Rougier proposed pursuing this agenda through a new institution named, at the suggestion of Marcel Bourgeois, the Centre International d'Études pour la Rénovation du Libéralisme. … The goal of the center, Rougier revealed in a subsequent document, was to identify a role for the state that manifested “not the indifference of a spectator, but the neutrality of an arbitrator” who would protect “the rules of the game.” Its vision would be “progressive” rather than “conservative,” in the sense that it would promote a social vision based on “perpetual adaptation.” Rougier's “Manifesto” for the center, which was lifted verbatim from a pre sen ta tion Walter Lippmann delivered at the “Colloque,” carved out a substantial role for state intervention, specifi cally identifying fi ve areas where tax revenues should be distributed: national defense, social insurance, social ser vices, education, and scientifi c research. … It was vital, Rougier added, that it be selffi nanced, relying on “subscriptions, grants, or donations” that were “impartial, unconditional, not imposing any moral or intellectual constraint.”

Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, loc. 194