AIER’s Bastiat Society program in Nashville hosted an in-person event on May 2 at the Richland Country Club in Nashville with William Ruger, President of the American Institute for Economic Research.

About the event: Freedom has been a touchstone word in America since well before our Revolutionary War. But what is freedom and what is the proper role of government in a free society? How is freedom connected to a flourishing world and are certain values and institutions required to sustain a free society? Is freedom part of the solution to what seems like a certain decay we see around us in our communities - and in America more broadly - or is freedom part of the problem? Dr. William Ruger, the President of the American Institute for Economic Research, will address these critical questions and others that reveal the foundations of a free and prosperous society.

About the speaker: William Ruger, Ph.D., serves as the President of the American Institute for Economic Research. He was previously the Vice President for Research and Policy at the Charles Koch Institute and the Vice President, Foreign Policy at Stand Together. Before that, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University and an adjunct Assistant Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin. Ruger served in the Afghanistan War and was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, among other decorations. He remains an officer in the U.S. Navy (Reserve Component). His scholarship has appeared in a number of academic journals including International Studies Quarterly, Review of Political Economy, and several others. Ruger is the author of the biography Milton Friedman and co-author of two books on state politics, including Freedom in the 50 States (now in its 6th edition).