The Archbridge Institute was founded to increase opportunities for social mobility and human flourishing. We pursue this mission by producing rigorous academic research on the key determinants of and obstacles to social and economic mobility, translating the findings of such research into actionable public policy solutions whenever possible, and by reviving the spirit of entrepreneurship that has lifted so many out of poverty by re-telling the nearly forgotten stories of America’s greatest entrepreneurs.
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far and continue to work toward the goal of empowering every person to fully reach their potential. However, it’s clear that a deeper disagreement has emerged concerning the most fundamental aspects of how we pursue research and discuss public policy. Left unaddressed, these disagreements threaten to constrict the scope of acceptable inquiry and ultimately impoverish our efforts to understand, much less remove, the barriers that individuals face in pursuing their goals and achieving success.
Some of these basic disagreements have been simmering just below the surface of our discourse for years, but what may have once been relatively confined to obscure corners of philosophy and academia has intensified and boiled over into the general public within the last few. Questions abound regarding the validity of research and inquiry or the practical shape of human flourishing, and the goals of public discourse and policy appear more muddled than ever. The core ideas of a free liberal society are under attack from all sides, facing significant challenges from both an increasingly radical left and an astonishingly reactionary right.
But amidst the cacophony of voices challenging many of the bedrock assumptions that were once taken for granted, there is a unique opportunity to more fully examine our own closely held ideas about how the world works and explore what might be valuable in the multitude of alternative worldviews now being advanced. That’s why we’re excited to launch Archbridge Notes as a place to more frequently and less formally discuss ideas, pursue different avenues of thought, and more fully engage with the deeper questions we now confront.
Drawing from our own research, interesting findings from a variety of academic disciplines, and the new cultural and political discussion happening all around us, Archbridge Notes will be a place in which we can ask questions, make unexpected connections, and discuss the principles necessary for a free society in which people are truly able to flourish.
We hope you will read, share, comment, and challenge what we discuss as we engage in this new space of thought and discussion.
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Photo by Ameen Fahmy on Unsplash
