This is a tale of two economists, Larry Summers and Hans-Hermann Hoppe. They have much in common, in addition to their adherence to the dismal science. Each is quite prominent in his field. Summers was Treasury Secretary in the Clinton Administration, and is now President of Harvard. Hoppe is a professor of economics at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and a preeminent leader not only of the Austrian School of Economics, but also of the libertarian school of political philosophy. Both are associated with the right wing of the economics profession; although this is far more true of Hoppe than Summers, neither can properly be considered as a socialist or “progressive.” I have heard tell that in any given room that Summers finds himself, he is much the brightest person in the group. From my own experience, this also applies, in spades, to Hoppe. They are even not too far apart in age, Hoppe at 55 and Summers at 50.
But the most important thing they have in common is that each has been in the news of late for uttering views incompatible with the Thought Control mania that has swept academia like a virus.
[Full Article at LRC]
