CNE Monatsmagazin Digest
Summer 2007

English Summary

Summertime - time to read: Which books ought one read, if one is interested in the Idea of Freedom? Which contributions to that idea have Aristotle, Confucius, Mises, Ortega y Gasset, Roepke or Schumpeter delivered? Gerhard Schwarz, Gerd Habermann, and Claudia Aebersold-Szalay, editors of The Idea of Freedom (Die Idee der Freiheit), together with 50 authors, have authored short reviews of classical as well as unconventional works on freedom.

Knight Reader: Freedom and Reform is a reader consisting of 15 fine essays by Frank Knight, co-founder of the Chicago School. The essays show Knight's broad interest and his disgust at the misuse of language. "He viewed it to be a most fatal mistake of the utilitarians to confuse freedom and power in order to maximise freedom for all. To him it was clear that freedom has to be defended as a goal in itself, not merely as an instrument for wealth creation", says Hardy Bouillon.

Ferrero on Power: Guglielmo Ferrero's almost forgotten treatise on Power (Macht), published in 1942, is an exploration of legitimate power and a warning against the pretence of false, illegitimate power. Ferrero wrote: "The "immortal" principles, the declaration of human rights, will turn into a scourge, when the power attributed to it is misused to place loads and burdens on the subjects, and when the subjects misuse this fact."

Austrian Economics, olé: Under the guidance of Jesús Huerta de Soto, the Madrid Universidad Rey Juan Carlos runs a Master programme Economics of the Austrian School. It has a focus on the works of Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich August von Hayek, Murray Rothbard, and Israel Kirzner. It also looks at the role of the entrepreneur, free markets and private property as drivers of wealth creating and the methodological foundation of Austrian Economics.

Little Italy: the Istituto Bruno Leoni, directed by Carlo Lottierie and Alberto Mingardi, once again invites to a Mises seminar in Sestri Levante. This year it takes place from 5-6 October 2007. In an interview Carlo Lottieri stressed that the "Mises seminar is conceived to offer the opportunity to some young scholars (of different countries and different disciplines) to present their recent studies and to discuss them before a public interested in libertarian and classical liberal ideas."

Browns Dilemma: On June 27, Stephen Pollard wrote that Mr. Brown faces an intractable dilemma. "Call it a treaty, call it a constitution, call it a series of amendments to existing treaties, but something is going to emerge from this week's European Union summit. And how Mr. Brown reacts to that document will decide his political future. But whatever he does will be the wrong decision." If Mr. Brown announced a referendum, the treaty would be finished, while not calling for a referendum would be like conceding the next election to the Tories.

Click here to view the full Monatsmagazin in German.

Dr. Hardy Bouillon is Head of Academic Affairs at the Centre for the New Europe.