This is a tale of two economists, Larry Summers and Hans-Hermann Hoppe. They have much in common, in addition to their adherence to the dismal science. Each is quite prominent in his field. Summers was Treasury Secretary in the Clinton Administration, and is now President of Harvard. Hoppe is a professor of economics at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and a preeminent leader not only of the Austrian School of Economics, but also of the libertarian school of political philosophy. Both are associated with the right wing of the economics profession; although this is far more true of Hoppe than Summers, neither can properly be considered as a socialist or “progressive.” I have heard tell that in any given room that Summers finds himself, he is much the brightest person in the group. From my own experience, this also applies, in spades, to Hoppe. They are even not too far apart in age, Hoppe at 55 and Summers at 50.
But the most important thing they have in common is that each has been in the news of late for uttering views incompatible with the Thought Control mania that has swept academia like a virus. [Full Article at LRC]
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But there’s another difference between Hoppe and Summers which Block doesn’t mention.
Hoppe was admired by likeminded academics from around the world who inundated the UNLV administration with communications of support. The administration knew it’d be badmouthed and disrespected far and wide for persisting in Hoppe’s persecution.
Summers, on the other hand, got his job by being a reliable insider within the academic and Democrat establishments. But these same allies didn’t want people to hear what Summers had to say — in fact, they’re front and center among the forces who maintain hiring differences are due solely to unfairness and that preferences must be imposed to ensure group equality. He got no help from them.
Hoppe aligned himself with those eager to defend him when he spoke his mind. But the opportunist Summers made his career pretending to to be a team player with those he quietly knew to be off-base. When the truth slipped out, he had a lot of humiliating backpedaling to do.
Dear R.P.:
Where were you when I needed you? (When I was writing this article.). I entirely agree with you.
Best regards,
Walter
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