Libertarian Scholars Conference

 

Event photos are available at Mises.org/LSC19.

Join Joe Salerno, Michael Rectenwald, Safedean Ammous, David Gordon, Jeff Deist, Patrick Newman and many more at the 2019 Libertarian Scholars Conference on Saturday, September 28, at King’s College in New York City. The opening lecture will be delivered by Michael Rectenwald

The first Libertarian Scholars Conference was held in New York City in 1972 under the aegis of the Center for Libertarian Studies. The conference was held annually (except for 1973) throughout the 1970s in New York or Princeton, New Jersey (1977, 1978), with the 8th and last “national” conference taking place at the Hotel Diplomat in New York. In the early 1980s regional Libertarian Scholars Conferences were held in Chicago and other cities. The conferences featured papers by the founding fathers of modern libertarian scholarship, including Murray Rothbard, Leonard Liggio, Walter Block, Ralph Raico, Ron Hamowy, Roy Childs and Walter Grinder. Other prominent scholars who presented papers were Henry Veatch, Leland Yeager, Hillel Steiner, Douglas Rasmussen, David Calleo, Bruce Russett, and Samuel Brittain.

The Libertarian Scholars Conference was originally conceived as a forum for scholars from different disciplines to meet and exchange ideas on the study of liberty. The ultimate goal was to integrate their diverse insights and approaches into a broad interdisciplinary perspective on liberty, what Murray Rothbard called “the discipline of liberty.” The founders of the conference hoped that this discipline or systematic body of knowledge would give shape and direction to the growing ideological movement of modern libertarianism, much as British classical and French liberal political economy had guided the movement of classical (laissez-faire) liberalism. This series of conferences succeeded admirably in stimulating scholarly research from a libertarian perspective and attracting many new scholars, young and old, to the scientific study of liberty.

The libertarian movement has grown tremendously since the early 1980s and so has the need for intellectual guidance from experts in the social sciences and humanities, whose several disciplines help elucidate the nature of human liberty and its importance in nurturing and sustaining the social order that permits human civilization to flourish.

With this in mind, the Mises Institute, as heir to the Center for Libertarian Studies, has revived the Libertarian Scholars Conference, which will take place on Saturday, September 28, 2019, in New York City, the site of the first conference. 

Proposals for individual papers, complete paper sessions, and symposia are encouraged. Papers should be well developed, but at a stage where they can still benefit from the group’s discussion. Preference will be given to recent research papers that are intended for submission to scholarly journals and have not been given at major conferences. All topics related to libertarian themes in the social sciences and humanities are welcome. Abstracts should be limited to 750 words. All proposals are peer reviewed by the Libertarian Scholars Conference Program Committee. Submit your proposal to paperslsc@mises.org by June 28, 2019. Proposals after the deadline will be considered as space permits. Decisions will be communicated by July 8. Completed papers are due September 6.
 

Location and Schedule

The King’s College, 56 Broadway, New York City.

Schedule (PDF)

Accommodations
The Holiday Inn Manhattan is within walking distance of the conference. To reserve a room there, call 855-914-1383 or reserve online before August 27 and mention Mises Institute, block code MIB, for a special rate of $229 single or $249 double occupancy per night plus tax. Parking Garage GGMC: $35 per 24 hours from the time you park your vehicle, with no in and out privileges, 4 minute walk from hotel. 37 3rd Place or 78 2nd Place, NYC 10280 (GPS should not use default Brooklyn address). Front desk at hotel can answer any questions.

Directions to The King’s College:
The King’s College is at 56 Broadway, a half mile down Broadway from Pace University. About 10 minute walk from Pace. The Broad Street subway station (J train) and the Wall Street subway station (2 train) are only minutes minutes away from TKC. To walk from Holiday Inn to The King’s College, go south on Washington Street and then left onto Rector Street. Go about 2.5 blocks. Turn right onto Broadway and The King’s College, 56 Broadway in on your left (about a 5 minute walk).

Here is a map of restaurants near The King’s College. Also nearby and recommended by locals: Stone Street Restaurants, Harry’s Steak (0.4 miles from TKC), Blue Ribbon Federal Grill, Fraunces Tavern at 54 Pearl Street, Nobu Downtown, and the Beekman Hotel Restaurants.

Apply here for a student scholarship.

Special thanks to the Halis Family Foundation for making this event possible, and to Nathan & Anna Bond and Alice Lillie for special presentations.