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 UK-based neoliberal think tank and lobbying group, named after Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher and classical economist. The Institute advocates free market and classical liberal ideas, primarily ...

, a UK

neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...

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 ...

which has been in operation since 1977.

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 L ...

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

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

(1970). He attended the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, 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 List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

(1997). Pirie was secretary of

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

from 1979 to 1992.

Career

Before co-founding the

, Pirie worked for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. 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 study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

and philosophy at the private

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private, Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Women were admi ...

, Hillsdale, Michigan, US. Alongside Douglas Mason, he helped devise the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

. 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 Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'' and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

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. Pirie was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2024 New Year Honours The 2024 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

for services to public policy.

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, 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, So ...

, 1985) * ''Privatization: Theory, Practice and Choice'' (Avebury, 1988) * '' Micropolitics'' (Wildhood House, 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 Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

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 Officers of the Order of the British Empire