Institute of Ideas

The Institute of Ideas was founded in 2000 to provide a forum committed to open and robust public debate in which ideas can be interrogated, argued for and fought over. We organise intelligent public debates, on controversial topics, and most importantly challenge contemporary knee-jerk orthodoxies. One focus of our work is to ensure that new generations look behind the headlines and avoid over simplistic conclusions on difficult topics. We are especially concerned about the ‘dumbing down’ of debate, and to this end we organise a range of high-profile public events.

We aim through our events, projects and salons to create an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and a space for open-ended exploration of new ideas, research and trends, but very much in the sense of a public intellectual gathering: a truly accessible, living university.

Founder and Director Claire Fox was publisher of LM (Living Marxism) and set up the Institute of Ideas when LM magazine was closed after a libel action in 2000. The Institute of Ideas is not associated with any particular political party, but we are passionately interested in politics and taking a robust stance on contentious issues.