7TH ANNUAL MADRID CONFERENCE ON AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS
OCTOBER 26TH, 2023. KEYNOTE LECTURE
A FEW AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL THOUGHTS BY JESÚS HUERTA DE SOTO

THANK YOU VERY MUCH PROF. DIERKS.

INTRODUCTION

2023 HAS BEEN A YEAR OF IMPORTANT CELEBRATIONS FOR THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL OF MADRID. EXACTLY FIFTY YEARS AGO I BECAME IN CONTACT FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL. THIS YEAR WE CELEBRATE THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST SPANISH EDITION OF MY BOOK ON MONEY, BANK CREDIT AND ECONOMIC CYCLES. ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL COMMEMORATE THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JOURNAL “PROCESOS DE MERCADO”. FINALLY, WE ACCOMPLISHED ALSO THE 17TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR MASTER PROGRAM IN AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS HERE AT THE KING JUAN CARLOS UNIVERSITY.

SO TODAY, IT IS PROBABLY A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE YOU A FEW NOTES THAT COULD HELP YOU UNDERSTAND HOW ALL OF THIS COULD BE ACHIEVED, AS WELL AS MY ADVICE AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL HERE IN MADRID AND ELSEWHERE.

MY LIBERTARIAN FAMILY AND HOW I CAME TO LEARN AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS

FIRST OF ALL, MY FAMILY WAS ESSENTIAL IN INTRODUCING ME TO THE WORLD OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, LIBERTARIANISM, AND AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS. MY GRANDFATHER, JESÚS HUERTA PEÑA, WAS A CLASSICAL LIBERAL. IN 1928, HE FOUNDED A LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, ESPAÑA S.A. COMPAÑÍA NACIONAL DE SEGUROS. NOT ONLY DID THE COMPANY SURVIVE THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (1936-1939) UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, BUT HE ALSO DEVELOPED THE TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS TO PAY ALL LIFE INSURANCE CLAIMS ARISING FROM THE WAR IN SPAIN.

WHEN MY GRANDFATHER DIED, MY FATHER, JESÚS HUERTA BALLESTER, TOOK OVER THE INSURANCE COMPANY. HE ALSO WAS A CLASSICAL LIBERAL WHO STUDIED AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AT THE END OF THE 1940’S AND HAD A VAST LIBRARY OF THE BEST BOOKS ON ECONOMICS. WHEN I WAS FOURTEEN YEARS OLD, I BEGAN TO READ THESE BOOKS IN MY FATHER’S LIBRARY. THE FIRST LIBERTARIAN BOOK I READ WAS 1962 MILTON FRIEDMAN’S CAPITALISM AND FREEDOM. IN THIS BOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME I READ FRIEDMAN’S MENTION OF A “RADICAL PHILOSOPHER” CALLED LUDWIG VON MISES.

WHEN I WAS SIXTEEN YEARS OLD, AND AFTER THE SUMMER OF 1973, EXACTLY 50 YEARS AGO, WHILE WALKING IN THE CENTER OF MADRID, I SAW A BLUE-COVERED BOOK TITLED LA ACCIÓN HUMANA (HUMAN ACTION: A TREATISE ON ECONOMICS) IN THE SHOP WINDOW OF A FAMOUS BOOKSTORE (LIBERÍA FUENTETAJA). THIS BOOK TOOK ME COMPLETELY BY SURPRISE, SINCE I HAD NOT EVEN KNOWN OF ITS EXISTENCE, AND ITS AUTHOR WAS MISES, PRECISELY THE RADICAL PHILOSOPHER MENTIONED BY FRIEDMAN. WHAT A COINCIDENCE! SO, I ENTERED THE SHOP, I BOUGHT THE BOOK AND STARTED READING IT IMMEDIATELY. A FEW WEEKS LATER, IN OCTOBER OF THE SAME YEAR, I STARTED MY BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN ECONOMICS AT COMPLUTENSE UNIVERSITY. IN THE FIRST SEMESTER, THE REQUIRED TEXTBOOK WAS AN INTRODUCTION TO POSITIVE ECONOMICS, BY RICHARD LIPSEY (1963). IN THE INTRODUCTION, IN A FOOTNOTE, LIPSEY REFERRED ALSO TO MISES’S HUMAN ACTION, THE VERY BOOK I HAD FOUND AT THE BOOKSTORE A FEW DAYS BEFORE!

SIMULTANEOUSLY, AND ALSO IN OCTOBER 1973, A FRIEND OF MY FATHER’S FROM HIS YEARS AS AN OFFICER IN THE SPANISH MARINE CORPS, JOSÉ RAMÓN CANOSA, AN AUSTRIAN LIBERTARIAN, PAID A VISIT WITH MY FATHER TO MY STUDY ROOM AND SAW HUMAN ACTION OPENED ON MY TABLE. CANOSA IMMEDIATELY TOLD ME ABOUT AN AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS SEMINAR LUIS REIG ALBIOL WAS HOLDING AT HIS HOME EVERY THURSDAY EVENING IN MADRID. LUIS REIG WAS THE BROTHER OF JOAQUÍN REIG, A FRIEND OF MISES’S AND THE TRANSLATOR OF HUMAN ACTION INTO SPANISH AND BOTH BROTHERS WERE AMONG THE VERY FEW SPANISH MEMBERS OF THE MONT PELERIN SOCIETY. CANOSA ARRANGED FOR MY FATHER AND ME TO BE INVITED TO THIS SEMINAR.

