The execrable Washington Post discusses how DC think tanks have become increasingly activist in the political sense, and (thereby) increasingly self-serving:
Most think tanks were once idea factories. They sponsored research from which policy proposals might flow. In the supply chain of political influence, their studies became the grist for politicians’ programs. But think-tank scholars didn’t lobby or campaign. Politicians and party groups did that. There was an unspoken, if murky, division of labor. But it’s disappearing, and many think tanks — liberal and conservative — have become more active politically. They are now message merchants, packaging and merchandizing agendas for a broader public.
Rest assured the Mises Institute will never carry water for any politician, political party, or legislation. We will never advocate any kind of “public policy.” We will never lobby. And we will never curry favor with the political class.
