About Hedgefox

As a charity recognized by the Berlin Tax Office, Hedgefox solely pursues non-profit goals. We have no commercial interests. Our activities are aimed at supporting society as a whole.

Hedgefox is independent of political, economic, social, and private interests.

We do not identify with any political party, group, or perspective. This does not exclude the possibility that individual authors may express their political views. We encourage them to take a stand. We identify such individual expressions of opinion as comments in order to distinguish them from reports and analyses in the magazine. We seek to publish a wide diversity of viewpoints.

We regard our journalism as a public good. We believe that everyone has a right to free access to knowledge generated with the help of public funds. This is why we pledge to make all our content available free of charge on a permanent basis. That way, we give people with low incomes access to high-quality information.

Hedgefox doesn’t publish any ads or advertising disguised as editorial content.

The voices of younger academics are often not heard at universities and in society at large. On the other hand, there are many retired colleagues whose knowledge we now need more urgently than ever. Hedgefox is an intergenerational and egalitarian project in which all participants – from students to emeritus professors – meet on an equal footing. According to Jürgen Habermas’ discourse ethics, it is not power or status that should prevail in a debate, but only “the unforced force of the better argument”.

Academic research can only ever provide preliminary answers. In the course of time, these answers are adapted or discarded in light of new findings. At Hedgefox, we will critically evaluate existing knowledge and established opinions. At the same time, we will be open to criticism of our own findings, views, and prejudices.

For us, academic research means free and sometimes liberating thinking. If colleagues have new or different opinions, we invite them to express and justify them. At Hedgefox, any argument – whether popular or unpopular – can be discussed and, if necessary, refuted, as long as it does not violate existing laws or the fundamental rights of others. We listen to each other and we adhere to the discourse-ethical principle of tolerance. This means that we respect people as fellow citizens even if we reach the conclusion that their thinking is substantively or morally flawed.

We do not accept donations from questionable sources. Hedgefox is funded exclusively through donations from non-profit foundations, organizations for the advancement of scholarship, universities and other academic institutions, providers of political education, and individual citizens.

Donations consist of voluntary monetary, material, or service contributions that are made without any expectation of a quid pro quo. We accept donations only if Hedgefox’s independence is ensured. Should it become apparent that donors are engaged in activities that are incompatible with our Ethics Code, we will return their contributions.

We will disclose the sources and use of our funds on a permanent basis. We publish the names of all our donors and the amount of their donation or the type of support on our website. That way, we create the necessary transparency to make our editorial independence verifiable. If supporters do not agree with these rules, we cannot accept their donations.

We promise to spend our funds economically and responsibly. We will use them exclusively and directly for our non-profit purposes, and we will not pay disproportionately high remuneration to anyone. To make our expenses transparent, we publish a detailed report on our activities and the associated costs on our website each year. This report also lists the salaries of our executive management and editors-in-chief.