The Prometheus Institute advances unique, intelligent and creative libertarian perspectives on politics and culture. We support the pragmatic maximization of liberty, technology, free markets, individualism, knowledge and social progress to help effectively reduce the burden of government on the people of the United States and the world. We hope to engage and empower our fellow citizens, from college students to political scholars, in order that they may in turn influence policy makers, political parties, intelligentsia and governments as to the enduring and universal value of human freedom.
Purpose
Political organizations, in general, seem to think themselves immune to the reality that face organizations and individuals in other fields.
While businesses innovate and promote advances for the benefit of the public at large, the political sector expects everyone to respect their stale academic writing that hasn't changed in style since the 18th century. While businesses frantically compete in open markets to gain the patronage of the public, political organizations are perfectly happy to keep their partisan market and just pander to them. While musicians innovate and provide new and unique sounds to attract listeners, political organizations find the static comforting.
We asked, what if there were a political organization that rejected this status quo?
What if this organization acted with the competitive spirit, innovative style, unique attitude, and aggressive production that comprises every other human endeavor?
What if a political organization turned its mindset to making politics matter, rather than letting politics simply exist?
What if a political organization respected stylish and intelligent dissent over mindless agreement?
What if a political organization used technology in order to provide its customers an enlightening and informative experience unlike any other?
What if a political organization diversified its content so that it appealed to broad cross sections of society, rather than fulfilling a static niche?
What if innovation were the goal, creativity was the modus operandi and brilliance was the only input?
At the Prometheus Institute, we believe that competitive markets yield the highest quality of production for the benefit of the consumer. It only follows that our quest to deliver the highest quality production for our readers will require an aggressive and competitive approach - one that shuns homogeneity and conformity in favor of innovation and diversity.
At the same time, those who know politics know that the choices among quality commentators are slim. As a direct result of their refusal to recognize the failures of their strategies, political organizations and pundits are losing readers and the readers they still have are rapidly losing interest.
Another indictment of the political establishment is the recognition of how politics has lost relevancy among the public. Even as a war overseas rages and recessions constantly threaten, the public has remained apathetic.
The establishment says little that is meaningful. Original thought is thought to be quaint; original thinkers are pushed aside. Talent is an afterthought; ad hominem controversy is the only requisite. Independence is unintelligible; party lines are toed with precision.
What if a political organization used its skills to bring political commentary back into the glory days with original philosophy, engaging and insightful commentary, and slicing rebuttals?
What if the ideas mattered more than the people?
What if the quality mattered more than the volume of mud slung?
What if an organization combined outreach with provocation and tried to gain support at the same time that it engaged its opponents?
The hypothetical is reality with the Prometheus Institute. We are political entrepreneurs who make our product matter.
At the same time that we produce political commentary of the absolute highest quality, we market it with a creative and innovative style that engages as it informs.
Ideology
We also reject the raw partisanship that saturates the political scene. While establishment commentators and pundits spend their energies promoting their party without regard for truth and fairness, we think independently.
We represent the libertarian alternative - fiscally conservative and socially liberal. While party identification is at an all-time low, we feel an independent voice is the perfect prescription.
We hope you enjoy it.
Culture
We believe that culture lifestyle, rather than being distinct from politics, ideally should help comprise multidisciplinary philosophical and intellectual principles that guide one's opinions. We observe the value of freedom of choice, independence, free markets, individualism and insightful reasoning in all aspects of the human experience - not simply the political ones.
We promote capitalism as we enjoy its manifestations; we promote free expression as we enjoy its application in music, movies and art.
Our cultural commentary further is supported with two principles:
1) The completeness of liberty
An extension of the principles of individualism, free choice, independence and innovation that define our political stance naturally leads us to their nonpolitical celebration.
It would be incomplete to promote free expression without an inclusion of the artists, musicians, and personalities who best represent it. Likewise, it would be incomplete to promote free trade and globalization without an analysis of the products whose free consumption we defend.
2) The incompleteness of government
It is our political contention that public policy is an insufficient tool of societal improvement. We see this as nanny state legislation does not create safety, moral legislation does not create morality and redistribution does not create wealth. Unfortunately, politics is always the inquiry into government and its laws.
We choose to also celebrate the beauty in life that is often invisible through the scope of government and politics. We consider government the natural negation of humanity's greatest experience - love. Indeed, if love were everywhere, we certainly would have no need for government. However, if government were everywhere, love could never exist.
We function both as a political organization promoting free-market capitalism and free choice through a comprehensive and innovative medium of widespread publication and activism, as well as an organization to promote life with the products that make it enjoyable, promoting liberty with insightful and diverse political commentary, and promoting the pursuit of happiness through the stylish and profound promotion of love and leisure.
In essence, we exist to forward the principle of individual freedom through innovative and insightful political commentary and philosophy while promoting the independent, intelligent, stylish lifestyle which exemplifies individualism and choice.
Our diversity of content is, in effect, a promotion of free choice among readers.
We defend the principles of the American Revolution; our opponents defend the principles of the 20th century rise of statism.
We respond to the lack of talent. We respond to a need for a school of thought.
We diversify our content to provide the broadest possible appeal for the institution and philosophy of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And while quantity is a desideratum, quality is the ultimate goal. To that end, we develop and innovate within our chosen avenues.
We expect to not simply compete in the diverse markets we enter, we expect to dominate.
