San Jose State University, Department of Economics
DAVID S. SAURMAN PROVOCATIVE LECTURE SERIES
presents:
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
"Eco-Theology and Eco-Socialism"
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
5:15-6:45 P.M.
Washington Square Hall 109
STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC ARE ALL WELCOME TO ATTEND.
Do radical environmentalists promote policies that do more harm than good,
even according to their own stated goals? Fred Smith leads what the WALL
STREET JOURNAL has called "the best environmental think tank in the
country." He focuses on the development and promotion of free-market
approaches to environmental policy and believes that where individual
property rights exist in environmental resources, the environment is most
likely to be protected. Centralized political control, in contrast, not
only has unintended environmental consequences that often make matters
worse but also perpetuate poverty while preserving elitist privileges. Can
market institutions more effectively allow for the realization of
environmental values than government agencies and bureaucracies? Come and
judge for yourself.
Fred L. Smith, Jr., is President and Founder of the Competitive Enterprise
Institute (CEI), a free-market public policy group established in 1984. A
frequent guest on national television and radio programs, his writings
have been published in leading newspapers and magazines, including the
WALL STREET JOURNAL, ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, and the WASHINGTON TIMES, as well
as such academic journals as the HARVARD JOURNAL OF LAW AND ECONOMICS and
the CATO JOURNAL. Mr. Smith is also co-editor of ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS:
PUBLIC COSTS, PRIVATE REWARDS and has contributed chapters to more than a
dozen books. Before founding CEI, he worked for five years as a Senior
Policy Analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency. With an
undergraduate degree in theoretical mathematics and political science from
Tulane University, he has done graduate work in applied mathematics at
Harvard, SUNY at Buffalo, and the University of Pennsylvania.
ABOUT THE DAVID R. SAURMAN PROVOCATIVE LECTURE SERIES: The Department of
Economics invites students, faculty, and the general public to consider
intellectual arguments on controversial topics. Presenters in the
Provocative Lecture Series are noted for their outstanding scholarship and
public speaking ability. This lecture series fosters the tradition of
higher education to challenge ideas and develop critical thinking in an
environment of respect and intellectual discourse. Our goal is for you to
develop the critical thinking skills necessary to reach your own informed
position on controversial issues. We invite you to attend, to relax, to
ponder, and to enjoy the thought process. Obviously the views of the
speakers do not necessarily represent those of the University.