The Pungently Progressive Institute for Policy Studies
The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C. It researches social justice, peace, and sustainability.
America, like Britain before her, is now the great defender of the Status Quo. She has committed herself against revolution and radical change in the underdeveloped world because independent governments would destroy the world economic and political system, which assures the United States its disproportionate share of economic and political power ... America’s preeminent wealth depends upon keeping things in the underdeveloped world much as they are, allowing change and modernization to proceed only in a controlled, orderly, and nonthreatening way.
Richard Barnet
Effective Summary
Introduction: The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C. IPS focuses on research in social justice, peace, sustainability, foreign policy, and climate change. The organization promotes democracy and personal freedoms, particularly for left-leaning individuals.
The Issues: IPS supports progressive policies and social justice causes, which has caused controversy. The goals include fairness in the economy, nuclear safety, protecting the environment, and defending civil rights.
The Founders: Marcus Raskin, born in 1929, was a lawyer, author, and activist who co-founded the Institute for IPS in 1963. He played a pivotal role in the organization, serving as its director until 1978 and remaining a senior fellow until his passing in 2017. Born in 1929, Richard Barnet was an American author, historian, and activist who co-founded IPS alongside Raskin. He served as the organization’s executive director from 1963 to 1978 and remained a senior fellow until he died in 2004.
Historical Background: In 1974, IPS sued FBI Director Clarence Kelly, Attorney General John Mitchell, and other officials. This caused a legal battle that lasted for five years. The Carter Administration settled the case outside of court, which had significant consequences. The settlement protected IPS from prosecution. It also stopped the FBI and other agencies from investigating.
IPS and the National “Education” Association: IPS and the NEA do not have an official partnership but collaborate on education policy. IPS and NEA collaborate on education policies. They exchange ideas through statements, reports, events, and partnerships. They both advocate for progressive education policies when their interests align.
Absentee War Protester: IPS, a think tank, has yet to take a position on the Ukraine war but has written many articles about it.
National Security Archive: The National Security Archive connects IPS and George Washington University. It plays an essential role in the IPS network. The organization gets money from different places. The Archive uses the Freedom of Information Act to examine U.S. government documents. It collects over 90,000 released records and 15,000 records about people and groups.
Analysis: The IPS gets funding from foundations like Ford, MacArthur, Public Welfare, and Bauman. These organizations want to appear united and close. Yet, they hide their socialist, Marxist, and revolutionary beliefs.
Introduction
The Institute for Policy Studies is a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C. It researches social justice, peace, and sustainability. Marcus Raskin and Richard Barnet founded the organization in 1963.
IPS researches, publishes reports, and analyzes foreign policy and climate change topics. In the economy, they also think about “fairness.” They want equal rights for different (certain) races and genders. They believe in Democracy for Dummies and personal freedoms (for leftists). The organization hosts events and forums. Policymakers, activists, scholars, and community leaders can meet there. IPS uses these forums to discuss and create new ideas for solving significant social and political problems (their words):
Public scholarship ~ Only in the nexus of policy research, advocacy, and grassroots activism can ideas be turned into action. IPS is committed to advancing progressive values and ideas:
Independence ~ Speaking truth to power requires financial and programmatic independence from governmental funding and corporate influence.
Local, National, Global ~ Partnering with allies and social movements on the ground, IPS work operates simultaneously on the local, national, and global levels because we believe that transformation requires engagement at every level.
The Issues
IPS has caused public debate and controversy through its involvement in many programs. Some examples of these programs (commentary in italics) include:
Anti-War Activism: IPS has been a vocal opponent of U.S. military interventions abroad, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The organization has held protests and rallies, studied the costs of war, and pushed for less military spending. The concerns are valid because both political parties aim for power and influence. Think about it: one could accuse the IPS of being “isolationist and xenophobic” related to this issue! But like the rest of the collective, they are immune from such accusations.
Economic Justice: IPS works towards economic fairness by using progressive taxation and raising the minimum wage. They also address income inequality. IPS promotes socialist policies that undermine the free market. Of course, unfettered crony capitalism is a bad thing. But like other new left-wing groups, the IPS has toned down its opposition to “big business.” As a delightful turn of events for the IPS, corporations have embraced “social justice” through the Marxist lens of Environmental Social Governance (ESG) and Diversity Inclusion Equity (DIE).