OF COURSE, BEING 16 YEARS OLD, I WAS THE YOUNGEST OF ALL THE SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS. IN THIS SEMINAR, I FIRST HEARD ABOUT AND READ THE MAIN AUSTRIAN BOOKS WRITTEN BY BÖHM-BAWERK, ROTHBARD, KIRZNER, HAYEK, AND MENGER. IN THE SEMINAR WE ALSO DISCUSSED WHICH BOOKS SHOULD BE TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH, INCLUDING HAYEK’S THE CONSTITUTION OF LIBERTY (1960). AS I WAS NOT OF LEGAL DRIVING AGE, MY FATHER PERSONALLY DROVE ME TO THE SEMINAR FOR THE FIRST TWO YEARS. HE ALWAYS PARTICIPATED AND ALSO DISCUSSED AUSTRIAN ECONOMIC TOPICS WITH THE OTHER PARTICIPANTS. THE DEBATE BETWEEN LIMITED GOVERNMENT AND ANARCHO-CAPITALISM WAS ALSO DISCUSSED THERE. FROM THE VERY BEGINNING I JOINED THE SEMINAR, I AGREED WITH ANARCHO-CAPITALISM, WHICH I VIEW AS THE MOST LOGICAL SOLUTION TO SOCIETY’S PROBLEMS, AND MY VERY ACTIVE PARTICIPATION LED BOTH BROTHERS JOAQUÍN AND LUIS REIG TO TREAT ME AS THEIR INTELLECTUAL SON.

SEVERAL EMINENT SPANISH SCHOLARS TOOK PART IN THE SEMINAR, INCLUDING PROFESSOR LUCAS BELTRÁN, WHO DIRECTED MY FIRST DOCTORAL THESIS, WHICH WAS IN LAW AND TITLED PRIVATE PENSION PLANS (PLANES DE PENSIONES PRIVADOS, 1984). ANOTHER IMPORTANT PARTICIPANT WAS PEDRO SCHWARTZ, WHO HAD STUDIED AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS UNDER LIONEL ROBBINS AND KARL POPPER. ALTHOUGH SCHWARTZ WAS NOT AN AUSTRIAN ECONOMIST HIMSELF, HE LATER BECAME THE NOMINAL MENTOR OF MY SECOND DOCTORAL THESIS IN ECONOMICS.

I WOULD LIKE TO ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE REIG FAMILY, AS THEY PLAYED A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN DEVELOPING AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS IN SPAIN AND IN MY INTELLECTUAL LIFE. LUIS REIG’S FATHER, JOAQUÍN REIG RODRÍGUEZ, WAS A SPANISH CLASSICAL LIBERAL AND A NATIONALIST POLITICIAN FROM VALENCIA. HIS SONS, LUIS AND JOAQUÍN REIG ALBIOL, READ HAZLITT’S NEWSWEEK REVIEW OF THE 1949 FIRST EDITION OF HUMAN ACTION (MISES 1949). THEY IMMEDIATELY ORDERED THE BOOK AND JOAQUÍN REIG ALBIOL LATER BECAME RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BOOK’S TRANSLATION INTO SPANISH. WITH THEIR EFFORTS, THE FIRST SPANISH EDITION OF HUMAN ACTION WAS PUBLISHED IN 1960. THAT TRANSLATION OF HUMAN ACTION WAS THE FIRST VERSION I READ.

F. A. HAYEK, LUDWIG VON MISES, AND THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE MONT PELERIN SOCIETY

AFTER THE SPANISH DICTATOR FRANCISCO FRANCO PASSED AWAY IN 1975, THE REIG FAMILY ORGANIZED IN MADRID AND SALAMANCA THE FIRST MONT PELERIN SOCIETY (MPS) MEETING HELD IN SPAIN. I WAS INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONFERENCE. HAYEK ATTENDED THIS CONFERENCE AND I MET HIM IN PERSON FOR THE FIRST TIME. DURING HIS STAY IN SPAIN, I SHOWED HAYEK ALL OF HIS BOOKS THAT I HAD, ALL OF THEM UNDERLINED AND STUDIED IN DETAIL BY ME, AND HE SIGNED HIS NAME ON ALL OF THEM. I EVEN DISCUSSED WITH HIM SEVERAL ASPECTS OF HIS EARLIER WORKS, PRICES AND PRODUCTION (HAYEK 1935) AND THE PURE THEORY OF CAPITAL (HAYEK 1941).

