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A position paper by Benjamin A. Rogge and Pierre F. Goodrich leads off Liberty Fund's collection advocating an educational system based strictly on private and voluntary institutions.

“We oppose state operation of educational programs at any level; we oppose state financing of such programs at any level, in any form (including tax relief); we oppose state coercion of participation in such programs, whether public or private/ We believe that education must, by its nature, be a part of the private sector of society, We can hardly put our position more plainly or more forcefully.”

Benjamin A. Rogge

Benjamin A. Rogge (1920-1980) was Distinguished Professor of Political Economy at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana. He held degrees from Hastings College (A.B.), the University of Nebraska (M.A.), and Northwestern University (Ph.D.), and was a member of both the American Economic Association and the Mont Pelerin Society. He had a gift for rendering into clear English the vital principles of economics, all with a touch of unforgettable humor. He opposed compulsory, state-funded education and sought market alternatives. Among his intellectual mentors was Nobel laureate F. A. Hayek.

Pierre F. Goodrich

Pierre F. Goodrich (1894-1973) - millionaire businessman and lawyer, was one of the early philanthropist supporters of the libertarian/free market cause in America.

His father, James Goodrich, served as governor of Indiana from 1917 to 1921 and as adviser to Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover.

The Goodriches made their money by selling all their stocks in the overvalued market of 1929, and then buying it back at a much lower price during the Great Depression. They built an empire around a diverse base including mining and banking; Pierre Goodrich himself was President and main stockholder of the Indiana Telephone Corporation.

A friend of F.A. Hayek, Goodrich supported various libertarian causes throughout his life, including the Institute for Human Studies and the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala, but he is best known for founding the Liberty Fund in 1960. Upon his death in 1973, Mr. Goodrich left most of his estate to the Foundation for the purpose of exploring the many dimensions of liberty. This interest is reflected in the name he chose for the Foundation. The Liberty Fund Board of Directors and staff are guided by his philosophy and instructions in developing specific programs.