Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest Deadline Approaches

With the May 3 deadline less than one month away, college students and untenured college teachers eligible to enter the 2010 Sir John M. Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest may wish to consult a helpful online resource—the Essay Reference Bibliography. Divided into two sections, this list cites books and articles about the meaning and significance of economic personal liberties—and, in particular, publications (many of them online) related to this year’s topic:

“Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget the state wants to live at the expense of everyone.” –Frederic Bastiat (1801–1850)

Assuming Bastiat is correct, what ideas or reforms could be developed that would make people better aware that government wants to live at their expense?

Contest winners receive a two-year subscription to The Independent Review and may receive travel assistance for presenting their papers at an academic conference. (Four winners of the 2009 Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest delivered their papers today at a special Templeton Essay Contest Panel held at the 2010 conference of the Association of Private Enterprise Education at Caesers Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.) And have we mentioned the 2010 contest prize money?

College Student Division:

1^st Prize: $2,500
2^nd Prize: $1,500
3^rd Prize: $1,000

Junior Faculty Division:

1^st Prize: $10,000
2^nd Prize: $7,500
3^rd Prize: $4,000

Contest participants and general readers alike can get an idea of the quality and style of winning essays by reading winning essays from previous years.

This program is made possible by the generous assistance of the John Templeton Foundation.