HAYEK WAS SURPRISED BY MY EXTENSIVE READING AND KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WORKS. HE TOLD ME, “IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW MY RESEARCH, PLEASE CONTACT MY SECRETARY AND SHE WILL PROVIDE FULL ACCESS TO MY ARCHIVES.” INDEED, I WANTED TO STUDY WITH HIM. HOWEVER, DUE TO SPANISH STATE REGULATIONS AT THAT TIME, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO INVITE HAYEK TO BE MY DOCTORAL DISSERTATION DIRECTOR. BUT, ALTHOUGH STUDYING WITH HAYEK DIRECTLY WAS IMPOSSIBLE, HE WROTE ME A LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION TO STUDY AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY. DURING THE FOLLOWING YEARS, WE STAYED IN TOUCH, ALMOST UNTIL HE PASSED AWAY IN 1992.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCE OF HAYEK’S VISITS TO SPAIN WAS THAT I BECAME A MPS MEMBER. AT THAT TIME, MPS RULES STIPULATED THAT ANYONE WISHING TO BECOME A MEMBER WAS REQUIRED TO HAVE ATTENDED AT LEAST TWO PREVIOUS MPS MEETINGS. HAYEK HAPPILY SIGNED MY MEMBERSHIP PROPOSAL. WITH HIS PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION I BECAME, WITH LITTLE MORE THAN 25 YEARS OLD, THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE MONT PELERIN SOCIETY AT THAT TIME.

BUT, IF I WERE TO CHOOSE THE MOST OUTSTANDING ECONOMIST SINCE THE BEGINNING OF OUR DISCIPLINE I WOULD CHOOSE MISES, NOT HAYEK. I DID NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET MISES IN PERSON, BECAUSE HE PASSED AWAY IN 1973. MISES UNDERSTANDING OF ECONOMIC METHODOLOGY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, CAPITAL THEORY, AND ECONOMIC CALCULATION LAID A SOUND FOUNDATION FOR THE MODERN AUSTRIAN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS. AND, OF COURSE, IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT MILESTONE AND WE WERE VERY HONORED AND IMMENSELY HAPPY WHEN HAYEK WON THE NOBEL PRIZE IN 1974 . THIS ENCOURAGED HAYEK TO CONTRIBUTE MORE TO THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL AND LIBERTARIAN POLICY AND LED MANY YOUNG STUDENTS TO FOLLOW AND DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO THE STUDY OF THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS.

MURRAY ROTHBARD AND STANFORD UNIVERSITY

ON SEPTEMBER 1, 1978, I STARTED WORKING AT MY FAMILY’S LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. MEANWHILE, I ALSO STARTED MY PH.D. STUDIES IN LAW AND ECONOMIC THEORY AT COMPLUTENSE UNIVERSITY IN ORDER TO FOLLOW AN ACADEMIC CAREER TEACHING AT THE UNIVERSITY.

TWO YEARS LATER, IN 1980, I RECEIVED A SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE CENTRAL BANK OF SPAIN TO STUDY IN THE UNITED STATES. I WAS ACCEPTED BY THE WHARTON SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA; THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, AT BERKELEY; AND STANFORD UNIVERSITY. BECAUSE MY FUTURE WIFE, SONSOLES, WAS STUDYING FOR A MASTER’S DEGREE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AT UCLA, I CHOSE STANFORD.

IN SEPTEMBER OF THE SAME YEAR, I ARRIVED AT STANFORD. AND WHAT A COINCIDENCE! THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE MPS WAS HELD THERE, AND I ATTENDED IT. THIS WAS WHEN I FIRST MET MURRAY ROTHBARD IN PERSON. AT THAT TIME, THE INSTITUTE FOR HUMANE STUDIES (IHS) IN MENLO PARK (FORMERLY LED BY “BALDY” HARPER) WAS ONE OF THE RESEARCH CENTERS OF AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS IN THE STATES, AND MURRAY N. ROTHBARD USED TO SPEND SEVERAL MONTHS THERE EVERY YEAR RESEARCHING AND WRITING. IN ADDITION, STANFORD’S HOOVER INSTITUTION HAD HAYEK AS ITS HONORARY PRESIDENT. SO, IT WAS A VERY EXCITING TIME FOR AUSTRIAN ECONOMISTS IN STANFORD AND SO I WAS VERY FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO STUDY AT STANFORD AT THAT TIME!

I MET ROTHBARD FREQUENTLY DURING MY STUDIES AT STANFORD. ROTHBARD WAS QUITE SURPRISED TO ENCOUNTER SUCH A YOUNG, AUSTRIAN SCHOOL ECONOMIST FROM SPAIN. HE CONTINUALLY ASKED ME MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SPANISH SOCIETY. AS A GOOD HISTORIAN, HE WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR AND THE SCHOOL OF SALAMANCA. IN THE TRADITION OF MARJORIE GRICE-HUTCHINSON AND HAYEK, ROTHBARD HAD ALREADY WRITTEN A SEMINAL ARTICLE ABOUT THE PREHISTORY OF THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SPANISH SCHOLASTICS, THAT HE PRESENTED AT THE FAMOUS 1974 SOUTH ROYALTON CONFERENCE THAT IN A WAY MARKED THE REVIVAL OF AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS IN THE UNITED STATES.

