Part 1: The Flight, the Bus, and the First Lecture

I wake up in the morning and hit the snooze button. Nothing unusual about that, but we need to be getting on our way to the airport in an two hours! I am mostly packed - except for the books and the laptop. I pick a few novels, papers, and magazines from my to-read selections anticipating the long wait times at the airport, the two and a half hour flight, the Express 85 shuttle bus ride from Atlanta to Auburn, and of course the return trip. Of course, I still have to finish up the last of the required readings for the University sessions.

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I'm sitting in the airport right now talking to an African-American gentleman - he is from Atlanta and teaches orthopedics around the country. He even offered to let me watch a movie with him on his laptop. I decline, but I do appreciate the gesture. I talk to him about his home in Connecticut and about how cool Atlanta is.

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The Atlanta airport is humongous! It has to be nearly as big (or bigger) than St. Louis International, where my family lives. It is a sight to behold. The atrium in the center is plush enough to be a hotel! I take a seat for a few hours, sipping coffee, reading, and watching the people go by. Waiting in an airport is like watching a microcosm of earth walk past you. You see so many cultures, hear so many languages, meet so many interesting people. No wonder people like to travel.

The bus was late getting underway to Auburn, but I manage in the meantime to meet David Gordon, Austrian scholar, and a number of Misians on their way to the 21st annual Mises University. We arrive nearly at 8 p.m., which barely puts us there in time for the opening remarks and Ralph Raico's lecture on the life and work of Ludwig von Mises.

Dr. Raico is a fascinating man. He was a student of Hayek and the only living person I know of who had an active relationship with all three major figures of Austrian economic thought of the 20th century: Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Murray Rothbard. Amazing.

Raico begins his lecture by welcoming the students and noting the current biographies of Ludwig von Mises - a shorter book by Rothbard and a soon-to-be-published epic biography by Hulsmann. Look for it in the Spring of 2007.

How is it possible that philosophy and economics students all across the world are unfamiliar with Mises and his work in both fields? Upon Mises' death, even the New York Times, known for their leftist leaning, called him one of the foremost (not to mention formidable) economists of the 20th century. Perhaps the reason that few people know of him is that his ideas are dangerous to the ruling elite in government and academia and hence he is both suppressed and unknown. But it is still strange considering that he was a champion of a school of thought that has its root in the work of John Locke, Adam Smith, Turgot, Bentham, Jefferson, Madison, Alexis de Tocqueville, and many others. It is a school of thought over two-hundred years old now, classical liberalism, which maintains that humans have the capacity to rule themselves without the constant interference of government in their lives. It is the school of thought that champions laissez-faire economics, true free markets, and not the socialist agenda promoted by the so-called 'liberals' (and conservatives, for that matter) of today's political elite.

Mises was also a pioneer of monetary theory, and nearly single-handedly developed what is universally known now as the Austrian theory of the business cycle. His "praxeology," or logic of action, is the standard amongst Austrian economists as the fundamental methodology of doing economics.

The political climate when Mises first began his professional work would make one wonder how he managed to stand his ground. In the first half of the 20th century, socialism permeated nearly all of western Europe and America. However, all the economic theorists and politicians supporting socialism neglected explaining exactly how a socialist economy would work. Mises, in his book Socialism, showed once and for all that socialism provided no method of economic calculation for producing capital goods and could not help but fail. Now, people see him as a prophet. Many people think that it was Reagan who defeated the Soviet Union through military buildup. Wrong - socialism is doomed from the start, and it was the beginnings of the information age that sent the Soviets plummeting. As the citizens began to see how the rest of the world lived, even the Soviet elites began to lose faith in the system. Nukes were enough? No, socialism can't work - and Mises was the one who proved it.

Mises belonged in the order of intellectuals that includes Galileo, Beethoven, Madison, Jefferson, and Bach, because not only did he possess irrepressible intellect, he also lived a life that people admired.

There is so much more to say about Mises, but enough for tonight. Perhaps later I will add to this post. Until then, I must sleep. It's been quite a day.

Welcome to the Mises University 2006 Blog

This is not "official" Mises Institute material, but I hope this blog gives you an inside view of the magnificent event that is Mises University, held in 2006 from July 30th to August 5th. I hope that you enjoy the notes, anecdotal material, and the fun times that will be recorded here. May you learn about classical liberalism, laissez faire capitalism, and Austrian economics in a way that inspires you to explore all that the Mises Institute has to offer.