I am glad that the “Free Market Hall of Fame” poll has such great radical thinkers as Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard in the category for favorite historical free market academic economist, and I am also very glad that the wonderfully antistate Lew Rockwell and antiwar Ron Paul are listed in categories. For many other categories, the given choices strike me as more conventional. For favorite living free market economist, in particular, this radical would have no choice but to write someone in. We are lucky that there are many excellent economists doing radical free market research these days to choose from, but, having to choose just one, I selected “other” for the great Robert Higgs, Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute.*
So far as I know, all of the candidates currently listed are pro-war, or at least have failed to apply the important lessons of free markets and private property to the realm of foreign policy. War is the greatest threat to liberty, limited government, open trade, and property rights.
Higgs, in contrast, has devoted much of his academic life to showing the connection between crises, especially wars, and big government. His ratchet effect thesis and other insights have had an immeasurably deep impact on our understanding of the political economy of the warfare state. His research has opened up many possibilities for further exploration of these issues.
In his many books, including Crisis and Leviathan, Depression, War and Cold War, Neither Liberty Nor Safety, and Against Leviathan, he has established an unbeatable standard for excellence in unmasking the true nature and modus operandi of government power. But his work also includes precedent-setting scholarship in American economic history, including the 19th Century, Great Depression, World War II, and Cold War periods, as well as such topics as the economics of the environment, property rights, finance, agriculture, and health care. I might be tempted to vote for Higgs just based on his stellar work on the disastrous effects of the New Deal, especially his advancement of the concept of “regime uncertainty,” as well as his decisively putting to rest the fallacy of World War II “prosperity.” Then there is the indispensable Independent Review for which he has served as editor for years.
And to be truly for a free market, as we all know, is to oppose statism — which Bob Higgs does without flinching. His bulletproof scholarship combined with his anti-state radicalism makes him my choice for best living free-market economist.
* Full disclosure: I am honored to be professionally associated with Dr. Higgs, though I assure you my humble association is not the cause of my humble admiration.
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Good post.
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I wrote in Hans Hoppe as my favorite living economist.
Robert Higgs would certainly be on my list and I don’t think he gets enough attention.
Higgs is a Great Call. I’ll agree with both Gregory and Boettke. His published works, intelligently written, well argued, and easy to read, readily lay bare the Truth about our, supposedly benevolent, State.
The Independent Institute, for its own account, is another, to me, that doesn’t get the play it rightly deserves.
Is there much/any, beyond Higgs, cross-pollenization between II & vMI?
I am pleased to see Bastiat come out on top. It seems he is experiencing somewhat of a “comeback.”
I picked Cantillon as my favorite entrepreneur (past). Lawsuits, arrests, attempted murder, questionable death; a very interesting person to study.
Since we are speaking of living economists, I would have to say Roger Garrison (he has contributed immensely to Austrian macroeconomics.) Next would be Hoppe (excellent contributions on methodology, defence and banking.) From there on I’d say Boettke, Block, Skousen, Vernon Smith (not an Austrian, but a fellow traveller) and James Buchanan.
I wrote in Izzy K.
Whoops! For whatever reason, I guess my brain failed to register the word “living” in the title. My apologies to Anthony.
My pick would be Jesús Huerta de Soto due to his efforts in banking and the Spanish Scholastics.
I wrote in Joseph Salerno. I really like his work on Economics of War.
I would’ve chosen Dr. Walter Block, or Dr. Robert Murphy. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime in the future Dr. Murphy wins a Nobel Prize.
Is Dr Murphy’s work really that comprehensive to deserve such a prize? My best bet on Austrians likely to win such a prize are Roger Garrison, Reisman, Boettke, perhaps even Block (there are others too of course, e.g. de Soto.) Hoppe, unfortunately, does not delve nearly enough in issues of interest to the mainstream, so he is definitely not even a likely candidate.
I think it would be possible for de Soto, Reisman, and perhaps Garrison. Although Murphy’s work does not earn him the NP at the moment, he does have potential. It’s probably too early to say.
Jörg Guido Hülsmann
I would hope that the nobel committee would not award the prize to a homophobe like Hans Hoppe.
Better give it to freedomphobes or what???
LOL
scineram: huh? would you please explain your comment?
“I would hope that the nobel committee would not award the prize to a homophobe like Hans Hoppe.”
I had no idea that an economist’s personal predilections now entered into whether they should receive the award or not. And all that most have to offer to show Hoppe is a homophobe anyway is some out-of-context remarks and his remarks on Time Preference.
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