DURING MY YEARS AT STANFORD, MURRAY AND I ALSO DISCUSSED HIS MOST RECENT 1982 BOOK THE ETHICS OF LIBERTY (ROTHBARD 1982). HE EVEN HANDED TO ME AS A GIFT, THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF THIS BOOK. I WAS VERY EXCITED ABOUT MY INTERACTIONS WITH ROTHBARD AT STANFORD, ESPECIALLY WHEN I DISCOVERED THAT HE WAS STUDYING FREE-BANKING THOUGHT BASED ON THE IDEAS OF THE SCHOOL OF SALAMANCA FROM MY OWN COUNTRY! MURRAY’S PASSION FOR THE SPANISH SCHOLASTICS ENCOURAGED ME EVEN MORE.

I BELIEVE ROTHBARD’S MAIN CONTRIBUTION WAS TO PROVIDE THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL WITH AN ENTIRE JURIDICAL AND ETHICAL FOUNDATION. ONE CANNOT UNDERSTAND ECONOMICS WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE LAW. THIS IS A REASON WHY, IN MY BOOK MONEY, BANK CREDIT, AND ECONOMIC CYCLES (1998/2006), I DEVELOP THE PROPOSAL FOR A 100-PERCENT RESERVE FREE-BANKING SYSTEM BASED ON THE LEGAL AND ETHICAL ARGUMENTS DEVELOPED BY ROTHBARD.

IN 1983, PROFESSOR OSCAR BERNSTEIN, MY STANFORD MASTER’S THESIS SUPERVISOR, INVITED ME TO RESEARCH HOW PRIVATE PENSION PLANS COULD BE THE SOLUTION FOR SPANISH SOCIAL SECURITY PROBLEMS. BASED ON THIS MASTER’S THESIS, I COMPLETED MY FIRST DOCTORAL DISSERTATION, IN LAW, PRIVATE PENSION PLANS, IN 1984. FOR THIS DISSERTATION, I WAS AWARDED THE KING JUAN CARLOS PRIZE IN ECONOMICS. AND I WAS ALSO THE YOUNGEST ECONOMIST TO WIN THIS PRIZE IN SPAIN.

ISRAEL KIRZNER, THE MPS, AND MY UNDERSTANDING OF ECONOMICS

APART FROM ROTHBARD, THE MOST IMPORTANT ACADEMIC INFLUENCE ON ME WAS ISRAEL KIRZNER, ESPECIALLY THROUGH HIS 1973 BOOK COMPETITION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP. IN FACT, I PARTICIPATED IN THE SPANISH TRANSLATION OF THIS BOOK ALSO EXACTLY 50 YEARS AGO. IN THIS BOOK, KIRZNER TRIES TO BUILD A BRIDGE BETWEEN MAINSTREAM ECONOMICS AND THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL, AND ALSO HE EXPLORES HOW REAL ECONOMIC AGENTS CREATE, TRANSMIT, AND COORDINATE INFORMATION AND HOW INSTITUTIONAL COERCION BLOCKS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INFORMATION.

IN FACT, I PREPARED MY ECONOMICS PH.D. THESIS USING ALL OF THE BOOKS KIRZNER HAD PUBLISHED UP TO THAT POINT, INCLUDING HIS DOCTORAL DISSERTATION, THE ECONOMIC POINT OF VIEW. I FIRST MET KIRZNER IN PERSON IN 1992, WHEN WE BOTH ATTENDED A CONFERENCE ON AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS HELD AT MAASTRICHT UNIVERSITY (IN THE NETHERLANDS).

WITH THE INFLUENCE OF MISES, ROTHBARD, HAYEK AND KIRZNER, I GRADUALLY REALIZED THAT, TO UNDERSTAND SOCIETY, WE SHOULD SYSTEMATICALLY INQUIRE INTO SOCIAL PHENOMENA FROM THREE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES: THE THEORETICAL, THE ETHICAL, AND THE HISTORICAL. (THIS IS PRECISELY MY THEORY OF THE THREE-LEVEL APPROACH REQUIRED FOR ANY SOCIAL RESEARCH, THAT I FIRST ELABORATED AT A LIBERTY FUND COLLOQUIUM HELD AT MONTESQUIEU’S CHÂTEAU DE LA BRÈDE IN FRANCE IN 1988).

ALTHOUGH ROTHBARD (1995) TRIED TO DEVELOP A DIFFERENT ECONOMIC-CALCULATION ARGUMENT FROM THAT OF HAYEK, I CONTINUED MY RESEARCH AND REALIZED THAT HAYEK’S KNOWLEDGE ARGUMENT AND MISES’S PRICE APPRAISAL ARGUMENT ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME ARGUMENT AGAINST SOCIALISM. ONE IMPLIES THE OTHER. THERE ARE VERY FEW AREAS IN WHICH I AM AFRAID I MUST DISAGREE WITH ROTHBARD. AND I UNDERSTAND WHY ROTHBARD LIKED TO STRESS THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MISES AND HAYEK . INDEED, HAYEK OCCASIONALLY CREATED CONFUSION, AND TO CLEAR UP THIS CONFUSION, I BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW MY THREE-LEVEL SYNTHESIS.

