The broad diffusion of intellectual products and the circulation of a small group of so-called freedom intellectuals were also effective mechanisms to strengthen connections between Atlas, think tanks, and the core of the neoliberal community (the MPS). Initially, a handful of neoliberal luminaries did the rounds, including Hayek, Friedman, James Buchanan, and Henri Lepage. Soon, however, the circle expanded to include leaders from older think tanks—Lord Ralph Harris from the IEA, Michael Walker from the Fraser Institute, Ed Crane from the Cato Institute, de Soto from the ILD, and Goodman from the NCPA. Atlas was the connector—putting "freedom intellectuals" and local think tanks in contact and financing the trips.

Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, loc. 583