GUEST SPEAKER
Peter Thiel 

ISSUES DISCUSSED
Peter Thiel spoke about the basic principles that underlie innovative products and startup firms, using examples from his own experience starting up firms such as Paypal and Palantir. 
He  emphasized the importance of creating a firm or product with characteristics of monopoly, and contrasted that idea with the distinction between monopoly and competition taught in economics. He also spoke more broadly about the future of technology and its impact on economic growth in developed countries. He answered questions about his ideas applied to clean-tech and ed-tech firms. 

Upcoming Events

Thursday, February 5, 2026
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The Broken China Dream: How to Reform Revived Totalitarianism
The Hoover Institution Program on the US, China, and the World invites you to The Broken China Dream: How to Reform Revived Totalitarianism on … Shultz Auditorium, George P. Shultz Building
Monday, February 9, 2026
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Navigating International Research Partnerships In Choppy Geopolitical Waters - The Swedish Experience
The Hoover Institution Program on the US, China, and the World invites you to Navigating International Research Partnerships in Choppy Geopolitical… Herbert Hoover Memorial Building, Room 160
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
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America At 250: Classical Heritage, Western Civilization, The Future
COLLEGE 102 and the Hoover Institution host America at 250: Classical Heritage, Western Civilization, the Future on Wednesday, February 11, 2026,… Hoover Institution, Stanford University
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