IN FACT, I REALIZED I COULD MAKE A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION IF I COULD REVISE THE CALCULATION ARGUMENTS AGAINST SOCIALISM BASED ON KIRZNER’S THEORY. AND, I TRIED TO SYNTHESIZE KIRZNER’S MARKET PROCESS, ROTHBARD’S ETHICS OF PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS, MISES’S UNDERSTANDING OF ECONOMIC CALCULATION AND METHODOLOGY, AND HAYEK’S EVOLUTIONARY ECONOMICS. I CONSIDER HAVING SYNTHESIZED THE SPHERES OF THEORY, ETHICS, AND THE EVOLUTION OF HISTORICAL EVENTS TO BE ONE OF MY MOST IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS.

AT SOME POINT I ALSO CRITICIZED KIRZNER. AT ONE OF OUR MEETINGS, I TOLD KIRZNER THAT HIS MISTAKE WAS NOT BEING KIRZNERIAN ENOUGH, AS ONCE HE SEEMED TO SUGGEST THAT EVENTS COULD EVOLVE IN THE WRONG DIRECTION WITHOUT SOME INFLUENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT. WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES SOMETIMES AND NOBODY IS PERFECT!

AFTER READING BÖHM-BAWERK’S CAPITAL AND INTEREST (1884), I BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE ISSUE OF CAPITAL THEORY. THIS IS KEY TO UNDERSTANDING WHY HAYEK’S PRICES AND PRODUCTION IS SO IMPORTANT. IN ADDITION, THE WORKS OF HABERLER, MACHLUP (ESPECIALLY HIS 1931 BOOK THE STOCK MARKET, CREDIT AND CAPITAL FORMATION), BRUNO LEONI (ESPECIALLY HIS 1961 BOOK FREEDOM AND THE LAW ON ROMAN LAW ), AND THE OTHER LIBERTARIAN ECONOMISTS ALL HAD ALSO STRONG INFLUENCES ON ME.

THROUGH MPS MEETINGS, I HAVE MET MANY LIBERTARIAN ECONOMISTS AND HAVE VERY MUCH ENJOYED MY DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM. I MET LIONEL ROBBINS AND GEORGE STIGLER. I ALSO MET LARRY WHITE AT THE 1980 MPS MEETING. AT THAT TIME, I WAS UNAWARE OF HOW GEORGE SELGIN DEVIATED FROM THE AUSTRIAN POINT OF VIEW TO DEFEND FRACTIONAL RESERVES INSTEAD OF THE 100-PERCENT RESERVE FREE-BANKING PROPOSAL. I ALSO MET WALTER BLOCK AT A 1986 MPS MEETING IN ITALY, AND SINCE THEN I HAVE CONSIDERED HIM ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE AND CONSISTENT AUSTRIAN ECONOMISTS.

ONCE, WHEN MILTON FRIEDMAN AND I WERE ON A TRAIN, TRAVELING FROM BASEL TO GENEVA FOR AN MPS CONFERENCE, WE DISCUSSED MANY TOPICS. ALTHOUGH WE OFTEN DISAGREED, THE CONVERSATIONS WERE ENJOYABLE. AND I ALSO REMEMBER HOW MUCH GEORGE STIGLER, STRONGLY DISLIKED THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL. AUSTRIANS AND CHICAGO SCHOOL ECONOMISTS ALWAYS HAD STRONG DISAGREEMENTS AT THE MPS MEETINGS. HOWEVER, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE RADICAL AGENDA WAS ALWAYS OUR AUSTRIAN PROPOSALS.

JAMES BUCHANAN

APART FROM THE ABOVE AUSTRIAN SCHOLARS, I ALSO HAD AN EXCELLENT FRIENDSHIP WITH JAMES BUCHANAN, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CHOICE SCHOOL WHO GOT THE NOBEL PRIZE IN 1984. AT AN MPS CONFERENCE IN RIO DE JANEIRO IN 1993, I WAS INVITED TO PRESENT MY 100-PERCENT FREE-BANKING PAPER AFTER DAVID FRIEDMAN. HOWEVER, THE CHAIRMAN SUDDENLY CUT OFF MY PRESENTATION BECAUSE HE DISAGREED WITH MY PROPOSAL.

BUCHANAN REALIZED THE SITUATION, STOOD UP, AND LOUDLY SAID: “I WANT TO PROTEST THAT THE CHAIRMAN DID NOT ALLOW HUERTA DE SOTO TO FINISH HIS ARGUMENTS, WHICH VERY PROBABLY ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES PRESENTED IN THIS WHOLE CONFERENCE.” EVERYONE APPLAUDED BUCHANAN, AND I WAS IMPRESSED BY HIS ACADEMIC GENEROSITY.

