British neoliberalism therefore became a current of thinking nurtured outside the academy and was not taken very seriously within it. Most significant for the subsequent development of neoliberal thinking was the creation of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in 1955. The moving spirit behind this organization was Antony Fisher, an entrepreneur and strong believer in free markets who had first attended a meeting of the Mont Pèlerin Society in 1951 and who in 1954 gave a paper on “The British Farmer and the Government.” The work of the Institute was chiefly in the field of economic journalism, publishing pamphlets and seeking influence on public opinion, opinion formers, and politicians.

Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, loc. 419