Nuclear Disarmament: IPS has strongly advocated the elimination of nuclear weapons globally. They want to reduce and end them. In the 1980s, the IPS organized conferences with suspected Soviet agents to weaken Reagan’s defense efforts. For obvious reasons, eliminating nuclear weapons is a positive goal. Yet, this effort has manifested in the United States’ disarmament and proliferation of other nations. For example, China and Russia ignore arms reduction agreements and treaties.
Environmentalism: IPS has studied and discussed environmental issues such as climate change, renewable energy, and fairness. IPS promotes policies harming economic growth and job creation. Like the rest of the primarily left-wing environmental movement, IPS is green on the outside and red on the outside. The “environment” is a convenient tool to implement socialism. Yet, due to unlimited fiat money, the green movement has dialed down its opposition to big business (e.g., ESG and DIE). This partnership of the collective believes they are “fixing the planet” together. But they harm the environment and wildlife under the pretense of being green.
Civil Liberties: IPS is in favor of civil liberties and human rights. They are against torture, the death penalty, and government surveillance. Some critics have accused IPS of being unpatriotic and undermining U.S. national security. Of course, “rights” only apply to the left wing. IPS has yet to address the J6 people in prison in D.C., with conditions like the French Guiana Penal Colony. We also don’t hear anything from IPS about the different treatment of pro-life activists and leftist activists in D.C.1 In this case, Silence Really Equals Violence for the political prisoners incarcerated by the regressive, progressive, and totalitarian federal regime now in control.
IPS has been a leading voice advocating for progressive (left-wing) policies and social justice issues. The organization has been controversial but still plays a significant role in shaping public debate and policy discussions.
The Founders
Marcus Raskin
Marcus Raskin (1929-2017) was an essential figure in the progressive movement in the United States. He was a lawyer, author, and activist.
Raskin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in Chicago. He attended the University of Chicago and got a degree in political science. Then, he went to Harvard Law School and earned his law degree. After finishing law school, Raskin joined the U.S. Army. He worked as a lawyer for a short time. Then, in 1961, he became a special assistant to the Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy Administration.
In 1963, Raskin co-founded the IPS along with Richard Barnet. Raskin served as the organization’s director until 1978 and remained a senior fellow until his death. During his tenure at IPS, Raskin focused on U.S. foreign policy, nuclear disarmament, and civil liberties. He wrote many books. Titles include The Common Good and The Four Freedoms Under Siege. He also taught at Georgetown, American University, and UC Berkeley. That tells us all we need to know.
Raskin spent his life supporting progressive causes and connecting social justice movements. Also, see the analysis section below about Raskin’s son, Rep. Jamie Raskin.
Richard Barnet
Richard Barnet (1929-2004) was an American author and historian. He was also an activist who played an essential role in the progressive movement in the United States. He was active during the latter half of the 20th century.
Barnet was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He went to Harvard University and earned his degrees there. He then served in the U.S. Navy and worked as a professor before joining the State Department in 1961 as a consultant on disarmament issues.
In 1963, Barnet co-founded the IPS along with Marcus Raskin. Barnet served as the organization’s executive director from 1963 until 1978 and remained a senior fellow until his death. During his tenure at IPS, Barnet focused on U.S. foreign policy, nuclear disarmament, and corporate power issues.
Barnet was also a prolific author. He wrote or co-wrote over 20 books, including Global Reach: The Power of the Multinational Corporations and Global Dreams: Imperial Corporations and the New World Order.2 He was known for his critical analysis of U.S. foreign policy and advocacy for disarmament and peace. Barnet dedicated his entire life to supporting progressive causes. He also worked with social justice movements.
Historical Background
In 1974, IPS filed a civil lawsuit. They sued FBI Director Clarence Kelly, Attorney General John Mitchell, and other officials and agents. After five years, the Carter Administration resolved through a settlement outside of court. The resolution was very extensive. The IPS activities were under FBI surveillance but protected from prosecution. The prohibition also bans the FBI and other government agencies from gathering intelligence on IPS in the future. Steven Powell, a respected author of the book Covert Cadre: Inside the Institute for Policy Studies, shared this thought about IPS:
In effect, IPS was given carte blanche to support domestic and foreign parties, movements, and governments hostile to the United States. The institute’s activities socialize American society, divide and weaken American alliances, and generally frustrate the US. foreign policy efforts to contain communism would not be disturbed.3
Powell’s meticulously researched 469-page volume, Covert Cadre, presents this as the IPS’s underlying agenda. In its early years, the IPS received financial support from various leftist sources, including the Stern Family Fund and the Samuel Rubin Foundation. Notably, the Rubin Foundation was a significant contributor to IPS’s funding. Samuel Rubin (1901-1978), a Russian emigrant and Communist Party member accumulated wealth by founding Fabergé, a cosmetic company, in 1936. He sold the enterprise for $25 million in 1968, coinciding with the IPS’s establishment.