AT ANOTHER MPS EVENT, I CRITICIZED MAURICE ALLAIS’S THEORY ON SOCIALISM. ALLAIS WAS A MATHEMATICIAN AND ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE MPS. HE COULD NOT UNDERSTAND MISES’S THEOREM OF THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF ECONOMIC CALCULATION UNDER SOCIALISM. VERY PROBABLY, MY CRITICISM OF ALLAIS WAS A BIT TOO HARSH. AFTER THE CONFERENCE, BUCHANAN CAME UP TO ME, SAYING, “JESÚS, YOU HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT WHEN ALLAIS WROTE THIS BOOK, AND AS A MATHEMATICIAN, HE MIGHT HAVE HAD SOME DIFFICULTIES UNDERSTANDING MISES’S CRITERIA.” IN ANY CASE, BUCHANAN ALWAYS SUPPORTED AND HELPED ME AGAIN AND AGAIN.

MY BOOKS ON MONEY AND SOCIALISM

THE IDEA FOR MY BOOK MONEY, BANK CREDIT, AND ECONOMIC CYCLES CAME BOTH FROM MY INTEREST IN AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS AND MY WORK EXPERIENCE IN MY LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HOW LIFE INSURANCE INFLUENCED MY IDEAS. TRADITIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES TAKE MONEY FROM THEIR CLIENTS AND THEN INVEST IT, BUT THEY DO NOT CREATE ANY MONEY LIKE BANKS. HOWEVER, NOWADAYS, MANY LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE BEING INCREASINGLY CORRUPTED BY FRACTIONAL-RESERVE BANKING PRACTICES. WORKING IN MY LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, I REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO GO BACK TO BASICS AND ALWAYS KEEP TRADITIONAL AND CLASSICAL LIFE INSURANCE PRINCIPLES.

AS AN ECONOMIST AND A LAWYER, WORKING IN THE LIFE INSURANCE SECTOR, AND READING HAYEK’S PRICES AND PRODUCTION AND ROTHBARD’S MAIN BOOKS, I FINALLY CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD THE FULL AND ONLY LEGITIMACY OF A 100-PERCENT RESERVE FREE-BANKING SYSTEM FROM A THEORETICAL, LEGAL AND ETHICAL POINT OF VIEW.

ADDITIONALLY, THE LACK OF ECONOMIC CALCULATION ALSO AFFECTS THE CURRENT FINANCIAL AND BANKING SYSTEM. THIS IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT OF MY BOOK ON MONEY, WHICH CAN BE UNDERSTOOD AS A PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE THEORY OF THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF ECONOMIC CALCULATION UNDER SOCIALISM (DEVELOPED IN MY BOOK SOCIALISM, ECONOMIC CALCULATION, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP) TO CENTRAL BANKS AND THE CURRENT PRIVILEGED AND HEAVILY REGULATED FRACTIONAL-RESERVE PRIVATE BANKING SYSTEM.

THE ROLE OF MATH

AS AN INSURANCE ACTUARY AND MATHEMATICIAN, I CONSIDER MATHEMATICS TO BE THE LANGUAGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE. MATHEMATICAL FORMULAS CANNOT DESCRIBE HUMAN CREATIVITY, NOR THE SUBJECTIVE CONCEPT OF TIME. THE FUTURE IS NOT SOMETHING GIVEN THAT WE CAN WAIT TO SEE WHEN IT FINALLY ARRIVES. ON THE CONTRARY, THE FUTURE IS SOMETHING THAT CAN ONLY BE CREATED BY THE ACTION OF HUMAN BEINGS. MATHEMATICS CANNOT HELP US KNOW THE FUTURE.

AND WE HAVE ALREADY FOUND THE ONLY SUITABLE LANGUAGE TO USE IN SOCIAL SCIENCE: THE LANGUAGE WE ARE USING NOW! HUMAN LANGUAGE IS AN INSTITUTION THAT HAS EVOLVED OVER MANY GENERATIONS PRECISELY AS A RESULT OF HUMAN ACTION. THIS LANGUAGE MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO PROMOTE THE CREATION OF NEW INFORMATION AND HELPS US IN OUR ACTIONS TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE PEOPLE AROUND US.

MY CATHOLIC FAITH, THE ROLE OF SCIENCE, AND MY WIFE SONSOLES

AS A CATHOLIC, I BELIEVE GOD EXISTS AND THAT HE IS A LIBERTARIAN, AS I DEFEND IN MY FAMOUS 2017 PRESENTATION AND ARTICLE ENTITLED “ANARCHY, GOD, AND POPE FRANCIS”. MANY PEOPLE WONDER WHY I DO NOT MENTION POPE FRANCIS IN THE TEXT BUT JUST PUT HIS NAME IN THE TITLE. HERE IS THE STORY. IN 2017, POPE FRANCIS CRITICIZED LIBERTARIANS, ARGUING THAT THEY “DECEPTIVELY PROPOSE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE.” OF COURSE, FROM THE LIBERTARIAN CATHOLIC POINT OF VIEW, I AM AFRAID I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH THIS OPINION. TO CHALLENGE HIM POLITELY WITHOUT ATTACKING HIM, I DO NOT MENTION HIS NAME IN THE TEXT. IN THE ARTICLE, I START FROM THE PREMISE OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. IF WE FOLLOW THIS PREMISE AND ITS LOGICAL IMPLICATIONS, IT IS EASIER TO UNDERSTAND WHY GOD IS A LIBERTARIAN. AND ALL OF THE QUOTATIONS I INCLUDE FROM FORMER POPES JOHN PAUL II AND BENEDICT XVI DO SAY EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF MANY OF POPE FRANCIS’S STATEMENTS OF TODAY. SO, IN THIS WAY I THINK I MANAGED TO CRITICIZE THE CURRENT POPE VERY POLITELY AND WITHOUT MENTIONING HIM IN THE TEXT!

