Summer University 2026

Arts & Liberty: How can they serve each other

Across the world, liberal societies are under strain. Prosperity remains, but confidence in the values that made it possible is fading.

To understand why—and how to move forward—we must return to a key insight of liberal thought: a free society cannot be understood through reason alone. It also depends on what people feel, value, and aspire to.

The vision of society developed by liberal thinkers over decades—even centuries—has been grounded in the observation of the real world and of human behavior. What matters to people? What motivates them? What moves or outrages them?

It is no coincidence that Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments went through six editions during his lifetime, compared to “only” five for The Wealth of Nations. Nor is it by chance that the Scholastics of the School of Salamanca contributed early to liberal thought, or that foundational texts such as the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen emerged in times of deep crisis.

Today, our societies face new crises—violent in some regions, more subdued in others. In France, for instance, economic difficulties, strained public finances, and political instability are evident. Elsewhere, authoritarian tendencies are on the rise. Liberal values, which once fostered unprecedented prosperity and relative social harmony, are no longer as widely shared.

If we are to restore peace and prosperity, we must understand the causes of this drift. For decades, the Summer University of New Economics in Aix-en-Provence has sought to do so, highlighting misguided policy choices and revisiting the lessons of The Wealth of Nations. This effort remains essential—but it is not sufficient.

By focusing primarily on reason, we have overlooked the role of emotions. Yet individuals respond to both. Experimental economics confirms that while rational behavior explains much in market contexts, non-market choices—such as the kind of society we wish to live in—are also shaped by emotions.

If liberal democracies are to be renewed, we must once again take emotions seriously, as early liberal thinkers did. And emotions are the natural domain of the arts. This is why this Summer University is dedicated to the relationship between Arts and Liberty.

For this edition, we bring together two worlds that too often remain separate: academics—economists, legal scholars, philosophers, historians—and artists—musicians, writers, producers, painters, and visual creators.

Through lectures, discussions, but also some artistic performances, we will explore how the arts both depend on freedom and help illuminate the ideal of an open society—one grounded in liberty, responsibility, and property—by appealing not only to reason, but also to emotion.