Lawrence Moss, who was a wonderful fellow traveler of the Austrian School and the editor of The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, has passed away. The arrangements for a memorial service for him are incomplete, but I spoke to his widow tonight, Widdy Ho, and gave her my condolences.
Larry edited the book The Economics of Ludwig von Mises, which came from a session he helped to organize at the annual meeting of the Southern Economic Association in 1973. I love his last line in his piece on Mises’ monetary theory that went something like this: “Money not only mattered to Mises, but it mattered all of the time.”
The AJES was (and still is) a journal that has been friendly to the Austrians and has provided a wonderful outlet for papers with Austrian themes, yet was considered more of a “mainstream” journal. I have served on its editorial board for eight years and have reviewed many a paper that was submitted.
Larry Moss is someone who will be missed. He was a great scholar and a great guy, and I am one who mourns his passing.
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I knew Larry only professionally, but I owed him a personal debt. He encouraged me at a crucial period in my life by taking an interest in my research. He provided an important journal outlet for me and many Austrian colleagues.
I saw him many times at conferences over the years. He was always warm and friendly, gracious as a person and as a scholar.
I will miss him.
Yes, Larry was a great guy, a true gentelman-scholar. I knew him professionally too, mainly because of my reviews of anti-globalization/liberalization books. The next editor of AJES has big shoes to fill.
D
I first met Larry at the South Royalton conference in 1974, where he entertained us all with his considerable talents as a magician. I did not know him well but I interacted with him sporadically over the intervening years since then and found him to be a gentleman, with an upbeat disposition and never a harsh word to be said about anyone. He was also a genuine seeker of knowledge, open to and interested in all strands of Austrian economic thought. In his low-key manner, he used his links to the mainstream history of thought profession to promote Austrian economics. He will be missed, personally and professionally
This is sad news. I first met Larry at a FEE seminar for college students in the 1960s. Larry made an importance difference for Austrian Economics in the years that followed through his scholarship, his editoral work, especially with AJES, and his activities in HES. I found him to be a kind, tolerant, and encouraging person. I think we have been made are all the more poorer by his passing.
I met Larry at Queens College in the early sixties when we were both undergraduates. At that time, my only connection to ideas came from my reading of Ayn Rand. Larry introduced me to Austrian economics, libertarianism and the history of economic thought. Needless to say, without him, the entire course of my intellectual development would have been different. Through the years, he was my colleague and my friend. I will miss his exuberance, his love of ideas and above all, his peerless sense of humor.
Larry was my favorite professor at Babson College. He was incredibly influential and truly sharpened my understanding of economic development. I admired his passion of teaching and his encouragement as a mentor.
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