POPE BENEDICT XVI ONCE SAID THAT THE WORST THING TO HAVE HAPPENED TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS WHEN IT BECAME THE OFFICIAL CHURCH OF THE STATE. IN FACT, IN A WAY, RATZINGER WAS AN AUSTRO-LIBERTARIAN WITHOUT KNOWING IT. (ALTHOUGH, VERY PROBABLY, THE MOST SPECIFIC POLITICAL LABEL RATZINGER GAVE HIMSELF WAS THAT OF AN “ORDOLIBERAL” AND ADMIRER OF ADENAUER AND ERHARD). HAYEK, IN DEFENSE OF MORAL PRINCIPLES, STATED, “THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY DEPENDS ON OUR ABILITY TO AUTOMATICALLY FOLLOW MORAL PRINCIPLES.” HAYEK KNEW VERY WELL WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT. I THINK ALL THIS IS RELATED TO HIS DIVORCE FROM HIS FIRST WIFE. HAYEK DESTROYED HIS FAMILY. AFTER THAT, HE HAD A TERRIBLE HEALTH AND A MASSIVE PROBLEM WITH DEPRESSION FOR MANY YEARS. ONLY AFTER HE WON THE 1974 NOBLE PRIZE DID HIS MENTAL SITUATION IMPROVE. I THINK THAT IS WHY HAYEK OFFERS ALL HIS WISDOM ON THIS MATTER TO EVERYBODY IN HIS LAW, LEGISLATION AND LIBERTY AND IN HIS LAST BOOK THE FATAL CONCEIT.

FURTHERMORE, I CONSIDER IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT WITHOUT SCIENCE, RELIGIOUS FAITH WILL BE FANATICAL. AND THAT WITHOUT RELIGIOUS FAITH, SCIENCE CAN LITERALLY DESTROY SOCIETY.

HERE I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT MY WIFE, SONSOLES. I FIRST MET HER IN 1972. SHE WAS A SCHOOLMATE OF MY SISTER EMILIA, AND WE DISCOVERED WE SPENT OUR SUMMER HOLIDAYS IN THE SAME AREA IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS (IN FORMENTOR, MALLORCA). WE GOT MARRIED IN 1981, AND WE HAVE HAD SIX KIDS (AND NOW HAVE EIGHTEEN GRANDCHILDREN!). IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO WORK IN THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND, AT THE SAME TIME, TEACH AND RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY WITHOUT THE FULL SUPPORT OF SONSOLES. SHE IS ALWAYS VERY HARDWORKING AND PATIENT, AND SHE TAKES CARE OF OUR HOMES, OUR CHILDREN, AND ME. AS AN ECONOMIST, SOMETIMES I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT MANY COMPLICATED TOPICS, AND SHE IS ALWAYS THERE LISTENING AND HELPING ME WITH HER THOUGHTS. (INCIDENTALLY, SHE ALSO FOLLOWED MY MASTER’S PROGRAM IN THE NINETEEN EIGHTIES, FULLY STUDIED MISES’S HUMAN ACTION, AND PASSED MY EXAMINATIONS WITH HONORS!). THANK YOU VERY MUCH SONSOLES!

THE SPIRIT OF DON QUIXOTE AND THE FUTURE OF SPAIN

FORTUNATELY, MY STUDENTS AND FOLLOWERS FROM EVERY PART OF THE WORLD, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG GENERATIONS, CAN READ MIGUEL DE CERVANTES’S NOVEL DON QUIXOTE IN ALMOST ANY LANGUAGE. DON QUIXOTE HAS HAD A VERY SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON ME. HE IS ALWAYS FIGHTING AGAINST THE TIDE OF THE POLITICALLY CORRECT TYRANNY. WHAT I AM DOING IN ECONOMICS IS OFTEN LIKE FIGHTING THE WINDMILLS OF THE NEOCLASSICAL AND INTERVENTIONIST (AND SOCIALIST) MAINSTREAMS. ALWAYS FIGHTING INTELLECTUALLY LIKE DON QUIXOTE WHILE THINKING CRITICALLY HAS HELPED ME TO IMPROVE MY ANALYTICAL ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE FALLACIES OF NEOCLASSICAL ECONOMICS.

SPAIN HAS ACHIEVED VERY IMPRESSIVE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE DECADES SINCE THE SO CALLED STABILIZATION PLAN OF 1959 THAT FOLLOWED THE EXAMPLE OF THE GERMAN WIRTSCHAFTSWUNDER OF TEN YEARS EARLIER. 25 YEARS LATER, SPAIN JOINED THE EUROPEAN UNION. RELATIVELY FREE IMMIGRATION AND FREE TRADE BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE REST OF THE EU BECAME A REALITY. I HAVE WITNESSED A SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCE IN SPAIN SINCE THEN. THERE IS MUCH MORE PROSPERITY IN SPAIN THAN WHEN I WAS A BOY. AND NOW, IF YOUNG SPANISH PEOPLE AGAIN ADOPT THE SPIRIT OF DON QUIXOTE AND SEEK AND FIGHT FOR TRUTH AND LIBERTY, OUR COUNTRY COULD AGAIN BECOME A MODEL FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD.