Samuel Rubin’s daughter, Cora Rubin Weiss, and her spouse, Peter Weiss, supported IPS. Peter Weiss, the chairman of IPS’s board of trustees, and Saul Landau (1936-2013) were also long-standing contributors.
Additional funding stemmed from the Stern Fund, led by IPS trustee Philip Stern (1926-1992). He is the nephew of Alfred Stern (1897-1986), who faced accusations of espionage for the Soviet Union and fled to Czechoslovakia in 1958. The Rabinowitz Foundation, under the leadership of Victor Rabinowitz (1911–2007), also supported IPS financially. Rabinowitz was associated with the law firm representing the Castro government in the 1960s and had defended alleged Soviet spies Judith Coplon (1921-2011) and Alger Hiss (1904-1996).
David Horowitz, a prominent “New Left” movement member in the 1960s, wrote the introduction for Covert Cadre. He later changed his political views, and his contribution to the book’s introduction is essential. He wrote:
I was born in 1939 into the same “progressive” generation as the architects of IPS, and in particular, Saul Landau and Cora Weiss, two of its guiding influences who typify the links between the radical generations. My parents (like those of Landau and Weiss) were members of the Communist Party, together with all of our family friends.4
Regarding Landau, who was frequently billed in the media as an IPS Fellow and “expert” on Central America, Horowitz wrote:
Saul Landau had begun his political life in the Communist movement and for nearly thirty years has been a collaborators and a supporter of the totalitarian regime in Communist Cuba. . . . The IPS style has aspects that are flexible and disarming. But its substance is defined by the covert agendas that shape its attitudes of unrelenting hostility toward the United States, and solidarity with Soviet-backed regimes.5
Powell noted that the IPS and its “fellows” and “associates:”
..applaud Soviet foreign policy to the extent that it helps Marxist revolutionary movements in Central America, Africa, and the Middle East. In the area of third-world development and modernization IPS is enthusiastic about socialist “solutions” despite socialism’s record of perpetuating poverty and underdevelopment in every third-world country where it has been adopted?6
IPS lauded Fidel Castro and helped raise funds for the Sandinista Communists to consolidate their power in Nicaragua, while, at the same time attacking Central American allies of the United States for their imperfect human rights record.7
..IPS provides training for radical activists. Many of its fellows have become leaders in other organizations . . . the disarmament network associated with IPS wages a major campaign against the Strategic Defense Initiative, which it prefers to call Star Wars.8
IPS hopes to “move the Democratic Party’s debate internally to the left by creating an invisible presence in the party . . .9
The FBI wanted to gather intelligence on the IPS and its actions. Yet, President Jimmy Carter’s administration approved the Levi guidelines and settled the case out of court.10
...the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall not collect, gather, index, file, maintain, store or disseminate any information regarding the plaintiffs [IPS], their associations, speech or activities.11
IPS and the National “Education” Association
Evidence shows that the IPS and the National Education Association (NEA) collaborate on specific education policy issues. However, they do not appear to have any formal, ongoing partnership. Here are some examples of collaboration:
In 2018, IPS co-hosted an event with NEA on “progressive approaches to classroom discipline” and reducing suspensions/expulsions. An IPS education policy fellow spoke at the event.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, IPS and NEA collaborated on a joint statement calling for more federal relief aid for public schools.
IPS scholars have co-authored policy reports and opinion pieces on equitable and community school funding with NEA leaders.
IPS and NEA have jointly participated in progressive coalitions advocating for policies like increased education budgets, school integration, and “fair” compensation for educators.
Representatives from IPS and NEA serve together on the boards of other progressive education advocacy groups.
