Von Mises Institute at AU.

[DKW 86 7,440]

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115....html?mod=blogs

Von Mises Finds A Sweet Home In Alabama

By KYLE WINGFIELD

August 11, 2006; Page W9

AUBURN, Ala. -- Growing up next door in Georgia, I never thought of Alabama as a beacon of intellect. Living in its capital city of Montgomery for two years didn't exactly change my mind. It wasn't until I moved to Europe a couple of years ago that I realized the Heart of Dixie was also the heart of sensible economic thinking.

One by one, I met young capitalist Continentals who had studied in Auburn. Not at Auburn University, mind you. Alabama's largest college is associated more with free-running athletes like Bo Jackson than with free-market philosophers. Rather, my Continental acquaintances had spent time at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, an unaffiliated think tank located just off-campus that preaches the works of Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard and other economists from the Austrian School -- including, of course, the institute's namesake.

Ludwig von Mises

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.

Nine years later, the Mises Institute opened its doors, publishing free-market texts in a variety of languages and drawing scholars for research sabbaticals and formal programs such as its week-long Mises University every summer. (This year's session ended earlier this month.) "[The institute is] like a combination [between a] monastery and software firm," Jeffrey Tucker, a vice president of the institute, explained when I visited.

The Mises Institute counts free-marketers from more than 30 states and at least 23 countries among its faculty. Its students' homes are equally far-flung: Poland, Peru, Argentina, Canada, France and China this summer alone. "Every one of them is an idealist in a very courageous way," Mr. Tucker said. "A lot of people think it's silly to be an idealist these days. But Mises always taught that ideas are the only weapons we have against despotism."

For years, socialist European governments deemed those weapon-ideas dangerous. Intellectual dissidents had to leave the Continent to learn and reimport the ideas that classical liberals like Mises and Hayek -- and, going further back, Adam Smith, Frederic Bastiat, Jean-Baptiste Say, et al. -- exported to America in the first place.

The dispersal of Europeans from Mises and other U.S. institutions is having an effect. Free-market think tanks are at last emerging in such traditionally statist places as Belgium, France and Romania. Their founders and employees now have more than a philosophy in common. "It's a little funny, I think," said Alberto Mingardi, an Italian free-marketer who has visited the Mises Institute twice. "How can you even imagine meeting somebody in Europe who knows about the Auburn Tigers?"

Ah, yes -- Auburn. How did Mr. Mingardi pass the time during his two visits to "the Loveliest Village on the Plain"? "Just following the lessons and browsing the [institute's] library the rest of the day. And of course I was enjoying the many cultural attractions of Alabama." Uh huh...and which of these attractions draw the interest of a man from Milan? A pause. Two beats. "Southern food," he finally concluded. "I like fried stuff, so that was my thing."

Amen to that. But a nagging question remains: How does a world-class think tank end up in east Alabama?

Mr. Tucker notes that, back in 1982, Auburn University had one of the few Austrian-tolerant economics departments. (The Mises Institute might not be affiliated with the university, but its founders most likely anticipated a healthy intellectual exchange. A hostile nearby faculty wasn't desirable.) Mr. Tucker also observes that the city of Auburn has many redeeming qualities: a charming downtown, low prices for room and board, easy access to Atlanta's international airport, good ol' Southern hospitality (and cooking) and few distractions.

All true. But allow me to make an additional point. 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.

[Bottomfeeder 244]

I love that library. I could spent months there. Read Human Action.

http://www.mises.org/humanaction.asp