The W. H. Brady Program in Culture and Freedom at the American Enterprise Institute explores the problems of freedom and culture in contemporary society through research, publications, conferences, and student fellowships.

Many of the most urgent problems facing American society today are those of reconciling individual freedom with cultural values and habits that make freedom and progress possible. America has achieved stupendous levels of economic prosperity, technological prowess, and social equality, but these blessings have been accompanied by a range of unsettling problems--family breakdown, poor schools, high levels of crime, a coarsening of popular culture, the ethical dilemmas of bioengineering, and now the overarching threat of mass terrorism. These problems have a common root: The unprecedented power and autonomy of modern man are producing not only richer and more satisfying lives but also serious social risks. The great, enduring political question--how to achieve the right balance between the claims of individual freedom and the claims of a wider culture or polity--is being presented today in the starkest possible form.

William H. Brady

This question was central to the thinking and philanthropy of William H. Brady, one of the founding fathers of the conservative intellectual movement beginning in the 1950s and an active participant in its councils until his death in 1988. It has been central, also, to the work of AEI, which has long focused not only on immediate domestic and foreign policy problems but also on issues of culture, politics, and social thought.

In 1991, AEI's work in the field was expanded by the W. H. Brady Chair, a memorial to William Brady that supported a succession of eminent scholars and intellectual activists--Leon Kass, Christina Hoff Sommers, Lynne Cheney, Hillel Fradkin, and Sally Satel. The W. H. Brady Program in Culture and Freedom, established in 2003 by Mr. Brady’s family and foundation, is designed to consolidate and expand this vital intellectual tradition. The program supports some of America’s most original and courageous scholars and social critics, and is intended to provide a worthy and productive memorial to the life and accomplishments of Bill Brady.

William H. Brady (1915-1988) was a prominent Milwaukee industrialist and philanthropist with wide-ranging interests in political philosophy, economics, foreign policy, and culture. He was for many years the chief executive officer of the W. H. Brady Company, known today as the Brady Corporation. Mr. Brady was a founding supporter of National Review, the Heritage Foundation, and the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

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PROGRAM SCHOLARS

The Brady Program supports the work of several AEI scholars:

W. H. Brady Chair Charles Murray Charles Murray, the W. H. Brady Chair, examines in his newest book, Human Accomplishment, patterns across history and across cultures to determine the conditions that nourish the greatest human accomplishments. Selected recent work: The Advantages of Social Apartheid Sex Education at Harvard Picture of Privilege? More of Murray's writings and events

Lynne V. Cheney Lynne V. Cheney lectures on such topics as liberalism, feminism, and "American exceptionalism." Selected recent events: Civic Education for a World at War Can Education Schools Be Saved? A Nation at Risk: Twenty Years Later

Leon R. Kass Leon R. Kass has recently published two books: The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis and Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness, the 2003 report of the President's Council on Bioethics. Selected recent work: A Way Forward on Stem Cells Playing Politics with the Sick Reproduction and Responsibility More of Kass's writings

John R. Lott Jr. John R. Lott Jr.'s Individual Reputations: Crime, Politics, and Professions will be published later in 2005. Selected recent work: The Big Lie of the Assault Weapons Ban A Bias against the Best and Brightest Spinning the NBA Coaches More of Lott's writings

Michael Novak Michael Novak lectures throughout the United States and Europe on topics such as business ethics, corporate governance, the environment, and religion; his latest book, The Universal Hunger for Liberty, published this September, is a bold and original investigation of the cultural and religious divisions now dominating world politics. Selected recent work: The Power of Christmas A Letter to France Reagan and the Poor: Praying for the Liberal Punditocracy More of Novak's writings

Sally Satel Sally Satel and Christina Hoff Sommers will publish One Nation under Therapy, a book discussing the different ways therapeutic psychology has displaced traditional ethics as a guide for many Americans in early 2005. They delivered a lecture on the subject in early 2004. Satel's selected recent work: Health and the Income Inequality Hypothesis: A Doctrine in Search of Data Doctors behind Bars: Treating Pain Is Now Risky Business Out of the Asylum, into the Cell More of Satel's writings

Christina Hoff Sommers Sommers's selected recent work: Men--It's in Their Nature Repressing ROTC Ms.information More of Sommers's writings

Christopher D. Levenick is a postdoctoral fellow with the program. He has written about the Americanization of God.

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EVENTS

"The New Neuromorality"
Speakers include Steven Pinker, Hank Greely, Philip Tetlock, and Charles Murray
Wednesday, June 1, 10:15 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

"Art, Politics, and Religion in America Today"
Speaker: Camille Paglia
May 5

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CONTACT

Program Director Samuel Thernstrom

Samuel Thernstrom Director, W. H. Brady Program on Culture and Freedom American Enterprise Institute 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-862-5870 Assistant: 202-862-4872 Fax: 202-862-5815 E-mail: SThernstrom@aei.org