2025 Vinson Centre Annual Conference in the Classical Liberal Tradition
This event is hosted in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Governance and Society (King’s College London).
Order of the day
9.45 am – Coffee and welcome.
10.00 am – Welcome by Professor James Tooley (Vice-Chancellor, The University of Buckingham), Professor Juan Castañeda, Director of the Vinson Centre (The University of Buckingham) and Professor Mark Pennington, Director of the Centre for the Study of Governance and Society (King’s College London).
10.15 am Opening lecture – “Equality of Permission as the Essential Liberalism.”. By Professor Deirdre McCloskey (CATO Institute).
10.45 am – Discussion.
Session 1 – On Classical Liberal Traditions
Chairperson: Professor Martin Ricketts (The University of Buckingham).
11.15 am – Professor Mark Pennington (King’s College London) – Foucault, Post-modernism, and Classical Liberalism.
11.45 am – Dr Steve Davies (Institute of Economic Affairs) – Lost traditions in Classical Liberalism in the 19th century.
12.15 pm – Dr Paola Romero (London School of Economics) – Conservatism: The Odd Uncle of Classical Liberalism”.
12.45 pm – Discussion.
1.15 pm – Break for lunch.
Session 2 – On Classical Liberalism and Change
Chairperson: Dr Linda Edwards (Institute of Economic Affairs).
2.00 pm – Dr Phillip Magness (Independent Institute) – Anticapitalism and antiliberal causes since the global financial crisis.
2.30 pm – Professor Paul D. Aligica (Mercatus Center) – Collective Identity, Governance Frameworks, and the Architecture of Freedom: Liberal Nationalism Reconsidered.
3.00 pm – Discussion.
Session 3 – On International Relations and Conflict
Chairperson: Professor Julian Richards (The University of Buckingham).
3.30 pm – Dr Edwin van der Haar (Independent Scholar) – A classical Liberal approach to international relations.
4.00 pm – Lord Syed Kamall (Vinson Centre) – A classical liberal vision on the world order and the current ‘tariffs war’.
4.30 pm – Discussion.
5.00 pm – Coffee break.
Session 4 – Classical Liberalism: a dialogue between Public Choice School and the Austrian School
Chairperson: Dr Gabriel Calzada (Universidad de las Hesperides).
5.15 pm – Professor Philip Booth (St Marys University) and Professor Christian Bjørnskov (Aarhus University).
6.00 pm – Discussion.
6.30 pm – Drinks reception. End of formal proceedings of the conference by the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities (Professor Julian Richards) and the Dean of the Faculty of Business, Humanities & Social sciences (Professor Deba Bardhan Correia).