The Think Tank in American Political Culture, 1916-Present."

Category:

Education

Tags:

• library
• congress
• politics
• conservatism
• thinktanks
• history