History of the Think Tank (or, Your Fish)

“A rollicking saga that involves all sorts of things not normally associated with think tanks – chickens, pirate radio, retired colonels, Jean Paul Sartre, Screaming Lord Sutch, and at its heart is a dramatic and brutal killing committed by one of the very men who helped bring about the resurgence of the free market in Britain.”  Over at the BBC, Adam Curtis provides an entertaining mini-history of think tanks in the UK — the “dealer in second-hand ideas,” as Hayek allegedly described them.

Featuring this fantastic image of an early pamphlet (easily the best title ever for a political pamphlet, or anything else for that matter):

(hat tip INET)