The John Locke Foundation (JLF) is a free-market

think tank A think tank, or public 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-governme ...

based in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. The organization was founded in 1990 to work "for truth, for freedom, and for the future of North Carolina." It is named after

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...

, a

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

who was a primary contributor to

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...

. JLF was co-founded by

Art Pope James Arthur Pope (born May 5, 1956) is an American businessman, attorney and former government official. Pope is the owner, chairman and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, a group of 370 retail stores in 16 states. He is also the president and chair ...

, a North Carolina businessman active in politics. Pope's family foundation provides most of the support for the center. JLF advocates lowering

taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

, and encouraging

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

s. The organization's stated mission is to "employ research, journalism, and outreach programs to transform government through competition, innovation, personal freedom, and personal responsibility. JLF seeks a better balance between the public sector and private institutions of family, faith, community, and enterprise." The organization is concerned primarily with state-based issues. Under Donald Bryson, its current president, the foundation has become more concerned with national politics and growing threats from both the left and the right.

The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

was in its initial stages a project of the John Locke Foundation.

Activities

The John Locke Foundation's research staff regularly publishes scholarly articles and reports on topics such as budget and tax policy; regulatory, legal, and environmental policy; education policy; and county and local government, including transportation and land-use policies. In 2015, JLF initiated the publication of an index of freedom, ranking each of the states in their relative freedom. According to North Carolina's WRAL news, John Locke Foundation staff are frequently quoted in news outlets across the state and appear as guests on public affairs programs, and columns by foundation staff appear in local newspapers. Every two years, JLF produces an agenda document that focuses on issues that JLF believes the North Carolina state government must address. The organization also publishes the ''Carolina Journal'', a bi-monthly publication, as well as CarolinaJournal.com. In January 2021, the

Civitas Institute The Civitas Institute, Inc. (Civitas) was a Raleigh, North Carolina–based conservative think tank. In January 2021, Civitas merged with the John Locke Foundation. History Civitas was incorporated on March 9, 2005. Initial members of the bo ...

merged into the John Locke Foundation.

References

External links

* *
EDIRC listing
(provided by

RePEc Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) is a collaborative effort of hundreds of volunteers in many countries to enhance the dissemination of research in economics. The heart of the project is a decentralized database of working papers, preprints, ...

) {{Authority control Political and economic think tanks in the United States John Locke Non-profit organizations based in North Carolina Political and economic research foundations based in the United States Organizations based in Raleigh, North Carolina 1990 establishments in North Carolina Conservative organizations in the United States

Activities

See also

References

External links