I Chose Liberty - Ludwig von Mises Institute

174 I Chose Liberty: Autobiographies of Contemporary Libertarians
over Mises’s emphatic barking. The Master, Tyler, and I would repeat long passages. “Zhe
gahrment induhstry makes cloaddths not only for normal people but also der shtout. Book
publishers publish not only vesterns and trillers for zhe crowwdd, but also books for zhe
discrrimminating rrreader.”
After doing my bachelor’s in economics at George Mason I went directly for the Ph.D.
I went to NYU, funded by the Austrian program of Mario Rizzo, Israel Kirzner, and Larry
White. Within the program I criticized Austrianism from a McCloskeyan perspective, but
was comradely, and learned much from them (I took courses from Rizzo and White). I
pursued game theory pretty hotly. I never took model building at all seriously, but career
sensibilities led me to think in those terms at the time. Later on, after graduate school, I
came to appreciate how valiant the NYU Austrians have been in holding up against the
madness and creating the enclave that I was fortunate enough to be part of. Actually I’ve
made a return to Austrian thinking, especially in distinguishing knowledge from information,
and have articulated the instinctive admiration I really always had for Kirzner, but
my formulation of central Austrian themes is, I think, pretty distinct from that of any of
the Austrians, and I now push for retiring the term “Austrian economics.”
I did some lecturing for Greg Rehmke’s economics-for-debate seminars, and at one
such program at Bellarmine College in Kentucky I met John Majewski. John and I hit it
off and ventured into toll road history. Together we explored the mysteries and wonders of
Plank Road Fever.
In a sense Tyler has been my greatest influence, but throughout those early days Tyler,
Randy, and I interacted as peers. Of people with a guiding influence on me, more as idols
or role models, there seem to be four who stand out, mentioned here in the order they
entered my life.
The first was Tyler’s father, Jim Cowen. It would be hard to try to convey his greatness
without going on at length. He has influenced me most.
The second is Walter Grinder. For me and many others Walter is the bearer and teacher
of the big intellectual picture. He tells you to know the big picture and think of yourself
as part of it. There is no separating his being from his vision for the vibrant libertarian
pursuit of scholarship. Moreover, Walter maintains a lofty and austere existence, a remarkably
independent judgment, upon which a pupil may build certain key ideas and deeply
personal scruples and aspirations. Walter’s judgment is a sort of North Star for me. His
mission is full of integrity and never satisfied. Along with Leonard Liggio, Walter headed
most of the academic programs at the Institute of Humane Studies, and our relationship
developed with my participation. Walter and I for a time lived about 20 minutes apart and
we got together regularly for coffee. For hours we talked of the movement, its history, its
ideas, and so on. He’s just a great person. Leonard, too, has always been a good friend and
supporter, and I am very grateful for the institutions and communities that he, as well, did
so much to create. Christine and John Blundell, too.
The third is Prof. McCloskey—Donald then, Deirdre now. She was very important
in my formulating why it is perfectly legitimate to be merely a libertarian economist, indeed,
merely a libertarian or even just a plain man, why you don’t need an Austrian economics
or any other protective scientific armor. She is right that, like Samuelson and Arrow, some