- Saint-Simon Foundation
The Saint-Simon Foundation ( _fr. Fondation Saint-Simon) was a French
think tank created in 1982 by the historianFrançois Furet . It gathered intellectuals and businessmen until its dissolving in 1999. It was a member of theThe Hague Club international network ofthink-tank s [ [http://hagueclub.org/ The Hague Club] en icon] . Many of its former members have now joined "Le Siècle " circle.History
According to the political scientist
Pierre Rosanvallon , theSaint-Simon Foundation was created after the 1981 turn marked by the election of the left's candidateFrançois Mitterrand to the presidency. Its aim was to create a social exchange network completely independent from political clubs and university institutions [ [http://www.jourdan.ens.fr/piketty/fichiers/presse/LeMonde230699.htm La Fondation Saint-Simon, une histoire accomplie] ,Pierre Rosanvallon , "Le Monde ", 23 June 1999 fr icon] .The Saint-Simon Foundation supported
democracy andeconomic liberalism , opposing "totalitarianism ." It wanted to create bridges between the University, firms and public administration.Pierre Nora defined it as the "encounter of people who had means [i.e. money] with those who had ideas" ("« la rencontre de gens qui avaient des moyens avec des gens qui avaient des idées »").The think-tank published various memos and studies. In the 1990s, it was increasingly subjected to criticisms, alleging an excessive and somehow covert influence on
French politics .Alain Minc called this club the "circle of Reason" ("le cercle de la raison"), while its opponents spoke of the "circle of the single thought" ("cercle de lapensée unique ").Members
*President:
Roger Fauroux andFrançois Furet
*Secretary:Pierre Rosanvallon
*Treasurer:Alain Minc
*Administrators:Jean-Claude Casanova ,Jean Peyrelevade andYves Sabouret Other members included CEOs such as
Jean-Louis Beffa ,Antoine Riboud ,Christian Blanc ,Jean-Luc Lagardère ,Francis Mer , journalists such asJean Daniel ,Laurent Joffrin ,Serge July ,Christine Ockrent ,Anne Sinclair ,Franz-Olivier Giesbert andJean-Pierre Elkabbach or the intellectualLuc Ferry .References
External links
* Vincent Laurent, [http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1998/09/LAURENT/10967.html "Les architectes du social-libéralisme"] , "
Le Monde diplomatique ", September 1998 fr icon
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