{"id":109,"date":"2025-10-15T13:49:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T17:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/stephenson-institute\/?p=109"},"modified":"2026-02-04T13:27:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T18:27:16","slug":"london-prague-vienna-and-rome-discovering-classical-liberal-ideas-across-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/stephenson-institute\/2025\/10\/15\/london-prague-vienna-and-rome-discovering-classical-liberal-ideas-across-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"London, Prague, Vienna, and Rome: Discovering Classical Liberal Ideas Across Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hari Sakthivel \u201828 speaking at the Institute for Economic Affairs in London.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Between four European countries, six Wabash students studied classical-liberal ideas in historic cities this summer. As they considered the past and future of a free society, it was all made possible thanks to a generous grant that funds the college\u2019s Stephenson Institute.<\/span><\/p>\n

One site of these student experiences took place a few minutes\u2019 walk from the British Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, on a narrow street of an early 18th-century terrace of red-brown townhouses, a survivor of the Blitz and urban renewal. There on Great North Street you will also find the current home of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), one of the UK\u2019s oldest think tanks, founded in 1955. IEA became particularly prominent in the 1980s, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sought to reform a sclerotic, low-growth country with a more free-market, deregulated approach to the economy. Now 70 years on, it remains a key voice in British politics, and in addition to its research and advocacy, hosts many university and high school students, particularly in the summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One Wabash rising sophomore, <\/span>Hari Kumaran Sakthivel ’28<\/b>, had been home visiting in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India before visiting London for the first time in early August\u2014and was excited to participate in IEA\u2019s Future Thought Leaders\u2019 Program, with the Stephenson Institute providing housing and travel expenses. The seminar covered hot-button issues such as migration, taxation, property rights, health care, and foreign aid. \u201cAll the people there were really smart, and the program had a really nice structure,\u201d said Hari, which included more than just lectures. In addition to debates, \u201cwe had a pitch competition where we had to choose a think tank from a list of options and pitch it to the audience\u201d in a very short amount of time. Hari also noted the quality of the faculty running the seminar, noting in particular Steve Davies, who taught not only typical economic topics, but also \u201cEconomics of Video Games and Virtual Worlds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Carlos Cantu-Trevino ’28<\/b> of McAllen, Texas was also able to visit Europe for the first time. Arriving in Prague for three weeks in July, for a seminar run by The Fund for American Studies. Topics included political economy, conflict management, and current geopolitical issues (including the political situation in the Middle East and the conflict in Ukraine). With an international cohort of students from at least a dozen countries, discussions were so stimulating that \u201cthere were times that we just stayed until 2am talking politics,\u201d Carlos said. At the end, they also had opportunities to enjoy the celebrated Czech capital, walking the historic streets and together noticing the influences of different historical periods, including communist and imperial architecture. The conversations continue with his new friends, though they now happen remotely: \u201cI still keep in touch with some of my friends from South America and Europe.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also visiting Prague was <\/span>Tanner Turnpaugh ’27<\/b>, who participated in the Stephenson Institute\u2019s own week-long summer seminar, \u201cClassical Liberalism in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics,\u201d co-sponsored with the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech. Turnpaugh noted his favorite talk was Chandran Kukathas\u2019 talk about immigration’s benefit to an economy. Other lectures from the week included \u201cSocialism and Economic Calculation\u201d by Adam Martin, \u201cThe Challenge of Social Order: Voluntary vs. Coercive Means\u201d by Institute Director Daniel D’Amico, and \u201dWhat We Can Learn About the Free Society From Tocqueville\u201d by Christine Henderson. The itinerary also included a tour of the city focusing on \u201cTotalitarianism in Prague.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In Vienna, two Wabash students secured competitive internships at the Austrian Economics Center (AEC), one of Europe’s leading free-market research institutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Luis Martinez Chacon ’27<\/b> spent five weeks working under the guidance of AEC research fellow Martin Gundinger, focusing on projects related to both applied economic policy research and theories of knowledge. He read extensively in the Austrian School, including Hayek’s <\/span>The Sensory Order,<\/span><\/i> and collaborated with other students on a book project exploring philosophical foundations of economic thought. Luis found that \u201cso many ideas or philosophies are propagated\u2026 and that shapes the economy.\u201d He was especially inspired by discovering Hayek\u2019s ideas about how the mind categorizes personal knowledge: \u201cThat\u2019s how you start learning. You pair up things with your past experiences\u2026 and that\u2019s how you keep projecting the world,\u201d Luis explained.<\/span><\/p>\n

His fellow AEC intern from Wabash,<\/span> Preston Art ’26<\/b>, also worked with Gundinger on book research, while additionally engaging in practical policy analysis. His work included investigating \u201ca bait and switch scheme with foreign investors\u201d in Spain where authorities were \u201ctaxing them higher rates than what they were promised,\u201d and researching successful economic reforms in Ireland and New Zealand that could be modeled for Austrian policy. Preston was returning to the AEC for a second internship: \u201cLast summer I was more of an outsider,\u201d he said, but found himself more at home in Vienna on his return. This time Preston especially appreciated the networking events with \u201ceconomists and scholars all across the world,\u201d notably his meeting with an expert on digital currency. \u201cFor me,\u201d Preston concludes, \u201cliving somewhere\u2014versus just traveling\u2014has offered a whole new perspective.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Composite of sketch of Roman architecture. (Christopher Royal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another new perspective from a final student included learning through more than words. <\/span>Christopher Royal ’26<\/b> took part in an art course in Rome for six weeks, where he sketched various historical sites and works of art. Throughout the course, he developed his art while gaining a deeper appreciation for the intersection of art, history, and politics, particularly in relation to Roman culture and architecture. \u201cI never really thought of churches as being political buildings before \u2026 or about the political authority of the Pope,\u201d said Christopher. \u201cMy roommates and I would talk about the different sorts of social norms and political norms of the time,\u201d he explained, noting the connections between the built environment and politics.<\/span><\/p>\n

These European adventures changed how six Wabash students think about freedom and civilization. They went from the classrooms of Crawfordsville to a new type of experiential learning\u2014by living in the places where people have been debating these questions for many centuries.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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