Auburnomics

Here's a very favorable write-up about the Mises Institute in yesterday's Wall Street Journal:

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In the 1920s and '30s, Ludwig von Mises was a leading light of Austrian economic thought, seeking to counter the growing trend toward socialism by arguing for limited government, lower taxes, stronger private property rights and less business regulation. In 1934, he fled the Nazis in Vienna--going first to Switzerland and later to America, where he was a prolific thinker and writer until his death in 1973.

At the heart of Austrian economics is a skepticism of powerful, central authority. And Southerners have always been distrustful of government. Our libertarian streak--which flares up from time to time, for reasons both good and bad--makes us natural allies for the Austrian tradition.

The institute's location also says something about the quality and depth of American intellectual life. America is lampooned as philistine in many quarters, especially in Europe, yet its bastions of learning are not limited to its Gothams. Having such an outfit so far away from the usual urban hubs is itself a rejection of the central planning and authority that Ludwig von Mises spent his life fighting. He might never have visited Auburn, but something tells me that he wouldn't have put this institute any other place.

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