IPS and NEA agree on education policies and work together on statements, reports, events, and coalitions. Yet, they don’t have an official, ongoing “partnership.” Instead, they work together when their interests align. They focus on advocating for progressive education policy. The New Jersey “education” establishment is a quintessential example of the depravity we call the school system (indoctrination centers) as envisioned by IPS and like-minded ilk.
The Absentee War Protester
As a progressive think tank, IPS has not taken an official position on the war in Ukraine. Yet, the organization has published many articles and analyses on the conflict. These “products” present various viewpoints and opinions.
Some IPS analysts have criticized U.S. intervention in the conflict. They argue that the United States and other Western powers should not worsen tensions with Russia. Instead, they should focus on finding a peaceful solution. Some people worry about how the conflict affects civilians. They want more protection for them.
IPS has a reflective approach to Ukraine’s conflict, understanding its complexity and the need for peace. The organization wants everyone involved to respect human rights and international law. While pinching my nose, aligning with the IPS on this issue is possible. But, that is only from an alternate and cogent perspective as presented by Douglas Macgregor, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired), Ph.D.
National Security Archive
The National Security Archive is a helpful organization for the IPS. It operates under the cover of George Washington University. It affiliates with the IPS. The organization gets money from different places, like the Samuel Rubin Foundation (see above) and the Philip M. Stern Family Fund (see above). The Barbara Streisand Foundation and the Open Society Foundation (founded by George Soros) provide help. The Washington Post Company also supports the Archive. Using the Freedom of Information Act, it looks through U.S. government documents for hidden information. The mainframe computer holds many databases. There are over 90,000 released records. It also has 15,000 records about people and organizations.12
These resources help intelligence analysts build a picture of important U.S. defense programs. In the late 1980s, someone from IPS helped Soviet intelligence with a delivery service. David Chang, from the Archives, mentioned this. This service transported declassified documents from the Archives to Moscow.13
A critical person in this network is IPS fellow Peter Kornbluh. He works with Michael Klare and supports Cora Weiss. Kornbluh wants to find out if the CIA played a part in the 1973 coup in Chile. The coup removed Chile’s Marxist leader, Salvador Allende, and brought General Augusto Pinochet to power. Kornbluh leads the Archive’s Cuba Documentation Project. He uses this role to advocate for policy recommendations to the U.S. government.14
Kornbluh, Cora Weiss, Richard Barnet, Saul Landau, and Robert Borosage visited Nicaragua in 1983, 1984, and 1985. The IPS delegation visited Sandinista leaders like Tomas Borge, Daniel Ortega, and Sergio Ramirez. Borosage and Landau visited Nicaragua to help the Sandinistas organize projects to get European support. Media activists at U.S. National Public Radio worked with Peter Kornbluh and others to spread specific messages in American media. It is essential to note the connection between the IPS group, Peter Kornbluh, and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas.
In 1987, Steven Powell wrote that Tomas Borge hosted IPS fellows Richard Barnet and Peter Kornbluh in his home in Managua, Nicaragua. Borge worked with Cuban DGI intelligence. Borge had also been responsible for the execution of many political prisoners.15
Analysis
The IPS gets most of its funding from progressive foundations and charities. The Ford, MacArthur, Public Welfare, and Bauman Foundations donated large sums to the IPS. They all project national agreement and togetherness while hiding Lenin, Marx, revolution, and dictatorship. The clarion call is unity, not political ideologies. Thus, the “progressives-socialists-Marxists” nexus gets substituted with “progressive” to project a shiny view of their collectivist philosophy. They must engage in the customary and accepted “democratic” processes of the United States. It is all about optics.
The IPS is an idea hub and orchestrator for the Congressional Progressive Caucus.16 Caucus members receive a clear socialist agenda. It also offers solutions for “difficult national problems.” To join the Congressional Progressive Caucus, you must lobby, influence, vote, and follow procedures. People around the world expect Marxists to behave like Western democrats. This involves identifying various political parties, forming alliances, and joining others. Championing “pluralism” becomes an essential aspect of their stance.
IPS fellow Karl Hess (1924-1994) said that he saw “… no alternative but to use violent tactics to destroy the U.S. Government.”17 Given the current situation where the government is run by collectivists, mission accomplished. No more violence against the government is needed.
