Duncan Madsen Pirie (born 24 August 1940) is a British researcher and author. He is a co-founder and current President of the

Adam Smith Institute The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) is a neoliberal UK-based think tank and lobbying group, named after Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher and classical economist. The libertarian label was officially changed to neoliberal on 10 October 201 ...

, a UK neoliberal

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

which has been in operation since 1978.

Early life and education

Born in Hull, Pirie is the son of Douglas Pirie and Eva Madsen. As a child he attended the Humberstone Foundation School (also known as Clee Grammar School for Boys and later Matthew Humberstone Comprehensive School) in

Old Clee Old Clee is located in the Clee Road ( A46) and Carr Lane area of eastern Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England, and adjoins the neighbouring town of Cleethorpes, to which it has historic links. It is in the Heneage ward of the North East ...

, Lincolnshire. He graduated with an MA (undergraduate) in History from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

(1970). He attended the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, joining the Conservative Association, and graduating with a PhD in Philosophy in 1974. He earned an MPhil in Land Economy from Pembroke College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

(1997). Pirie was secretary of

Mensa International Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organisation open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. Mensa formally compr ...

from 1979 to 1992.

Career

Before co-founding the

, Pirie worked for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. He was a Visiting Professor of

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

and Philosophy at the private Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, US. Pirie was one of three Britons living in the United States who founded the Adam Smith Institute, a UK-based

that champions the ideas of free market policy, and the elimination of government economic controls. In January 2010 '' Foreign Policy'' and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

named the Adam Smith Institute among the top 10 think tanks in the world outside of the US. Pirie served as the organization's president. The Adam Smith Institute was ranked 56th in the 2019

index report.

Bibliography

Non-fiction

* ''Economy and Local Government'' (Adam Smith Institute, with Eamonn Butler, 1981) * ''Strategy Two'' (1981) * ''The Logic of Economics'' (Adam Smith Institute, 1982) * ''Free Ports'' (Adam Smith Institute, with Eamonn Butler, 1983) * ''Test Your I.Q.'' (with

Eamonn Butler Eamonn Butler (born 1953) is a British economist. He is the co-founder and Director of the Adam Smith Institute. Early life Eamonn Butler was born in 1953. His brother is Stuart Butler.Michael David Kandiah, Anthony Seldon, ''Ideas and Think Ta ...

, 1983) * ''The Future of Pensions'' (1983) * ''Aid by Enterprise: Market Solutions to the Problem of Development'' (1984) * ''The Book of Fallacy: A Training Manual for Intellectual Subversives'' (Routledge, 1985) * ''Dismantling the State: The Theory'' (

National Center for Policy Analysis The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) was a non-profit American think tank whose goals were to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control. Topics it addressed include reforms in health care, taxes, S ...

, 1985) * ''Privatization: Theory, Practice and Choice'' (Avebury, 1988) * ''The Health of Nations'' (Adam Smith Institute, with Eamonn Butler, 1988) * ''The Health Alternatives'' (Adam Smith Institute, with Eamonn Butler, 1988) * ''Enlightenment: Changing the System'' (with Eamonn Butler, 1988) * ''Health Management Units'' (with Eamonn Butler, 1988) * ''Managing Better Health'' (with Michael Goldsmith, 1988) * ''Extending Care'' (with Eamonn Butler, 1989) * ''Curbing Crime: Its Origins, Pattern, and Prevention'' (with Sir John Wheeler, Mary Tuck, Barry Poyner, 1989) * ''Wider Still and Wider: Europe and the East'' (with Peter Young and Norman Stone, 1990) * ''Boost Your IQ'' (with Eamonn Butler, 1991) * ''Citizens Charter'' (1991) * ''Blueprint for a Revolution'' (1993) * ''The End of the Welfare State'' (with Michael Bell, Eamonn Butler, David Marsland, 1994) * ''20-20 Vision: Targets for Britain'' (1994) * '' Sherlock Holmes IQ Book: Test Your I.Q. Against the Great Detective'' (with Eamonn Butler, 1995) * ''IQ Puzzlers'' (with Eamonn Butler, 1995) * ''Fortune Account'' (with Eamonn Butler, 1995) * ''The Millennial Generation'' (with Robert M. Worcester, 1998) * ''The Next Leaders'' (with Robert M. Worcester, 1999) * ''How to Win Every Argument: The Use and Abuse of Logic'' (Continuum, 2007) * ''Freedom 101'' (2008) * ''Zero Base Policy'' (2009) * ''101 Great Thinkers – Makers of Modern Thought'' (Continuum, 2009) * ''Economics Made Simple: How Money, Trade and Markets Really Work'' (2011) * ''Think Tank: The Story of the Adam Smith Institute'' (BiteBack, 2012) * ''Trial & Error and the Idea of Progress'' (Adam Smith Institute, 2015)

Fiction

* ''The Waters of Andros'' (2007) * ''Children of the Night'' (2007) * ''Dark Visitor'' (2007) * ''The Emerald Warriors'' (2011) * ''Tree Boy'' (2012) * ''Silver Dawn'' (2013) * ''Team Games'' (2013) * ''Spelthorpe'' (2016)

References

External links

Adam Smith Institute

Madsen Pirie
at the Adam Smith Institute (Archived)
Madsen Pirie, at DeBretts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirie, Madson British academics Living people 1940 births People from Grimsby Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Mensans English economists Writers from Kingston upon Hull