2013 Bradley Symposium: Are We Freer Than We Were Ten Years Ago?

This year, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation celebrates a decade of the Bradley Prizes, annual awards designed to recognize "individuals of extraordinary talent and dedication" who have made "contributions of excellence" consistent with the foundation's mission.

To mark the occasion, Bradley asked previous prize winners to gather on June 12 to discuss the question "Are We Freer Than We Were Ten Years Ago?" Are we fulfilling the foundation's mission to preserve and defend the tradition of free, representative government and private enterprise that enabled America and, indeed, the West to flourish economically and intellectually? What has changed over the past ten years, and what will the next ten years bring?

Agenda
8:15 a.m.
Welcome by Bradley Foundation President Michael Grebe and Master of Ceremonies William Kristol

8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Panel discussion: Economic Opportunity at Risk?
The Bradley brothers believed that their commercial success could only have been possible within a system of democratic capitalism and the institutions, principles, and values that sustain and nurture it. Are the conditions of economic opportunity still present today in America and around the world? What can we do to cultivate those conditions?

10:15 - 11:45 a.m.
Panel discussion: Is Our Political Culture Undermining Freedom?
The Bradley brothers understood that freedom requires a political culture that is not only friendly to individual enterprise, but that also nurtures critical commitments like personal responsibility, moral obligation and civic engagement. Is our culture reinforcing or undermining those commitments today, and what might we do about it?

12:15 - 12:50 p.m.
Lunch

12:50 - 2:00 p.m.
Luncheon Address: Promoting the Idea of Freedom
The preservation of freedom requires not only certain economic and cultural conditions, but also thoughtful scholars, journalists, and other shapers of public opinion who understand the demands of liberty and are able to come to its defense. The Bradley Prizes were designed to celebrate and recognize those who were best at this. Are opinion leaders and intellectual elites in the West becoming more or less friendly to freedom? What sorts of Bradley Prize winners should we seek in the future to move American political thought in a positive direction?

Charles Krauthammer, National Journalist and Commentator

Responses by:
Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University
William Kristol, Founder and Editor of The Weekly Standard

2:00 p.m.
Adjournment

To Request Information
To request further information on this event or the Bradley Center, please contact Kristen McIntyre at (202) 974-2424 or email Kristen