AND NOW, ONE LAST WORD: TO YOUNG AUSTRIAN SCHOLARS.

WHEN, IN MY EARLY TWENTIES, I MET HAYEK IN PERSON, TO MY SURPRISE, HE WAS ALWAYS VERY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS, BECAUSE HE SAW HOW MANY YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE ME WERE INTERESTED IN AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS AS A WAY TO APPROACH THE TRUTH. I THINK WE DO NOT NEED TO WORRY EXCLUSIVELY ABOUT HOW WE CAN OCCUPY ACADEMIC POSITIONS. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO SEEK THE TRUTH, HAVE A CLEAR MIND, CONTINUE TO DO WHAT FULFILLS OUR MORAL PRINCIPLES, AND PASS THIS APPROACH ON TO EACH NEW GENERATION OF YOUNG ECONOMISTS. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAYEK ACCOMPLISHED WITH ME.

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, I CONSIDER MY MOST SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO BE THE SYNTHESIS OF THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL — ESPECIALLY MY SYNTHESIS OF THE AUSTRIAN POSITION ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP, ECONOMIC CALCULATION, MONEY, AND FREE BANKING; ALSO MY THREE-LEVEL APPROACH TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL PHENOMENA (HISTORICAL, ETHICAL, AND THEORETICAL). I THINK YOUNG GENERATIONS OF AUSTRIANS SHOULD ALSO USE THEIR ACADEMIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CREATIVITY TO CONSTANTLY IMPROVE, DEVELOP, AND BUILD ON THE CURRENT ACADEMIC AND ANALYTICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL.

THERE ARE MANY FIELDS FOR THE YOUNG GENERATIONS TO DEVELOP. FOR EXAMPLE, MY 2009 BOOK THE THEORY OF DYNAMIC EFFICIENCY (WHICH IS ANOTHER OF MY SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS) INCLUDES ARTICLES AND PAPERS OF MINE ON LIBERTARIAN NATIONALISM, LIBERTARIAN FREE IMMIGRATION, FREE-MARKET ENVIRONMENTALISM, FREE-MARKET ECONOMIC-REFORM PROPOSALS, PRIVATE SOCIAL-SECURITY SYSTEMS, ETC. AND NOW THAT WE HAVE AGAIN ENTERED INTO A WORLD OF POPULISM, PROTECTIONISM, AND STRONG STATE INTERVENTION, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE PANDEMIC, YOUNG SCHOLARS CAN ALWAYS FIND TOPICS TO WORK ON, AS THEY FULFIL THE MORAL DUTY OF CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL AND DEFENDING INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM. THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TRIED TO ACCOMPLISH ALSO IN MY FORTHCOMING NEW ROUTLEDGE BOOK, ENTITLED STATISM AND THE ECONOMY: THE DEADLIEST VIRUS. AND, AS YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO HELP YOUNG SCHOLARS PUBLISHING THEIR ARTICLES , IN 2004 I FOUNDED THE JOURNAL PROCESOS DE MERCADO THAT THIS YEAR CELEBRATES ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH ITS FORTHCOMING 40TH VOLUME CORRESPONDING TO AUTUMN 2023. AND ALSO, IN 2007 I FOUNDED OUR OFFICIAL MASTER DEGREE IN AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS IN THIS UNIVERSITY. UP TO THIS MOMENT, MORE THAN 300 STUDENTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE STUDIED THIS MASTER AND THEY HAVE READ, UP TO THIS MOMENT, 51 DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS ON AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS, ALL OF THEM DIRECTED BY DIFFERENT TEACHERS OF THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING ME.

AND REMEMBER, IT IS NOT IMPORTANT FOR A YOUNG AUSTRIAN SCHOLAR TO BE THEORETICALLY ORIGINAL. THE MOST IMPORTANT TASK FOR US IS TO BUILD UPON (AND TRY TO IMPROVE) THE WORKS AND THEORIES OF THE GREAT MASTERS (MISES, HAYEK, ROTHBARD, KIRZNER). I ALSO BELIEVE THE YOUNG GENERATION SHOULD THINK BIG ABOUT THE WORLD, HAVE AN INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK, AND ALWAYS BE ALERT TO WHAT IS HAPPENING BOTH IN THE ACADEMIC WORLD AND IN DAILY LIFE. AND OF COURSE, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES: SOMETIMES IN OUR THEORETICAL STUDIES; SOMETIMES IN OUR DAILY LIVES. BUT WE NEED NOT WORRY ABOUT MAKING MISTAKES IF WE ALWAYS STICK TO MORAL PRINCIPLES, SEEK THE TRUTH, AND TRY TO CORRECT ERRORS WHEN WE DISCOVER THEM.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

REFERENCES

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