In its 2004 Annual Report, the IPS explains how it uses specific methods to impact society. These methods support “democracy, human rights, justice, the environment, diversity, and peace.” Antonio Gramsci had a “philosophy of praxis,” classifying these endeavors as “instances.” IPS plans to bring progressives, socialists, and Marxists to power in the U.S. According to the group:
IPS public scholars (researcher-activists) continue to work closely with dozens of other groups to strengthen the progressive infrastructure in this country, in particular through:
.. a new Cities for Progress network that links local elected officials with activists to build national campaigns,
a revitalized link between the ... Congressional Progressive Caucus and progressives across the country, and
mechanism to link thousands of progressive academics into the
public debate.18
The “Russia gate” concept displayed a shrewd employment of Marxist dialectical tactics. This was evident in the rise of Rep. Jamie Raskin, son of Marcus Raskin (IPS founder). He is a Democratic representative from Maryland and a vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Jamie Raskin played a significant role in critiquing supposed “Russian influence” within the Trump Administration.
Rep. Raskin denounced the Russians for influence operations against the United States (Trump). Ironically, as discussed above, his father’s organization (IPS) strategized a series of conferences involving Soviet dignitaries during the 1980s to weaken President Reagan’s efforts to bolster the defense sector. Regardless, the left-wing thread continues unabated. That is attributable to the breakup of the Soviet Union, resulting in a shift in the original progressive plan. With many goals achieved, the Soviet remnant (Russia) strikes a different chord with the leftists in charge of virtually everything.
In the final analysis, the IPS, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Democratic Socialists of America, and the Socialist International collaborate. They work tirelessly to reshape the cultural perspective within the United States. The initial step involved substituting “socialism and Marxism” with “progressive” despite their inherent similarity.
As we see, with the left wing, there is no balance. Within that worldview, society can only achieve its goal of a Socialist Utopia when everyone and everything follows the progressive ideology. Some “balance.” But it will be a dystopia, more like A Clockwork Orange. We will serve the progressive collective because resistance is futile (over my dead body).
Bonus! Learn all about intersectionality from the IPS! 📕
Sources
Shadow World: Resurgent Russia, the Global New Left, and Radical Islam ~ Robert Chandler, 642 pages, Regnery Publishing, August 2008
The Communist Moles in the U.S. Government ~ Cliff Kinkaid, American Survival, May 16, 2023
None Dare Call It Treason... 25 Years Later ~ John Stormer, 625 pages, Liberty Bell Press, January 1990
Discover the Networks ~ The Institute for Policy Studies
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If J6 constituted a left-wing event, I would advocate for the perpetrators to be granted their constitutional rights.
A progressive wrote about a New World Order. Thus, it must not be a right-wing conspiracy theory after all!
Covert Cadre: Inside the Institute for Policy Studies, pg 96. As quoted in None Dare Call It Treason... 25 Years Later.
Covert Cadre, as quoted in None Dare Call it Conspiracy, Ibid, pg xiii
Ibid, pg xvii
Ibid pg 13
Ibid, pg 26
Ibid, pg 19-20
Ibid, pg 26
FBI suspicion of the National Lawyers Guild, a communist front that led to an era of expansive, coercive surveillance of the organization and its members, peaked in the 1970s in response to their high-profile activism. It was stopped by the restrictions of the “Levi guidelines.”
Paragraph 3 of the Settlement Agreement, as quoted in None Dare Call It Treason... 25 Years Later, pg 79
Ibid pg 96. As quoted ibid, pg 286. Of note, Shadow World uses the name David Chang in the referenced paragraph. However, the correct name likey is Laurence Chang.
It is essential to be honest and open-minded to acknowledge rogue elements of the U.S. government did indeed play a role in regime change in Chile.
Ibid pp 144-45. As quoted ibid, pg 287.
Also, see the review of the Progressive Caucus by DISCOVER the NETWORKS.
Covert Cadre: Inside the Institute for Policy Studies, pg 29. As quoted in None Dare Call It Treason... 25 Years Later. pg 387
Ethelbert Miller and John Cavanagh, “Dear IPS Friends,” Ideas Into Act for Justice and the Environment, Institute for Policy Studies, 2004 Ann Report. As quoted in Shadow World: Resurgent Russia, the Global New Left, and Radical Islam.
Progressive Dreams for Public Transit ~ Car-centric infrastructure drives inequality. As voters and advocates, we have the power to shape transit’s future for the better.
February 21, 2024
https://ips-dc.org/progressive-dreams-for-public-transit/
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