Property and Environment Research Center , Bozeman, MTThe not so Wild, Wild West explores the role of property rights and self-government in the development of the western United States, revealing how people living on the frontier whether Indians, cowboys, miners, or settlers found that it was generally in their self-interest to cooperate peacefully with one another. As one Fisher Awards judge summarized, ‘ The not so Wild, Wild West’s contribution to our understanding of civilization goes far beyond its presentation of the institutional history of the American west; it is really a book about economic development and the conditions under which cooperation will tend to prevail over conflict.’
At 2005 Atlas Liberty Forum, where the Fisher Award was presented, Atlas’s Director of Institute Relations, Jo Kwong, shared a personal story about the importance of this book in her own research: When I was a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, my free market thinking made me a real outcast among the students and faculty. Through an amazingly fortunate chain of events, I was invited to PERC to write my dissertation. While there, I had the guidance and teaching of Terry Anderson, PJ Hill, John Baden, Rick Stroup, and others who are all instrumental in the teachings of free market environmentalism. During the course of my research, I had access to many papers that seemed like secret treasures to me papers which form the basis for tonight’s award winning book, The not so Wild, Wild West.
Instituto de Ciencia Politica , Bogota, Colombia
Perspectiva magazine
SPECIAL INNOVATIVE PROJECTS AWARD
Seventeen years ago, in response to widespread misunderstandings about the role of free markets, a group of businessmen, academics, journalists and concerned citizens gathered to study, promote and circulate the principles of democratic pluralism and the values of a free market. In 2002, they created a magazine to serve as the vehicle for defending the principles of a pluralist democracy and the free market.
Perspectiva serves a wide range of standard roles, ranging from educating the general public and opinion leaders to proposing free market reform. Its innovation, however, is in its collaborative format. Perspectiva is co-published by eight think tanks in the Americas, six of which have strong ties to Atlas. They all contribute to the production and marketing of the magazine. Through this collaborative effort, they are creating a whole which is indeed, greater than the sum of its parts, building an important network for promoters of liberty. As one judge wrote, ‘This is an ambitious project to promote classical liberal ideas in a hostile intellectual climate throughout Latin America in an attractive and innovative format. This is a most worthy winner of the Innovative prize.’
Fundación Fundar , Buenos Aires, Argentina
Mano Justa: Una reflexion sobre la inseguridad publica y una propuesta para superar la crisis (in English: ‘A Fair Hand: a Reflection on Public Insecurity and a Proposal to Solve the Crisis’) by Eugenio Burzaco
Editorial el Ateneo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Starting with the specific case of Argentina, Mano Justa looks at the root causes of crime and its impacts on the social, economic, and human rights capital. It then proposes reforms to create an effective security policy and an adequate legal framework to encourage financial activities to prosper, which in turn, would result in the strengthening of free economies. Mano Justa is written in a style accessible to a mainstream audience, while at the same time, providing concrete action steps that the government and the judicial system may follow.
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