Land, Community, and a Sense of Place

A Discussion with Lady Scruton

Event Overview

Drawing on her experiences in farming at Sundey Hill Farm that she established with her late husband, Sir Roger Scruton, Lady Scruton will talk about the interconnected ideas of cultivation, property, community, and conservation. In her talk she will reflect on how harmful environmental regulations and subsidies destroy beautiful landscapes and livelihoods, and how instead local community initiatives help create places that people recognize as a shared home and thus worth caring for.

The event will take place at CSS’ Andrássy Salon in Budapest, Hungary and will be moderated by Marion Smith, President and C.E.O. of Common Sense Society. The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. CET.

The discussion will be preceeded by the music performance of Mr. Dénes Molnár, Cellist of the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra.

Please note: Seats are limited, registrations are on a first come, first served basis.

Featured Speakers

Lady Scruton is the director of Horsell’s Farm Enterprises, Ltd. which she established with her late husband, Sir Roger Scruton, to provide guidance for commercial and non-profit enterprises concerned with local farming, conservation, and the preservation of historical records. Horsell’s Farm Enterprises sponsors summer school programs and launched Athelstan Farm Foods, which uses traditional local recipes to produce cheese for wholesale partners. She is a member of the board of directors of the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation, which is a network of institutions and scholars committed to preserving and further developing the philosophies and cultural movements championed in Sir Roger’s work.

Mr. Marion Smith is the President and C.E.O. of Common Sense Society, which he founded in 2009. CSS is an international network that promotes the principles of liberty, prosperity, and beauty. He is also the chairman of Washington, D.C.’s National Civic Art Society, a former visiting fellow in the B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics at The Heritage Foundation, and the former executive director and C.E.O. of the congressionally authorized Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a bipartisan educational, research, and human rights nonprofit. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from South Carolina’s Wofford College and earned an M.A. from Central European University. His writings have been published in The Hill, Los Angeles Times, National Review, Politico, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He is a regular guest on network and cable television channels, including ABC, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, and CSPAN.

Music Performance

Mr. Dénes Molnár graduated from the Liszt Ferenc University of Music in 2007. He worked as a freelance musician until 2010, then became a member of the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then, he has participated in almost all of the orchestra’s productions on several continents, as well as in chamber music formations.