Social Affairs Unit
Encyclopedia
The Social Affairs Unit is a right-leaning think tank
in the United Kingdom
. Founded in 1980 as an offshoot of the Institute of Economic Affairs
, it publishes books on a variety of social issues. Its website notes that "many SAU supporters are inclined to believe that the generation which fought the Second World War were rather too keen on social engineering over the goals of personal responsibility".
The Unit publishes Standpoint
(since 2008), a monthly cultural and political newsstand magazine edited by Daniel Johnson
, and sponsors various websites: living issues, The Black History Museum, Chernobyl Legacy, and direct-action.info.
, in order to carry the IEA's economic ideas onto the battleground of sociology
. "Within a few years the Social Affairs Unit became independent from the IEA, acquiring its own premises." Founded in 1980 as a registered charity, its founder Chairman was Professor Julius Gould
, and its founder Director, Dr. Digby Anderson
. Anderson often contributed leading articles to UK national newspapers, was Director from 1980 to 2004, when he retired and was succeeded by Michael Mosbacher.
in the 1980s.
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Founded in 1980 as an offshoot of the Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
, it publishes books on a variety of social issues. Its website notes that "many SAU supporters are inclined to believe that the generation which fought the Second World War were rather too keen on social engineering over the goals of personal responsibility".
The Unit publishes Standpoint
Standpoint (magazine)
Standpoint is a monthly British cultural and political magazine. Its premier issue was published at the end of May 2008 – the first launch of a major current affairs publication in the UK in more than a decade....
(since 2008), a monthly cultural and political newsstand magazine edited by Daniel Johnson
Daniel Johnson (journalist)
Daniel Benedict Johnson is a British journalist who is the founding editor of Standpoint.- Biography :After graduating with a First in Modern History from Magdalen College, Oxford, Johnson was awarded a Shakespeare Scholarship to Berlin...
, and sponsors various websites: living issues, The Black History Museum, Chernobyl Legacy, and direct-action.info.
History
The Social Affairs Unit was established in December 1980 as an offshoot of the Institute of Economic AffairsInstitute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
, in order to carry the IEA's economic ideas onto the battleground of sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. "Within a few years the Social Affairs Unit became independent from the IEA, acquiring its own premises." Founded in 1980 as a registered charity, its founder Chairman was Professor Julius Gould
Julius Gould
Julius Gould is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Nottingham.Education: University of Oxford .- Career :* 1956-1964 Reader in Social Institutions, London School of Economics...
, and its founder Director, Dr. Digby Anderson
Digby Anderson
Dr. Digby C. Anderson is the founder and former Director of the Social Affairs Unit, a public policy organization/economic think-tank created in 1980...
. Anderson often contributed leading articles to UK national newspapers, was Director from 1980 to 2004, when he retired and was succeeded by Michael Mosbacher.
Funding
Documents released as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement showed that the Unit accepted funding from British American TobaccoBritish American Tobacco
British American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share , with a leading position in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries...
in the 1980s.
Advisory Council
- Dr. Digby AndersonDigby AndersonDr. Digby C. Anderson is the founder and former Director of the Social Affairs Unit, a public policy organization/economic think-tank created in 1980...
- Dr. Alejandro Chafuen
- Professor Christie DaviesChristie DaviesChristie Davies is a British sociologist, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Reading, England, the author of many articles and books on criminology, the sociology of morality, censorship, and humor...
- Professor Adrian FurnhamAdrian FurnhamAdrian Furnham is a South African-born British organisational and applied psychologist, management expert and Professor of Psychology at University College London...
- Professor Jacques Garello
- Professor Nathan GlazerNathan GlazerNathan Glazer is an American sociologist who taught at the University of California, Berkeley and for several decades at Harvard University...
- Dr. Simon GreenSimon GreenSimon Richard Green, born 1955 in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, is a British science fiction and fantasy-author. He holds a degree in Modern English and American Literature from the University of Leicester. He began his writing career in 1973, sold his first story Manslayer in 1976, and had his...
- Professor Leonard LiggioLeonard LiggioLeonard Liggio is a classical liberal author, research professor of law at George Mason University, and executive vice president of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in Fairfax, Virginia, USA.-Present positions:...
- Professor David MartinDavid Martin-Politicians:*David Martin , Republican party U.S. Representative from Nebraska *David Martin , Australian admiral and Governor of New South Wales...
- Professor Antonio MartinoAntonio MartinoAntonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
- Professor Michael NovakMichael NovakMichael Novak is an American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. The author of more than twenty-five books on the philosophy and theology of culture, Novak is most widely known for his book The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism...
- John O'SullivanJohn O'SullivanJohn O'Sullivan is the name of:*John O'Sullivan , British, coordinator and co-author of 'Slaying the Sky Dragon: Death of the Greenhouse Gas Theory'...
Books
- Diet Nation: Exposing the Obesity Crusade, by John LuikJohn LuikJohn C. Luik is a senior fellow of the Democracy Institute. He was previously "a Senior Associate of the Niagara Institute with responsibility for its work in public policy and its Values and Organizational Development programmes." From 1977 to 1990 he taught philosophy and ethics at two Canadian...
, Patrick BashamPatrick BashamPatrick Basham is an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute, and the founding Director of the Democracy Institute. Basham was previously the founding director of the Social Affairs Centre at the Canadian Fraser Institute, and formerly Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. He has published a number...
, and Gio GoriGio Batta GoriGio Batta Gori is an epidemiologist and fellow with the Health Policy Center in Bethesda, Maryland where he specializes in risk assessment and scientific research....
. Social Affairs Unit, December 2006.