There's a really interesting piece about think tanks by David Walker, over at The Guardian, in which the influence of ideas and think tanks on government and policy making is questioned. Now, perhaps it's THOSE tube posters, or perhaps he just knows it's a great book, but Madsen Pirie's Think Tank: The Story of the Adam Smith Institute, is one of the texts considered by Walker. He says of the book, and of Adam Smith Institute co-founders Madsen, and Eamon Butler:
'It's a surprising read, presenting the creation of one of the first-generation thinktanks as a bit of a lark by a group of friends. What comes through strongly is happenstance. Pirie and Butler met (and helped create) a mood that was pro-privatization and pro-market and set up shop at a time when the Tory party was looking for ideas.
Margaret Thatcher seized on slogans rather than worked out concepts, which the Smithites – able publicists – were glad to supply.'
Now, you may debate whether Thatcher relied on slogans, but the message of this piece is clear. The Adam Smith Institute played a key role in the Thatcher government, and its origins may be less conventional than you'd expect. Policy discussions over port? Not for our friends at Adam Smith. No, in the early days they concentrated more on avoiding the bailiffs and making the most out of builder's skips... Colourful AND influential? You've got to read it.
Madsen Pirie tells the story of the Adam Smith Institute here.