Richard Mason is fast becoming one of the most reliable voices on the growing paternalism in his home country, Britain and the general state of individual and economic freedom across Europe. Although he’s still in the early stages of his writing career, his work has already been published in the venerated The Telegraph, CapX, The American Conservative, and he’s a regular contributor for The Broad.
Richard first got involved with European Students For Liberty in 2015 while studying for his bachelor’s degree at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, where he joined Maastricht Students for Liberty as Head of Sponsor Relations, before becoming Vice President. In his third year, he began writing for the ESFL Speak Freely blog in late 2016. In fact, his very first article for the blog is still available, and in it, he discusses how the British government was spending hundreds of millions of pounds on renovating Buckingham Palace in a time of supposed “austerity.”
A prolific writer with a distinct voice, Richard carved out a niche (consumer choice, personal responsibility, and economic freedom) and found a way to make his writing appeal to a wider audience. His writing on consumer choice has seen him become a Research Fellow at the Consumer Choice Center, joining the team in September 2018. SFL provided him the opportunity to hone his writing skills, which allowed him to continue to perfect his craft as a writer.
“SFL has been one of the main factors that influenced my decision to pursue writing as a potential career path. Through the editing help I got from the editorial team at Speak Freely, I learned how to improve my writing. I also got to share my work and read the work of other writers in the movement, which helped to shape how I approach research and writing.”
Currently, Richard is a Masters student at the CEVRO Institute in Prague and remains passionate about crafting a career which involves engaging with and sharing the ideas of liberty with a wider audience. As for SFL, he remains involved at the Editor-in-Chief of Speak Freely and continues to attend events and developing his network in the European liberty movement. As far he’s concerned, “I’m extremely thankful for the opportunities I have had access to through ESFL. With ESFL, you come for the ideas and you stay for the people. Not only is it a fantastic network of intelligent, passionate people, but it provides all the resources necessary to pursue your talents, travel across the continent, and learn more about the different experiences of liberty.”
You can follow Richard on Twitter @RJFreemason.