On February 19-22, 2015, amidst snow-covered hills in northern Virginia, Values & Capitalism’s team partnered with Wheaton economics professor (emeritus) P.J. Hill in hosting our second annual faculty colloquium, “Markets: Defenses and Critiques.”
The weekend was replete with opportunities for 14 professors currently teaching economics, political science, and business at Christian colleges nationwide to engage with one another in rich dialogue, structured reflection, and relationship-building. Hill, now a senior fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center, brought to bear his firsthand experiences from numerous Liberty Fund gatherings, blending those conversation-norms with what he called “our shared commitment to Christian faith and to the mind of Christ.” These convictions, he said, “can and should be applied in the classroom and in our discussions with students to the best arguments for and against the free market.”
Despite fresh snowfall on Saturday, throughout the weekend we convened six outstanding sessions, drawing upon primary sources including F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, Deirdre McCloskey, Michael Sandel, Wendell Berry, Michael Novak, and James Q Wilson. Conversations around the seminar table and at meal-times were fast-moving, insightful, and respectful of opposing points of view.
When applicable, professors referenced how today’s times—which differ from the initial contexts in which several authors were writing—pose new challenges in the task of advancing a case for markets.
V&C team members supported discussions by preparing and serving meals, facilitating group transportation to and from the airport, and working alongside professors to brainstorm ways to continue reaching today’s best students with project resources and a host of upcoming AEI opportunities.
Participants included:
• Peter Baker, American Studies Program
• Chuck North, Baylor University
• Aaron Schavey, Bethel College
• Tom Copeland, Biola University
• Lance Wescher, Covenant College
• Nate Peach, George Fox University
• Mike Jacobs, Gordon College
• Sarah Estelle, Hope College
• Dean Curry, Messiah College
• Daniel Bennett, Patrick Henry College
• Brian Baugus, Regent University
• Dale Levering, Sterling College
• Bryan McGraw, Wheaton College
• P.J. Hill, Wheaton College
