Overview
The quest for human flourishing is universal, yet there is no agreed-upon answer as to how we obtain it, not just for ourselves but for the poorest among us. While economics suggests that market economies are the world’s most powerful anti-poverty program, much debate remains about whether we should accept and support such structures.
This lecture explores these issues and examines how society can embrace and support authentic human prosperity through market trade. Beginning with some universal truths about human nature and the economic realities of the world, Dr. Bradley will explain how understanding and acknowledging them helps us overcome them and, as a result, helps create a better and freer world for all.
About Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley
Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley is the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and vice president of academic affairs at TFAS. She works to enhance the reach of TFAS and the Foundation for Teaching Economics economic education programs while also delivering lectures around the country and overseeing curriculum development and evaluation for economics courses.
Additionally, Dr. Bradley continues to teach economics courses to TFAS students at George Mason University and is an Acton Affiliate scholar and a visiting scholar at the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy. She is also a lecturer for the Institute for Humane Studies and the Foundation for Economic Education.
Dr. Bradley writes for popular outlets such as Common Good Magazine, Acton Powerblog, Econlib, the Washington Times, Modern Age, The Washington Post, Patheos, the Stream, and the Daily Caller, among others. In addition, she is a regular guest on numerous radio shows, including “In the Market with Janet Parshall” and “Dr. Bill Maier Live.”
She served as the associate director for the Program in Economics, Politics, and the Law at the James M. Buchanan Center at George Mason University. Dr. Bradley’s academic work ranges on the questions of income inequality, anthropological questions of human action, the relationship between human flourishing and economic freedom, and the political economy of terrorism, with specific emphasis on al-Qaeda, which was the subject of her dissertation. Her academic research has been published in scholarly journals and edited volumes. Based on her academic research, she also worked as an economic analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of Terrorism Analysis.
Dr. Bradley received her Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University in 2006, during which time she was a James M. Buchanan Scholar.