The Mackinac Center for Public Policy wishes to thank the Hudson Institute for their cooperation on this joint project.
The Hudson Institute is a private, not-for-profit research organization headquartered in Indianapolis with offices in Washington, D.C.; Montreal, Canada; and Madison, Wisconsin. Hudson analyses and makes recommendations about public policy for business and government executives, as well as for the public at large. It does not advocate an express ideology or political position. However, more than thirty years of work on the most important issues of the day has forged a viewpoint that embodies skepticism about the conventional wisdom, optimism about solving problems, a commitment to free institutions and individual responsibility, an appreciation of the crucial role of technology in achieving progress, and an abiding respect for the importance of values, culture, and religion in human affairs.
History of the Institute
Hudson Institute was founded in 1961 by the late Herman Kahn and colleagues from the Rand Corporation. Initially, the institute focused on policy issues involving national security and international order. Among Hudson's most well known earlier works are three prophetic studies: The Emerging Japanese Superstate (1967) and The Resourceful Earth (1984), which successfully repudiated limits-to-growth arguments about overpopulation and resource depletion; and The Coming Boom (1979), which predicted the American economic expansion of the 1980s. Today, Hudson's mission is to help the United States and other democracies emerge more secure in the areas of economic growth, education, cultural values, and foreign policy.
The Institute's Work
Hudson Institute's research emphasizes the value of long-term perspective on policy issues. The institute has long recognized that economic, social, demographic, political, and technological factors must be studied together if a coherent and realistic image of the future is to emerge. This interdisciplinary approach has been a hallmark of Hudson's pioneering work in future studies, as has Hudson's willingness to challenge conventional wisdom in thinking about the future.
Hudson Institute's research agenda comprises six areas: national security and foreign affairs; human resources (including education, employment, and social welfare); economic and financial affairs; global food issues; political institutions; and competitiveness issues.
The Mackinac Center and the Hudson Institute also gratefully acknowledge the original research and support of the Center of the American Experiment, Minneapolis, Minnesota.